Colombo, Sri Lanka

Our trip to Colombo began with a 1 night stay at the St Regis Singapore (upgraded to a newly refurbished Caroline Astor Suite):

Dinner was at the 1 Michelin starred Pangium:

Our dinner was simply sensational! The rendang tiram, oxtail satay, and sagun & musk melon sago dessert were particularly noteworthy. This establishment surpasses the chef’s other venue, Candlenut by a mile. We will return when the menu changes.

The following day we had lunch at 1 Michelin starred Labyrinth:

I wish there was a better way to put it but it is what it is – a rip-off. Snooty staff with robotic regurgitation of the description of the dishes, chaotic presentation and miniscule portions. We sent the main pigeon back as it was undercooked but there was no apology, instead a defiant claim that this is the way to cook pigeon. Do learn from Odette how to cook the columbidae properly (you obviously copied how they presented it as an ingredient). Everyone, do yourself a favour and go eat at Pangium for innovative local cuisine.

We headed back to St Regis and checked out at 4PM, heading towards Changi for our Singapore Airlines flight to Colombo. We arrived just before midnight:

Reached the hotel around 1245AM:

I used the Your24 benefit to check in late. This resulted in us being able to check out at 9PM on the day of our departure.

The morning view from our Tower Suite:

I was shocked to learn that the hotel opened barely a year ago in 2024 as the deco and furnishings were extremely dated. Apparently construction started way back in 2014 and was severely delayed. However, this does not excuse the lack of maintenance of the common areas and rooms which already look worn out, including the largest Tower Suite we had for 3 nights.

We explored the city with our hotel’s guide cum driver David, some notable stops included Paradise Road design deco shop, Barefoot Gallery and a few gemstone dealers: