After our tour of the spice and herbal garden (Read: Spice & Herbal Garden Tour in Sri Lanka ), and a sumptous lunch, we headed for some tableware shopping at Noritake . Noritake’s factory outlet at Matale, some 45 min away from Kandy, was our final stop before we proceeded to Kandy. For those who are not aware of what Noritake is, the company deals in one of the best and most expensive porcelain products in the world.
Jayanta, who is ever so fond of cooking and likes to serve his dishes in appropriate crockery, had been lusting after a set of Noritake for a long time. Which is why we stopped by the factory outlet near Kandy after our guide told us that the rates are better here than those in Colombo, and that there would be greater variety to choose from.
Well, it’s a big place with good parking facility and an expert packaging and sales counter. From the look of it you can tell that they are used to overseas visitors. Spread across a sprawling unit, this factory outlet of Noritake keeps dinner sets, tea sets, servings bowls of all shapes and sizes, coffee mugs and tonnes of other items. You almost, once again, get carried away, and think every piece of porcelain available there is probably what you need of life!!! Well, that bad is the binge!
We had enough luggage capacity, and so, we didn’t contain ourselves – got a full blown 32 piece dinner set, a tea set and a few serving plates. All these in two big cartons that they packed so swiftly and so nicely, that they stayed safe in our van for the remaining six days of our trip and then, the flight back to Mumbai.
The prices are extremely reasonable for the stuff that you are buying. Go and shop if you love your food and are particular about the crockery in which they are served!
With this, we resumed our drive to Kandy. Read about it in Drive from Habarana to Kandy, Sri Lanka
P.S: For a complete Sri Lanka itinerary and tour details, read — Best Itinerary & Blogs for Sri Lanka Road Trip
Just came across your blog on tripadvisor and was very happy to read the same, we are planning a trip to Sri Lanka in end November and I am also very passionate about cooking and crockery. I have heard a lot about Noritake shopping in Sri Lanka and am very excited to visit the same during my trip. I have no idea about the prices though, can you please tell me approximately how much did it cost for a 32piece dinner set in INRS or LKR,if you dont mind.
Hi Poonam,
Thanks for writing in. Well, you get all ranges there — they start from the basic INR 15,000 levels to those that go into lakhs. We went to the factory outlet near Kandy. They had a decent collection. And cater to all price ranges. We bought quite a few things. Even got a few pieces for gifts to family and close friends.
Hope this will help.
Many thanks for the reply! Will definitely visit the store.
You are welcome….other than the complete dining set, see if you’d like to buy some chic serving trays…very nice collection. We also had a lovely time mixing a matching a couple of coffee mugs!