The Octa Café, located down Peter’s Place in Nugegoda, is a cosy, ambient spot for all your comfort food requirements.
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runch had the opportunity to indulge in some of their dishes and get a feel of the place. They offer a range of food varying from burgers, kottu, and rice to even waffles. We tried their crispy chicken, nasi goreng, and chocolate waffles.
The crispy chicken is crispy fried chicken – the genre of food has become so popular that people are forgetting there are other options out there for flavour combinations. Starting with the chicken, they had kept it light and slightly on the airy side for the batter/breading, but it still managed to stay crispy and adhered nicely to the chicken filet. There was a light but definite seasoned flavour and just the barest touch of spicy heat. They had opted for chicken wings, instead of the usual leg or even breast pieces, which was an interesting choice, since wings don’t generally have a lot of meat on them, but the balance of coating and chicken worked in their favour and left us with a nice mouthful of chicken. We did feel that it was lacking a sauce to accompany it, though.
The nasi goreng or fried rice is an Indonesian food. Even though this food originally came from China, the Indonesian version is different – more spicy and varied. A nasi is usually an oily fish; surprisingly, The Octa Café had somehow balanced out the oil, and it was quite reminiscent of a typical homemade fried rice. The flavour notes were well rounded and we could taste hints of coriander and cumin. They serve their nasi goreng with a small salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and a few other veggies, as well as a slice of pineapple along with a fried egg.
We were also given prawn crackers in the rice as well as an extra portion, which was a pleasant surprise because who doesn’t love some seafood flavoured crunchiness.
The most interesting factor of the dish was the chicken kebab – we've had plenty of kebabs before, but these were unique in the sense where they came smeared with actual peanut butter straight from the jar versus the usual peanut sauce that I'm not too keen on. The sweetness from this kebab worked perfectly with the spices in the rice and we must say, the portion size was quite generous – easily enough for two (very hungry) people. For the price, we would say it’s quite worth it. Aside from the kebabs, there were bits of chicken in the rice as well, so each mouthful would give you a satisfying ratio of meat to rice.
Lastly, to complete our meal, we had a chocolate waffle. This isn’t just any chocolate waffle – it comes topped with a decadent amount of chocolate sauce and nutella, two chocolate sticks, and some rolled oats. It was an absolutely lavish dessert and came with two waffles. So again, for the price, we would say it’s worth it. The batter itself was a little thick and bordering on a bit tough to chew, but if eaten hot, it is incredibly crispy and light, and fluffy on the inside as it should be.
We recommend you try out The Octa Café and see what they have to offer. We weren’t able to visit the restaurant in person, but their takeaway was just as good.
IG: @theocta.lk
runch had the opportunity to indulge in some of their dishes and get a feel of the place. They offer a range of food varying from burgers, kottu, and rice to even waffles. We tried their crispy chicken, nasi goreng, and chocolate waffles.
The crispy chicken is crispy fried chicken – the genre of food has become so popular that people are forgetting there are other options out there for flavour combinations. Starting with the chicken, they had kept it light and slightly on the airy side for the batter/breading, but it still managed to stay crispy and adhered nicely to the chicken filet. There was a light but definite seasoned flavour and just the barest touch of spicy heat. They had opted for chicken wings, instead of the usual leg or even breast pieces, which was an interesting choice, since wings don’t generally have a lot of meat on them, but the balance of coating and chicken worked in their favour and left us with a nice mouthful of chicken. We did feel that it was lacking a sauce to accompany it, though.
The nasi goreng or fried rice is an Indonesian food. Even though this food originally came from China, the Indonesian version is different – more spicy and varied. A nasi is usually an oily fish; surprisingly, The Octa Café had somehow balanced out the oil, and it was quite reminiscent of a typical homemade fried rice. The flavour notes were well rounded and we could taste hints of coriander and cumin. They serve their nasi goreng with a small salad of lettuce, tomatoes, and a few other veggies, as well as a slice of pineapple along with a fried egg.
We were also given prawn crackers in the rice as well as an extra portion, which was a pleasant surprise because who doesn’t love some seafood flavoured crunchiness.
The most interesting factor of the dish was the chicken kebab – we've had plenty of kebabs before, but these were unique in the sense where they came smeared with actual peanut butter straight from the jar versus the usual peanut sauce that I'm not too keen on. The sweetness from this kebab worked perfectly with the spices in the rice and we must say, the portion size was quite generous – easily enough for two (very hungry) people. For the price, we would say it’s quite worth it. Aside from the kebabs, there were bits of chicken in the rice as well, so each mouthful would give you a satisfying ratio of meat to rice.
Lastly, to complete our meal, we had a chocolate waffle. This isn’t just any chocolate waffle – it comes topped with a decadent amount of chocolate sauce and nutella, two chocolate sticks, and some rolled oats. It was an absolutely lavish dessert and came with two waffles. So again, for the price, we would say it’s worth it. The batter itself was a little thick and bordering on a bit tough to chew, but if eaten hot, it is incredibly crispy and light, and fluffy on the inside as it should be.
We recommend you try out The Octa Café and see what they have to offer. We weren’t able to visit the restaurant in person, but their takeaway was just as good.
IG: @theocta.lk