ABDF

Hi everybody!

After issues regarding health, everyone seems to most want to know about eating and drinking here. Not just if the food is good (it’s fabulous), but more in terms of what’s safe and what’s not. So I thought I’d share my own thoughts on this.

Food:

Food is probably one of the best reasons to come here; you’ll taste things you can’t find anywhere else. However, some words of caution are appropriate:

On meat:

We in the West are accustomed to buying our meat in tidy hygienic packages, assured by a (hopefully) high standard of inspection and monitoring. This, however, is Sri Lanka and things are a bit different here.

In my experience, both fish and meat markets are pretty disturbing places to visit, if you’re a clean freak. There is usually no refrigeration to speak of. Most products are very fresh, and hand-picked by the buyers. There is no quality grading here, other than reputation; “this fish is tastier than that one over there” sort of thing. And there is no inspecting for pollution, infection, infestation, or disease, as far as I can tell. Those with third world experience will know exactly what I’m talking about.

When you eat meat or fish, make sure it is freshly and well cooked. Even this is no guarantee; the two times I’ve gotten food poisoning were at one of Colombo’s best restaurants (prawns) and at a banquet at a government guest-house (chicken). Ironically enough, I’ve never had a problem with street food, which tends to be well cooked and fresh, but only at the sort of high-end establishments I mention above.

If you eat meat or fish do not suddenly turn vegetarian. There are tons and tons of amazing meat- and fish-based dishes to be tried. Just use common sense and inspect what you eat carefully. Like I said, I’ve never had a problem with street food, or at the hotels (a sort of low-end roadside eating establishment). A good strategy is to imagine the cooking process. For example, Short Eats, those amazing little nuggets of fabulousness, are usually a paste of meat and vegetables which obviously needs to be highly cooked to make the paste, wrapped or breaded and then deep-fried in incredibly hot oil. So in general if they are relatively fresh I have no hesitation in eating them as it seems that the cooking is very thorough.

I do find eating meat and fish a pain, though. In Sri Lanka all meat and fish is in bite-sized portions, and it is considered uncouth to have to cut your food, as we do in the West with steaks, for example. The problem is the bones. Things here are not de-boned, and so all those little pieces have bone in them. I find that more distracting than anything and I especially get paranoid about fish bones (bad childhood experience). It just seems more work than its sometimes worth.

So for protein I usually eat either eggs or soya meat. Soya meat is textured soybean paste, similar to the tempeh we have in the West. And I also eat canned tuna, which is exactly like we have in the West. But usually I stick to vegetables.

On vegetables:

Sri Lanka has a bewildering number of vegetables, and I have yet to meet one I don’t like. In the West, vegetarian food is inevitably tasteless and boring. Here it is amazingly tasty and varied. You could eat nothing but vegetables here and never feel the lack of meat. Many Sri Lankans are vegetarians. The advantage is that if you tell a Sri Lankan you only eat vegetables, they will completely understand, again as opposed to in the West.

Of course one can get e-coli and other health problems from vegetables; in the US we’ve had such problems over the last few years. In general, though, vegetables here are well cooked (no lightly steamed, crunchy green beans here!) and those few that are eaten raw are peeled. Red onion comes to mind as an example.

So pile up on those vegetables! The doctors tell us they should be our main food, anyway. If you do, you’ll be in for a real treat.

On fruits:

As with vegetables, there is a bountiful year-round harvest of all manner of fruits. You should give them all try, and see what you like. Some are not peeled, so be sure they are well washed, preferably in boiled and filtered water. Several are exclusive to Sri Lanka and are not to be missed. I have yet to have any trouble with fruits, except that if I eat too many all that fiber can make the next day uncomfortable, if you take my meaning.

Keep in mind that coconut, which features heavily in Sri Lankan food, is full of fat and can raise cholesterol levels if eaten in large quantities.

On carbs:

This is the land of carbohydrates, namely in the form of rice. Noodles are a distant second, and bread is only eaten on the rare occasion, except by the rich. Rice, either as a grain, or in the form of flour, is eaten at all three meals, and in shocking quantities. I have seen tiny little girls sit to lunch with a HUGE pile of rice in front of them and finish the whole plate in no time flat. It made me wonder where they put it all. If you are a low-carb person or have diabetes, you’ll have to be very careful, especially when eating with Sri Lankans, as an empty plate instinctively makes them want to serve another huge pile. Be VERY firm in your refusal, and explain why; most people will be understanding.

On milk products:

Unlike in India, Sri Lankans use relatively few milk products, and then only occasionally. Milk is common, although not drunk every day except by children. There is no cheese in the traditional Sri Lankan diet. Most adults eat curd, which is yogurt made from the milk of the water buffalo. It is full-fat and much tastier than our Western yogurt. But in general, milk products are used mostly for deserts, such as curd with treacle (syrup made from the palmyrah palm) drizzled on top.

