SRI LANKA, POLONNARUWA: JAGA FOOD RESTAURANT

So far, our second day in Sri Lanka had included climbing to the top of a mountain and walking all over a vast ancient city. We were beat and ready for some rest and refreshment. 

Sanjay gets an A+ for this restaurant choice. I never write posts about just a restaurant, but this one is worthy of the attention. 

We pulled up to the turnoff to the Jaga Food Restaurant and noted a TripAdvisor sign stating that Jaga Food is the #1 restaurant in Polonnaruwa:

At the end of the road leading to the restaurant is what looks like a California-style rambler:

The parking area is surrounded by beautiful fruit and vegetable gardens:

It turns out that much of the food served in the restaurant is grown on their own organic farm:

It was my first time seeing a starfruit growing on a tree:

Many of the plants are in pots, and there are hundreds:

We noticed one of the gardeners at work:

The inside isn't really "inside" at all as there is not a back wall, allowing for a nice breeze.  One very unique feature of this restaurant is the graffiti scribbled on every wall and post in the restaurant. It is like a visual TripAdvisor or Yelp site, and every comment is a 5★ review:

One end of the room has a line-up of the ubiquitous buffet pots, each holding a different hot dish. It is quite a spread:

A second table holds all kinds of fruit, almost all grown on-site:

In the corner of the room is a small kitchen with clay ovens. A pan of coconut roti, a Sri Lankan flatbread that I really grew to love, is cooking in this picture:

We chose this table with a good view of the muddy stream that runs parallel to the Jaga Food property because . . . 

. . . the restaurant is known for its resident water monitor:

And as in every other aspect of Jaga Food, the water monitor did not disappoint. Just about the time we walked into the restaurant, this fellow walked out of the water:

As you can imagine, Bob was pretty happy about the six-foot-long visitor:

Check out that weird double tongue:

We almost forgot that we were here for the food. (Well, Bob almost forgot. I was chomping at the bit to get some vittles on my plate.)

This was without question the best meal of our trip. There was curried pumpkin, curried eggplant, breaded and fried zucchini, beets and potatoes, red rice, daal, several other curries--altogether more than a dozen hot options.

We learned that Sri Lankans eat with their fingers--no utensils. (Sanjay noted that his wife does not, however, allow this at home.) There is a sink near the entrance where diners can wash their hands, so they keep things sanitary. I have to admit that it was really fun to be eating this wet and gooey food with my fingers. I felt like a little kid.

I also had the best mixed fruit juice I have ever had anywhere. I could taste banana, lime, papaya, watermelon, and pineapple, and I'm sure there were other juices in there. It was delivered to me in a glass that showed orange- and yellow-colored juice swirled together. I have no idea how they made it look that way, but it was AMAZING. Dessert was a crepe-like pancake filled with caramelized coconut and accompanied by fresh pineapple and a somewhat sour dish made from goat-milk yogurt and topped with caramel. We were not too fond of the yogurt, but that crepe was incredible, and what's not to love about fresh pineapple?

The price is right, too. We paid about $17 USD for the two of us for as many trips to the buffet as we wanted, dessert, two incredible glasses of fruit juice, and a tip. We might go back to Sri Lanka just to eat here again.