Spicy King, 21 Sun Crescent, Sunshine. Phone: 0410 574 523

Did we miss eating-out food?

Cafe, eatery, restaurant, greasy-spoon, pub, hole-in-the-wall food?

Well, of course.

But it was complicated – and still is in some ways.

And we’re sure that was and is also the case with all our readers.

For starters, we discovered we really don’t like take-away food – whether eaten on the hoof or at home.

The same is true, even more so, for delivered food.

All those containers – ugh!

And, it unsurprisingly turns out, what we really, really enjoy just as much as the tucker are the sights, smells, smiles and sounds of our fave eating places, old, new and still to come.

But such is our life-affirming addiction to western suburbs food and its undoubted benefits – nutritional, spiritual, emotional – that we did find a way.

It’s a mental health issue, hey?

Basically, we embarked on a rolling series of picnics, wherein take-away food from a revolving gang of some of our fave places was enjoyed at nearby parks and outdoor spaces.

I suspect that at least some of the time what we were up to was outside the restrictions in place at any given time, in terms of kilometres from home and perhaps social distancing.

But we certainly felt we were operating within the spirit of restriction requirements, if not the actual letter of them.

And, of course, we were far from alone in our adventures.

One of the place often favoured for our lockdown picnics was Spicy King, a Sri Lankan outfit in Sunshine.

I’d been aware of – and had eaten at – Spicy King before the world went all nutty.

But, to be honest, I found the food a bit on the basic and rough-hewn side and very, very spicy.

But over the course of several virus-induced outings, we fell in love with Spicy King’s food.

So, when we are able, we leap at the chance to dine in.

We do so grandly – two plates, two soft drinks, a pack apiece of chilli cashews and of chilli peanuts and we barely bust $30 in terms of spending.

Spicy King offers a range of rolls and snack items, as well as string hoppers and puttu, but the latter seemingly come into play at dinner time only.

Lunch is all about the bain marie and combos.

Bennie enjoys his deal of chicken curry, okra, breadfruit and two parottas ($10).

I, too, go for the chicken – I guess neither of us liked the bedraggled look of the lamb and beef options; such is often the way with bains marie.

My poultry is accompanied by rather chewy breadfruit, good dal and a jumble of beans, carrot and more, with my combo costing $11.

It’s all fine, though we both wish the beetroot dish had been available for this visit.

And we both love the coconut roti ($2.50) we acquire out of hungry curiosity.

Spicy King will continue to enjoy sporadic visits from us, lockdown or no, and we love having another Sri Lankan option from which to choose.

But buyers beware – the food at Spicy King is mostly very spicy. It’s no problem for us, but IS pretty much at the outer limits of what we find comfortable.