By Panchali Illankoon
Pictures by Waruna Wanniarachchi 

Cinnamon Life’s Japanese restaurant Yoroko brings Nobu techniques to Colombo

Yoroko is Cinnamon Life’s Japanese offering, but not in the usual bento-box and bamboo-panel sense; this is Japanese-inspired through the Nobu lens; fresh, precise and just exotic enough to justify the bill.  If you are shelling out big money for sushi in a city already crowded with Japanese restaurants of varying ambition, Yoroko makes a convincing case for what high-end Japanese dining should stand for. 

At the centre of Yoroko is Chef de Cuisine Raisha Fajar. This Indonesian-born chef trained in the Middle East and worked at several Nobu outposts in Dubai, Jeddah and Istanbul, where her love for Japanese cuisine grew through the techniques and standards that define the Nobu brand. 

But let’s not be mistaken, Yoroko isn’t a copy-paste of Nobu. There are nods, yes (the signature yellowtail sashimi and the miso marinated fish), but Chef Raisha brings her own take on what she calls “modern Japanese” to Yoroko, rooted in her Nobu training yet layered with her own techniques and palate to the menu.  And what a menu it is. Naturally, Yoroko ticks all the expected boxes of a Japanese restaurant: sushi, sashimi and maki rolls, all made with high-quality ingredients, many sourced directly from Japan, including a fancy artisanal soy sauce. But the real joy, and frankly the reason to come here, lies in the dishes you can’t pronounce; the ones you hesitate over because you’re not entirely sure what half the ingredients really are. These are the plates where Chef Raisha steps away from the script into something more personal, more inventive and exotic. It’s the kind of food you won’t find anywhere else in Colombo, and that’s exactly what makes Yoroko worth a visit. 

If you’re unsure of where to begin (or just overwhelmed by the menu), go with the time-honoured Japanese tradition of omakase (translation: “I’ll leave it up to you”) and let the chef decide. It’s not only an act of trust in the chef, but also a very good idea in this case, because Chef Raisha will leave you with an experience. 

OUR OMAKASE EXPERIENCE

For us, the decision was easy: omakase, please. Not because we couldn’t be trusted with a menu (although that may be true), but because when a chef this experienced offers to curate your meal, you say yes and keep your hands away from the menu. So, here’s everything that arrived at our table, one after the other, over the course of an evening.

Yellowtail Sashimi 

A nod to her Nobu background, the imported Yellowtail from Japan is served carpaccio style in a shallow puddle of yuzu dressing and a dab of fresh wasabi root and coriander on top. It’s light and fresh with the wasabi giving a quiet kick at the end. 

Pickles: Citrus Soy Cherry Tomato & Yuzu Daikon 

The house-made pickles were a new experience, and a dangerously addictive one at that. The Cherry Tomato pickle pops with a sweet juice that is cut through by the citrus soy and sprinkle of Sakura salt. It’s a tangy combo that keeps you reaching for more without noticing. Meanwhile, the Yuzu Daikon is more of a crispy palate cleanser between dishes, it’s crunchy, clean and lightly sweet and tangy with a touch of yuzu. 

Nigiri Tasting Platter 

The menu offers nigiri individually, but the chef served us a tasting platter of each.  The Soy Marinated Tuna Truffle was topped with a wasabi root salsa and a nai miris chili aioli. The Salmon Aburi, lightly torched, was paired with a wasabi sauce, miso and a touch of sesame. The Hamachi Uni, a yellowtail nigiri with yuzu soy and salmon roe, was fresh and delicious. The Scallop, with scorched creamy spicy fish roe and salted seaweed, just melted instantly on the tongue. The Unagi Tamago with eel, sea urchin roe, egg and eel sauce was a novelty, so was the Beef & Quail Egg nigiri with a citrus soy and nori. 

Interestingly, the rice base is already seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil, so there’s no real need to drown the nigiri in more sauce. It’s meant to be eaten straight off, so you can enjoy each element as is. Our favourites? The melt-in-your-tongue Scallop and the Hamachi Uni. 

“Kushiyaki” - Grilled Skewers

This is a speciality of Chef Raisha where your choice of grilled skewers (meat and veg) is served with a variety of flavoured sauces. The Scallops were incredibly soft, skewered together with rubbery shiitake mushrooms for a contrast in textures and served with a spicy miso sauce, bonito flakes, fried onion and dehydrated miso. The Chicken skewer with garlic was paired with a yuzu kosho mayo, rice crisp and matcha salt. The Eggplant, charred to perfection, was smoky and tender and served with a black pepper teriyaki sauce, sweet potato crisp and nori. Super tasty and definitely worth trying.

