Suriya Kanthi prepares kohlrabi curry

Wijerathna Storz-Vidanage still longs to go back to Sri Lanka during the cold winter months. The only thing that can help break the chill: a good, spicy meal like it's served at Suriya Kanthi. Food is served at room temperature back home, but in Germany, the food has to be steaming when it hits the table. Storz-Vidanage has long since adjusted to the custom - but not to the cold winter weather.

"When I came to Germany, I started to cook. When I invited my friends over, I would make something really nice, like a simple sambole or dal curry - different things. They all said, 'Man, Witje, you can really cook well. Why don't you open a restaurant in Berlin and we'll come eat there?'" - Wijerathna Storz-Vidanage

The restaurant is located in Prenzlauer Berg, which has undergone transformation since the fall of the Wall. There's a whole lot of handiwork in Suriya Kanthi - which translates as "sunshine" or "sunflower." Wijerathna Storz-Vidanage worked for over a year turning the former pub into his restaurant. Seats from old S-Bahn wagons serve as chairs. The color yellow symbolizes the sun and curry.

In Sri Lanka, curry does not imply the spice, but a dish. And in kohlrabi curry, not only the tuber is used, but the leaves as well. There are hundreds of ways of whipping up a curry - using vegetables, fish or meat. Curries are a typical dish in the island nation of Sri Lanka, and they are normally eaten there with the hands.

"Sri Lanka is a very small island and coconuts grow everywhere. We use a lot of coconut milk in our cuisine - and something very unusual happens with that. We use spices in a different way. There are a lot of smoked and roasted spices. That's very unique. Each dish has ist own, unique flavor." - Wijerathna Storz-Vidanage