Rasa Lanka: When a Pregnancy Craving Becomes a Business Plan

Being pregnant and craving food from home is one thing. Turning that craving into an entire takeaway is quite another level of commitment.

That, however, is essentially how Rasa Lanka, currently the only Sri Lankan joint in Malta, began. When Janaki was pregnant and craving Sri Lankan food, the idea gradually became a goal: to cook the food she knew from home properly in Malta.

 

Together with her husband, Joris, and with years of catering experience between them, that idea eventually became Rasa Lanka — a small Sri Lankan takeaway in St Paul’s Bay, with Janaki herself in the kitchen.

And small is doing absolutely no heavy lifting when it comes to flavour.

The couple source their spices from Sri Lanka rather than relying on the Indian spice blends more readily available in Malta, and it shows. This is fragrant, aromatic cooking that isn’t frightened of chilli, acidity or spice. The flavours are assertive without everything simply tasting hot — there are layers to it.

 

From the street-food section came some of my favourite things I tried — all for €2–€2.50.

 

 

The fish rolls were the standout: thin crepe rolls wrapped around a generously spiced mixture of fish and onion, crisp on the outside and exceptionally moreish.

 

Then came the fish cutlets, breadcrumb-coated and densely packed with tuna, potato and spice, followed by the beef patties — golden, flaky pastry around piping-hot, warmly spiced minced beef; think a miniature Sri Lankan cousin of the Jamaican beef patty.

Frankly, one of any of them is unlikely to be enough. Order them for takeaway and they come by the unit; order through Wolt or Bolt and you might find yourself with two or three.

 

The Rice & Curry Box comes with steamed rice, dhal, two vegetable curries and papadum alongside your choice of chicken, beef, lamb or vegetables. The lamb version had the sort of deep, dark spicing that builds rather than immediately punches you in the face, while the accompanying curries and sambols brought sweetness, heat and acidity into the equation. Those whole dried chillies scattered across the rice aren’t there for interior decoration either.

 

The Banana Leaf Steamed White Fish was a more delicate affair, with white fish, herbs and lime steamed inside the leaf, keeping the fish beautifully soft while deeply intensifying the flavour and fragrance. There’s something rather lovely about unfolding a banana leaf from a takeaway box — it immediately elevates the whole experience.

 

The Seafood Fried Rice was another highlight: fragrant, savoury and generously seasoned, with prawns and chunks of white fish picking up all those spices as they worked their way through the rice. There was a gentle heat running through it rather than anything aggressive, and enough depth of flavour to make what could have been the safest order on the menu anything but.

Finally, the Yellow Rice Box with Fish Ambul Thiyal takes things in another direction, pairing fragrant yellow rice with chunky, firm pieces of fish coated in a dark, intensely spiced marinade. The marinade had a deep, concentrated flavour that clung to every piece.

Elsewhere, the menu gets into kottu, coconut milk rice, sambols and Sri Lankan chilli paste, while string hoppers — one of Sri Lanka’s signature dishes — are available on Mondays and Wednesdays. That’s firmly on the list for next time.

Prices mostly sit between €11 and €14 for the main dishes, with the street-food bits starting at €2. Even the drinks stay resolutely Sri Lankan, with Elephant House Necto, Cream Soda and Ginger Beer on offer.

Rasa Lanka isn’t trying to reinvent Sri Lankan food for Malta. Quite the opposite. The whole point is that they haven’t watered it down in the first place.

Sometimes a pregnancy craving gets satisfied. Sometimes it gets a business address.

Rasa Lanka
156 Triq Patri G. Calleja
St Paul’s Bay
Website