Hiroshima Oysters 3 Ways 

The pièce de résistance of our meal. Hiroshima oysters, flown in fresh from Japan. It’s a treasured local delicacy, accounting for around 60% of oysters in Japan’s market, so it’s coveted internationally. Known for their plump, thick meat and rich umami flavours, they’re loved by the Japanese and rightly so. Chef Raisha serves a half dozen Hiroshima oysters, slightly torched with three house-made butters: a spicy shichimi butter, a seven-flavour chili butter; a yukari butter infused with red shiso leaves and salt, and a mild spring onion butter.  Absolutely delicious. 

Soft Shell Crab Maki 

Crispy fried soft-shell crab with avocado and vegetables served with a citrus and pepper Japanese mayo and tempura flakes. It’s crunchy, creamy and satisfying. 

Dragon Maki

This is one of Yoroko’s best sellers - prawn tempura rolled with avocado thinly sliced and arranged into neat dragon scales, brushed with gold leaf and black tobiko, with the prawn head and tail completing the dragon. Served with a lemon mayo and teriyaki sauce,  it’s a creative take on a familiar dish, which explains why it’s a guest favourite. It’s definitely a safe and solid option to order, but if you are up for it, there’s also so much more to the menu if you venture outside your comfort zone. 

“Inari” - Tofu Pockets

You either love tofu or you don’t, but this was such an inventive way to make tofu the star of a dish. Marinated in soy, sake and mirin, fried until puffed and empty inside, the tofu pocket is filled with sushi rice seasoned with togarashi and a topping of choice. We topped for spicy salmon with a spicy mayo and black tobiko where the spicy salmon and the sweetness of the mirin-soaked tofu were a great contrast. 

Chawanmushi 

This was a true trust-the-chef and nod along to a dish you couldn’t quite pronounce moment because it was fully worth it.  Silky steamed savoury egg custard with shiitake mushroom, salmon roe, fish cake and a soy-based sauce, served warm, full of umami flavours; it’s absolute comfort in a small pot. 

Chicken Karage 

We love karage, and this one was well-seasoned and crunchy, like biting into a pack of chicken skin snacks. It’s served with a dynamite mayo made with local kochi (something Chef Raisha loved when she tried it for the first time in Sri Lanka) and a tartar sauce. As a Sri Lankan, of course, we lathered our karage up in the kochi sauce-the tartar never stood a chance. 

Gyoza 

Prawn, beef or chicken gyoza, steamed with juicy centres, and served with soy-vinegar and house-made chili oil dipping sauces. 

Green Salad

A crisp lettuce and gotukola salad with green apple chips, silken tofu and avocado served with a green apple and onion dressing. It’s a dish where Japanese technique meets Sri Lankan produce. 

Yuzu Marinated Strawberries 

By the time dessert rolled around,  we begged for a lighter option and were served a yuzu sorbet with vanilla meringue and yuzu-marinated strawberries. It’s citrus-heavy but a lovely palate-cleansing dessert after a heavy meal. If you prefer something richer, go for their matcha mousse or black sesame namelaka. 

DRINKS

The drinks menu at Yoroko is every bit as curated as the food. There’s a selection of sake carefully matched to complement the menu, as well as signature cocktails and zero-proof drinks.  

The signature cocktails lean into Japanese ingredients. The Washi is light and citrusy with kumquat vodka, umeshu, yuzu and lemongrass, while the Komorebi is stronger and moodier, built on a fig and plum-infused rye whiskey, miso, sake, bitters and a generous splash of single-malt. 

The Habana, which is one of two zero-proof drinks on the menu, is a treat. It’s got a sharp kick with chamomile, mango, hot honey, pineapple and pomelo shrub, and it’s the perfect refresher for your meal.

OVERALL 

The food at Yoroko, quite simply, was very good. Chef Raisha knows her craft and isn’t afraid to get creative. The attention to detail, how something as small as a single strand of salted seaweed on a scallop plays a part in the final flavour of the dish, is what takes guests from the familiar into the new.

We liked that Yoroko isn’t flashy for the sake of being at Cinnamon Life; it’s just confident in how they balance good ingredients with technique and flavour. If you are tired of the usual suspects and want something new yet familiar, traditional yet modern, Yoroko delivers.