We had been craving some good, traditional pub grub and by chance we saw a post in a social media group. We decided to try some classic pub bites, so we got in touch.
Address: Dehiwala (Delivery Only)
Phone: 071 570 3656 or 076 848 1108
Email: sammies.bakes@gmail.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sammies.bakes/
Menu
We found their Instagram profile and tried to locate a menu but there didn't seem to be one. We could see a nice selection of fun novelty cakes (and some wonderfully nice cheeky ones!) and it looks like cakes are the main thing that they do but there was also a folder for savouries which included sausage rolls, small pies and other pastries. We had to resort to old fashioned methods like phone calls and SMS to find out specifics.
We agreed on sausage rolls, chicken and vegetable pies and when we heard that scotch eggs were possible, we put in a request for these too. We wanted something simple as dessert and, not having had custard for a long time, ordered a fruit and custard pie.
They seemed to be very busy so we settled on delivery a couple of days later. Then we waited, with anticipation that comes from knowing that a craving will soon be fulfilled.
The Food
Left: Chicken & Vegetable Pies, Sausage Rolls, Scotch Eggs. Right: Mixed Fruit Tart
It arrived nicely packed in boxes, with the fruit tart on a firm base in a large bag, and they had survived the delivery journey almost unscathed. So we each took a few pieces and settled down for a much awaited "pub lunch", our first for quite some time!
Sausage rolls; Scotch Eggs; Chicken and Vegetable Pies
First, the sausage rolls. These looked promising; the pastry was wonderfully light and flaky, with little flakes dropping off as we picked them up; one of us squeezed just a little hard and their thumb sank into the pastry. Biting into it, the pastry was lightly dry and crisp on the outside, perfectly cooked to a light, golden brown, with a nice light taste that mixed well with the sausage on the inside. It was really very good and an excellent substitute for a classic British sausage roll. We've tried quite a few sausage rolls here in Colombo and these are up there with the best.
We were eagerly looking forward to the Scotch Eggs as we have not seen these anywhere else. They looked good, though we were not sure about the dollop of sauce on the egg yolk. However the taste caused some debate. Traditionally the hard boiled egg is wrapped in sausage meat and then coated in breadcrumbs. These were nicely crumbed, the coating was good, but the sausage meat did not taste like sausage meat. We were not sure what it was; they seemed to be slightly spiced and a couple of us thought we could taste fish. It might taste a bit different to a classic Scotch Egg, but it was still enjoyable and they were all eaten by the following morning.
The chicken and vegetable pies caused some debate as well. The pie crust itself was good, nicely baked, firm and slightly crunchy but not hard or flaky. Biting into it, the filling inside was nice and flavoursome, overall a tasty rich flavour, and a bit spicy. Yes, it had been spiced, which split the opinions here. One of us said "no, it's too spicy, not for me". The others said "It's fine, it's only mildly spicy" and we ate what they didn't! Overall, it's a nice pie and it was (mostly) enjoyed.
Finally the fruit pie. It was a good size, at least 12 inches across, with a moist yellow filling inside a pastry shell, with lots of pieces of reddish fruit scattered across the top. Cutting into it with the knife, it cut through the filling quickly; the base was a bit harder and required a bit more effort to get through. Similarly, the filling was quite tasty; the custard was deliciously creamy and the fruit was slightly tart, contrasting nicely with the sweet custard while the base was dry, hard and not at all sweet; there was very little taste in the crust at all. Thankfully the filling compensated for the crust and pie was fully eaten in less than 24 hours, but the pastry crust could have been better.
Prices
The prices were all very reasonable. The individual pies and scotch eggs were Rs150 each and the sausage rolls Rs55 each (and a bargain!). The fruit pie cost us Rs1000.
Summary
Overall, some things were enjoyed more than others and a lot of that came down to individual tastes.
The scotch eggs and chicken & vegetable pies were certainly good, though the pies were too spicy for one of us, so if you don't like spiciness then make sure you ask for yours to be made milder and you will enjoy it more, as the taste was good.
The fruit pie filling was good and we enjoyed the contrasting tastes, but the pie crust was too hard and dry.
The real winner though was the sausage rolls, we all enjoyed them a lot and thought they were excellent. We look forward to having more before long!
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