EAT & INDULGE

Sri Lanka's fish market culture is extraordinary. Here is how to buy fish the right way, cook it simply, and understand what you are eating.

The king coconut — thambili — is a distinct species from the green coconut and Sri Lanka is one of the few places it grows. Here is what it is, where to find it, and why it matters.

Sri Lankan cooking is built on spice pastes made fresh, coconut milk in every form, and a logic of layering heat and acid that takes time to understand. Here is how the fundamentals work.

Sri Lanka's vegetarian food is rooted in Buddhist and Hindu tradition and produces some of the most complex plant-based cooking in Asia. Here is what to order and where to find the best of it.

Negombo fish market is one of the largest in Asia. The catch lands between 4 and 6am. Here is how the markets work, what to buy, what to pay, and how to have it cooked the same morning.

Rambutan in July. Mangoes in April. Wood apple in the dry season. Sri Lanka's tropical fruit calendar is worth planning around. Here is what grows when, and why each variety here is different from anything sold abroad.

The working markets of Sri Lanka — Pettah in Colombo, Kandy market, the Nuwara Eliya produce market — are where the country shops. Here is how to navigate them and what each one is actually for.

Rice and curry, kottu roti, hoppers, string hoppers, short eats — Sri Lankan food has a logic and a vocabulary worth learning. Here is the full guide to what to order, where, and why it tastes the way it does.