Toronto: Rashnaa

I was up to Toronto again last week for my annual pilgrimage. Good food was had at many of the usual places: Ginger's (ate there 3 times), Ethiopia House, Pita Break, and of course, I had the ever-yummy eternal special of "Icky Spicy Octopus Babies" at Garlic Pepper. This year's new experiment was in Sri-Lankan food at the chowhound-recommended Rashnaa (which means tasty in Sanskrit, a much deserved moniker).

We walked 20 minutes to try the place out as the map of Toronto is much trickier to us than that of New York. An unprepossessing space....indeed, one felt as if one was eating in the living space of a welcoming family. Just lovely and homey; nowhere near fancy. In an attempt to get as authentic experience as possible, we started with Ulunthu Vadi - a crushed lentil dumpling, deep fried and served with coconut chutney. I though it looked remarkably like a donut, and the taste didn't quite work for me, though the texture was very interesting. For main dishes, we tried String Hoppers Kottu with chicken -- rice flour noodles chopped and sauteed with onion, green peppers, eggs and spice. Spicy and very tasty. Also, Masala Thosai - Rashnaa's most popular dish, crepe grilled and stuffed with masala potato. Another extremely delicious choice. Portions were generous, and though it pained us to not consume the dishes in their entirety, we stopped to have dessert, Vatalapam -- flan with tikkul syrup, shredded coconut and caradmom. I'm glad we saved room -- it was excellent. A much recommended experience.