On chilies:

Yes, Sri Lankan food is typically fiery hot. Yes, even their mild would cause some Westerners to dive for the water glass. However, keep in mind that a little bit of curry (or whatever) is intended to be eaten with a mound of rice, which dilutes the heat considerably. So yes, if you eat a spoonful of curry your palate will burn, but it won’t nearly as much if it’s with rice. Anyway, Sri Lankans know that Westerners generally are heat-wimps, and will reduce the fire accordingly. You won’t be impolite if you request little or no chili. With me, they are always astonished that I can eat the chilies with the best of ‘em.

On sugar:

Sri Lankans love their stuff sweet. Their coffee, tea, ice cream, sodas, custards, syrups, fruit juices, etc. are all sweeter than we in the West are used to. I’ve tried some candy that made my teeth feel like they were going to go brittle, crack up, and fall out. Sri Lanka has the highest per-capita rate of diabetes in the world, and between all the sugar and carbs it’s no wonder. There are times I’m craving a carbonated soda, but I don’t want the sweet. So I’ll buy a bottle of club soda; it’s got the bubbles I want, but no salt, no sugar and no calories. And with a bit of lime it’s practically a cocktail! The excessive sugar is something you need to be aware of, especially if you have blood sugar issues.

Most traditional cuisines are at heart peasant food. So the traditional diet here is fine if you’re working in the rice paddies all day. You can afford the sugar and cabs; in fact you need them. But now people are starting to have sedentary jobs as shop keepers and office workers. As a result, there are more and more overweight people here, like in the West. Such folks are still a small minority, but the numbers are growing.

On non-water beverages:

Lion Lager is excellent beer, Carlsburg and Three Coins are also made here. Most sodas are bottled in SE Asia and suffer from the excessive sweetness mentioned above. But I have to say I adore ginger beer. It’s non-alcoholic; think of our own root beer. Ginger beer is like ginger ale in the West, but with a very pronounced, almost spicy ginger flavor. Yum. Arrack, distilled from the sap of the palmyrah palm, is the liquor par excellence of Sri Lanka, and should be tried; it’s usually mixed with soda, Sprite being the most popular. All the non-water drinks here are perfectly safe to drink.

When you buy a soda in a shop, you will be given a straw and should drink it there. The bottle remains with the shop, as they are returned to the bottling company. This only applies to glass bottles; plastic you can take with you.

If you buy beer in a beer shop, you will pay extra as a deposit for the bottle, usually Rs20 or so. So save your bottles and return them to the shop.

There is no similar program for arrack or other liquor bottles. Most people just toss them away, and there are folks who will periodically pick up glass. I don’t know what they do with it.

Water:

When visiting Sri Lanka, you MUST drink far more water than you would ever have imagined. It is vital. The trick is to drink water that won’t get you sick. Here are a few hints:

On bottled water:

Bottled water is readily available pretty much anywhere. Litter is a huge problem, so I advise buying one 1.5 liter bottle (the usual size) and once it’s empty, buy a 5 liter bottle, and refill the smaller bottle from that. Less plastic is then used. I have read about scams where well water is sold as bottled, but I have yet to actually see this. However to be safe, make sure the bottle is sealed with its plastic ring intact and has plastic wrap at the top.

I save my empty bottles. People use them for all sorts of purposes, and they are quite handy. As far as I know there are no plastic recycling programs in Sri Lanka.

By the way, I ONLY use bottled water to brush my teeth. Brushing causes all sorts of micro-cuts and abrasions, and it is an easy vector for any microscopic nasties to get through.

On boiled and filtered water:

Many Sri Lankans boil their water, and then filter it through any number of commercially bought filtration systems. Generally I try to avoid this water, as I have no way of knowing the quality of the system, or how long the water had been boiled. In a pinch, though, I have drunk water at the houses of one or two friends and had no ill effects. However, there is no guarantee the water will taste good. So with this you have to use your own judgment.

On well water:

Just don’t. Most wells are open, and who knows what is in them. My host family has two carp living in theirs! Even water from tube wells, which is presumably cleaner, is suspect, as you don’t know how polluted the groundwater might be. Many people take water from their wells and boil/filter them as above. This is where you’re own judgment comes into play; for example, I won’t drink the treated water my host family takes from their well. I just keep seeing those two carp. To be on the safe side, always carry your own bottle of water.

If someone hands you a glass of water, it is perfectly OK to ask if it is well water, which you do not want to drink. You won’t offend your host. You need to do this with fruit juices too, as they are often sold in bottles of concentrate (called cordial) and then diluted with water.

The same applies to ice cubes, which are rare here, but sometimes found in bars and restaurants.

I hope that this has been helpful to you, in terms of health information. I know that this can sound like a lot, but in truth it’s really all about common sense. Once you get into the habit, most of these things are easy to deal with.