"In a way, it was a 'luxury' life" Meet Sumudu.
Smiling, modest, not at all a star, though he could be: in Thailand, he managed to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant, and in Belarus, he twice became the best chef of the year.
"I grew up in a simple family in Colombo, the de facto capital of Sri Lanka," says Sumudu."My father was a state inspector, working in the anti-corruption commission.
We were content with little, but in a way, it was a 'luxury' life: fresh prawns, mangoes, papayas, and rambutan every day, the ocean and beach ten minutes' walk from home… Europeans spend a lot of money to arrange such a life for themselves on vacation.
After school, I studied for five years at the Ceylon Hotel School of Culinary Art — that's the coolest culinary school in Sri Lanka.
I started from the bottom: worked as a chef's assistant in a hotel in Unawatuna — a popular tourist town.I cleaned, tidied, washed, wasn't afraid of hard work.
" Sumudu was not yet 30, and he had already made a pretty good career in Sri Lanka.What next?It was time to find himself in Europe.
"To be honest, I didn't know about Belarus, had no idea what Minsk was like.I just wanted to go to Europe.At that time, advertising agents promoting BSU flew to Colombo.
They said that Belarus is the center of Europe and you can travel everywhere by train without visas," the hero of the article smiles.
"When it snowed for the first time, we ran out into the street at night" So, at 29, Sumudu found himself in Minsk to enroll in tourism management at BSU.It was 2008.
"The snow shocked me.I had never seen anything like it in my life!
I remember, when it snowed for the first time, we, students from Sri Lanka, ran out of the dormitory at two in the morning and threw snowballs.Wow!..
In Sri Lanka, it's +35 all year round, only in the rainy season can the temperature drop to +25.It's different in Minsk.
The change of seasons, which you are used to, was amazing for me.
It's very beautiful: the leaves turn yellow, then fall, then the first snow — and all this gives way to spring and velvety buds…" A big surprise for me was that a foreign student from Sri Lanka at BSU was not allowed to work full-time.
Now the rules have changed, but back then it was an unpleasant discovery.In any case, I'm not used to doing nothing!
Soon I was already cooking Asian food at News Cafe in the evenings.I knew Russian very poorly, but I tried to learn at least the names of products.
The management liked my cooking, and a year later I became a co-chef.
I experienced the era when Grand Café, Tapas Bar, Bistro de Luxe — the best restaurants of that time — were opening in Minsk.
I was even sent to Bangkok to study Thai cuisine at Blue Elephant — a very prestigious culinary school — to then return to Minsk and open Mai Thai.
In 2020, I started my small restaurant business — first under the name "Kokos", and now Thai Express.I have two locations: in "Konkors" and shopping center "Zamok".
The menu includes authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, for example, fried curry rice with beef tenderloin, and there's also real Tom Yum according to a Thai recipe.
Very few establishments in Minsk make it correctly, exactly as it is customary in Thailand… My plans include opening two or three more locations.
" "For some reason, Belarusians don't drink tea with milk" In almost 18 years in our country, Sumudu has become maximally "Belarusianized".
Where else would you meet a Sri Lankan who happily talks about collecting mushrooms in the Rahačoŭ district?Of course, a large part of this is thanks to Anastasia, Sumudu's wife.
Their daughter Olivia is already 7.She, like Sumudu, speaks Russian at home, and in her father's language, the girl only knows "how are you" and "hello".
"I understand that the foreigner's perspective is important to you.How do you, Belarusians, look in the eyes of others?
To be honest, I've gotten used to everything, except perhaps the very strong cold, -25.That's really difficult.If we look for differences, firstly, it's the level of salaries.
In Belarus, it's significantly higher than in Sri Lanka.In my opinion, the median salary in Sri Lanka is about $300, and in Belarus, it's over $770 in equivalent.
Prices for buying and renting real estate also differ.For example, ordinary accommodation for a day can be found on the island for $25-30.
