The most expensive dessert of Sri Lanka comes with an aquamarine stone!
If you are studying fortified cities around the world, Galle will definitely fall into area of research. Located in the southwest coast of the island nation Sri Lanka, this fortified old city was founded by Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. Later on, it was given gigantic stone walls by Dutch colonists in the 18th century. Today, the city is still popular for its Galle Fort which stands as the largest fortress in Asia built by Europeans.
Did this make you excited enough that you have put Galle in your travel bucket list? Well, it is indeed a place worth visiting. But apart from the historical thrill that you will experience, Galle will also let you taste Sri Lanka’s most expensive dish. It’s called Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence. Woah, that’s quite a name! But before we go on to decode it, let us understand what this dish is all about.
Sri Lankan dessert with foreign ingredients
First things first. Fortress Stilt Fisherman Indulgence is a dessert that is made on special request at the kitchen of Galle’s most luxurious and one-stop place to stay, The Fortress Resort & Spa.
Okay, so how is this one-of-a-kind dessert made? Well, it features a cassata, a traditional round sponge cake from Italy moistened with fruit juices or liquor and then layered with ricotta cheese and candied fruit pieces. Its filling comprises of cannoli or a paste of flavoured cream cheese and pastry crusts. The cassata is then topped with Baileys Irish Cream which is the famous Irish drink comprising of cream, cocoa and Irish whiskey (17 per cent alcohol only). It is then served with freshly made pomegranate and mango compote (a paste made of fruits and sugary syrup). The base that looks tantalising is made up of champagne sabayon that is a traditional French dessert sauce made with egg yolks, Champagne, granulated sugar and heavy cream. There go all things edible!
The best part is something else!
By now you must be craving the traditional Sri Lankan dish that comprises of foreign ingredients. But have you been wondering what’s the Sri Lankan part about it? Well, the dessert is served in a vessel that looks like a miniature fisherman. It is hand-carved using chocolate and honours Sri Lankan traditional fishing technique called stilt fishing. As part of it, the fishermen sit on the stilts and dangles their fishing rods into the schools of fish right in the middle of the sea.
But this exquisite handcrafted fisherman figurine is also not the best part of the dessert. Okay, so what is it? Well, it’s an 80 carat aquamarine stone that accompanies it. Why aquamarine? Because Sri Lankans consider this gemstone lucky and believes that it has special soothing, healing and calming properties. And its attractive blue colour represents the ocean and all its life-supporting qualities. In fact, legends have it that fishermen in yesteryears used to carry tiny aquamarine stones with them as a good luck charm and a kind of protection so that they return home from the sea.
This 14500-dollar worth dessert is thus rightfully the most expensive dessert of Sri Lanka and requires 24 hours heads up if you want to devour it. Oh, but here’s the thing: The dish is mainly reserved for couples and if they can finish it within an hour, the aquamarine stone is theirs.
Can you now understand from where the dessert gets its unusual yet dazzling name?