Category Archives: Restaurant Review

October 16, 2026 · 5:35 am

Fun Food Friday — Craft Tunnel – Potter’s Retreat lunch in Udawalawe National Park


Craft Tunnel – The Potter’s Retreat

One can develop a hearty appetite after a busy day of safariing for Sri Lankan elephants in the wilds of the Udawalawe National Park. Fortunately, our tour had that covered. Near the southern entrance to the park, not far from the Udawalawe Dam and Udawalawe Reservoir, is an amazing piece of architecture that houses a fantastic pottery studio and a wonderful restaurant featuring authentic Sri Lankan food. That means this food is heavy on rice, curry, sambols (spicy Sri Lankan condiments), vegetables, fruits, chicken, fish, and the occasional red meat (beef, mutton, pork). The full name of this place is Craft Tunnel – The Potter’s Retreat. Here is it’s location in relation to the park:

Craft Tunnel – The Potter’s Retreat at Udawalawe National Park (Google Maps)

Much of the Craft Tunnel structure is open-air, and it does indeed have a tunnel-like appearance once you step inside:

Craft Tunnel – The Potter’s Retreat

The studios, kitchen, offices, and restrooms, may be enclosed, but when I say that much of this place is open-air, below is what I mean. This is what you see when looking beyond the areas shown above:


Craft Tunnel – The Potter’s Retreat

And if you’re in the mood to shop, there is some truly fascinating pottery to be had. Little wonder why this place bills itself as “an authentic fusion of Sri Lankan traditional art and the world of modern Studio Ceramics.”


Craft Tunnel – The Potter’s Retreat

Since this lunch was included in the price of our safari, we didn’t even look at the menu. Instead, the wait staff just started bringing out food. And more food. And more food. We couldn’t keep up, and there was quite a bit left over at the end of the meal. Here’s a photo gallery/slide show of our feast:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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May 27, 2026 · 5:35 am

Cambodia – Taking in Traditional Khmer Dances at the Golden Temple Residence


Our reserved table for the Khmer Dance Dinner Show

Diving into Cambodian culture doesn’t get much more traditional than this — a dinner show featuring traditional Khmer dances. And yes, I got video. It’s on my YouTube channel, and I’ll link that toward the end of today’s article. As for this particular show, it’s a weekly event held at the Golden Temple Residence’s restaurant, which I gave you a glimpse of on Monday. While the everyday menu is very good, this dinner show offers something a bit more upscale on the cuisine level. Here’s our menu for this evening (5 November 2025):

Special Khmer Set Menu

As the restaurant is situated directly across from the pool and the poolside seating area, that seating area becomes the stage for this show:

Poolside seating area becomes a stage

The dinner is presented at the same time as the show, which features traditional Khmer dances. Those dances are described in the accompanying list available at each table:

Traditional Khmer Dance list
Traditional Khmer Dance list

As one would expect, the dances are performed in traditional costumes and, when appropriate, masks:

Khmer Moni Mekhala Dance

These next two photo galleries/slide shows show our dinner and the dances presented to us this evening:

Next week I’ll start showing you around Siem Reap via a tuk-tuk tour. This week’s Fun Photo Friday will feature Golden Temple Residence and Khmer Dance favorites. But until then, I promised you a video of our Khmer Dance Show:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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May 25, 2026 · 5:35 am

Cambodia – Siem Reap and the Golden Temple Residence


Golden Temple Residence, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Time to begin another long series on yet another lengthy trip. Over the coming months I’ll be showing you our forty-day Southeast Asia adventure, which began in Siem Reap, Cambodia via Singapore on 1 November 2025. From there we ventured on to Bangkok, Thailand, then returned to Singapore for a two-night stay before embarking on a 14-night cruise. That cruise took us to Penang and Phuket, Thailand; Hambantota and Colombo, Sri Lanka; Cochin and Goa, India; finishing up in Mumbai, India. After disembarking in Mumbai, we began an extensive 17-day exploration of India. That tour took us to Jaipur, Ranthambore, Agra, Chennai, and finally to Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) before heading back to Singapore for two nights. So, as you can see, we have quite a lot to cover here on the blog over the next several months.

Golden Temple Residence, Siem Reap, Cambodia

But before I get to the fascinating antiquities in and around Siem Reap, Cambodia (such as Angkor Wat), I’m going to do something I seldom even consider. I’m going to show our incredible accommodations here and, on Wednesday, I’ll show you the traditional Khmer dances we enjoyed at this resort’s restaurant during their weekly dinner show. Yes, we were that impressed with this five-star resort — the Golden Temple Residence on Angkor Night Market Street near Sok San Road and almost directly across from the Golden Temple Boutique, which is another five-star resort falling under the same ownership. Not only were the accommodations superb and the restaurant wonderful, but the location was also perfect. We found ourselves less that ten minutes’ walk from Siem Reap’s Art Center Night Market and other major shopping areas.

Golden Temple Residence pool

When you arrive to the Golden Temple Residence and pass through the nondescript outer wall, you’ll stroll past the pool (above) and into the entrance leading to the main lobby:

Golden Temple Residence entrance

Before we take a look at our room, let’s focus once more on that pool:

Poolside seating area
Golden Temple Residence pool

We’ll head to the restaurant in a moment, but for now it’s time to show you our fantastic room:

After visiting the room, Ursula and I headed back toward the lobby and stepped into the adjoining restaurant:

Golden Temple Residence restaurant (reception area visible through the opening on the left)

Here you’ll find a restaurant that caters to local cuisine, which you can see at this menu link. If that’s not to your liking, however, restaurants featuring more western-style foods are nearby. But when in Cambodia….

Wednesday’s article returns us to the same restaurant, but this time for a dinner show featuring traditional Khmer dances.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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