Whether you are in the paradise island for a short pit stop or spending the entirety of your holiday in the country sampling Sri Lanka’s best local food items is a must for all first time travellers to the island nation. Revered for quite literally being the home of the world’s most underrated cuisine the traditional culinary school of Sri Lanka includes both spicy and sweet dishes that are both aromatic and unique in flavour. Using an array of spices coconut milk and herbs are essential to preparing many of the top eats in the country. Those based in Heritance Hotels & Resorts or near some of the best restaurants in Sri Lanka will have an easy time finding the menu items discussed below.

When it comes to must have food items in Sri Lanka we must begin with breakfast and Sri Lankan cuisine offers a variety of scintillating options for the first meal of the day. Milk rice is one such beloved breakfast dish that is composed of rice cooked in think coconut milk and consumed with a spicy Maldive fish sambol. Sting hoppers is another firm favourite among seasoned visitors to the country as the light and delicious meal comprises of thin noodle like rice flour pancake that is eaten with another must-try food item, the humble Pol Sambol. Made using coconut shavings or finely scraped coconut, chilli powder, Maldive fish, pepper, a dash of lime and salt Pol Sambol is an omnipresent dish in Sri Lankan households as it is consumed with rice, bread or roti. Fish Ambulthiyal is another treat for the senses for seafood lovers available only in Sri Lanka. A mix of spices which primarily includes gamboge or Goraka is infused in to tuna fish to create this mouth-watering offering that is both sour and spicy. Crispy and flaky there’s nothing quite like a hopper for an evening snack or a meal in and of itself while the Kottu which is a dish made from diced Godamba roti infused with spices and vegetables and mixed together using steel blades not only offers visitors a culinary experience but a sensory one too.

Roland Lefevre is a travel writer who specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe. Google+