But living on the first coastline in Sri Lanka is always very expensive.This is, you might say, a luxury place: one night in a five-star hotel will cost $300-400.
But high prices will also be found in Minsk in some Hilton." Secondly, Belarus has faster internet and no problems with electricity.
In Sri Lanka, blackouts still occur, electricity disappears — all because 70% of the infrastructure is focused on hydroelectric power plants, and in dry seasons, the water level falls, they lack capacity.
Now new diesel power plants are being built, but it's expensive, as Sri Lanka has no oil deposits.Thirdly, food.
In Belarus, it's almost impossible to find normal fruits, seafood, and tea.It's hard to get used to this.
Every March, for my wife's birthday, our whole family, including my father-in-law and mother-in-law, flies to Sri Lanka.
We try to eat our fill of fruits and seafood for the year ahead.When we return, we fill one suitcase with tea, and the other with papaya and mango.
If I return to Minsk without fresh papaya, my friends won't understand," Sumudu laughs."I really miss Ceylon black tea, fresh, picked straight from the plantation!
" Yes, there's no normal papaya in Minsk, but in the summer in my mother-in-law's village, everything grows: strawberries, cherries, blueberries, apples, pears, bell peppers, eggplants… And my wife's grandmother even grows very spicy small chili peppers — we need them in Thai Express.
Also, in Belarus, the breakfast culture is not as developed as in Sri Lanka.Go to any restaurant in Minsk — what do they offer you in the morning?
Well, syrniki, pancakes, draniki, some "big English breakfast" — and that's it.
But in Sri Lanka, there are 15 types of breakfast — from string hoppers (thin rice noodles, laid out in "nests") to chickpeas with coconut sambal (a sauce made from freshly grated coconut, chili peppers, red onion, and lime juice).
In the mornings, it's customary to drink "soup": 10-15 kinds of different greens are put into a blender, a little rice, coconut milk, and cane sugar are added.
This is called kola kanda.Fourthly, medicine.In Sri Lanka, it is de facto paid.Yes, free state medicine also exists, but you have to wait a year in line.
At the same time, the island has high technologies, you can, for example, get a heart transplant at Apollo Hospital, but it is very expensive.
In Belarus, I have a residence permit, and I have had to go to the hospital twice, call an ambulance — everything is fast and free.
Fifthly, in Belarus, transport movement is precisely regulated.Buses, trains — everything arrives strictly on the minute, as written in the schedule.
In Sri Lanka, there is no such road system.
For example, minibuses there are called "crazy buses" because they drive chaotically, race on the roads, honk very loudly, take as many passengers as they want, stop right in the middle of the highway — and it doesn't matter if there's a stop or not.
It's dangerous.Trains can easily be an hour late.Sometimes you see a very old train driving, it breaks down — and it becomes really embarrassing.
" "In Sri Lanka, the jungle is protected by law, people don't go there.
You can easily encounter elephants, cheetahs, crocodiles, small black bears… For example, last March, my family and I stayed in Hambantota.
On one side, a five-star Shangri-La hotel, its own golf course, several pools, excellent food.
On the other hand, we were immediately warned that crocodiles live in the nearby river, beyond the rice field.
We swam there, jumped into the water from a rope swing — and they didn't touch us.Here, on the other hand, there is no ocean in Belarus.I miss it very much.
" Ending the conversation, we discussed a well-known stereotype: is it true that Belarusians are gloomy and stern creatures with their "Slavic faces"?
"Yes, compared to smiling and friendly Sri Lankans, Belarusians are indeed gloomy.
When I first arrived in Belarus, I tried to smile at everyone, but then I realized that it's not customary here.Maybe Belarusians lack sun and vitamin D?..
In Sri Lanka, the sun rose at six in the morning, we smiled and drank tea, lived and rejoiced, although there wasn't much money; in my childhood, I couldn't go to a store and buy everything I wanted.
But here, there is money, yet people still lack something.Why?
Loading comments…