“Five years ago, when we started, people didn’t know much about Sri Lanka – but now every other customer has booked a flight to go surf there, or has been there on vacation," says Nerissa Jayasingha, co-owner of . "It’s a huge change in the way Sri Lanka is recognised.”
Her uncle and aunt were behind Curry Bowl. When she was a teenager, Jayasingha worked at their second restaurant. About a decade later, with partner Hiran Kroon, she came up with the idea of (somewhat) following in their footsteps. “We’re both foodies. We were going to markets and events and we thought it was weird there was not a new generation of young Sri Lankans cooking the food,” she says.
The duo started off by delivering lunch to businesses around Melbourne Airport, before getting a stall at markets across Victoria. After three years of travelling around and spending a lot of money renting a kitchen, finding a permanent space for just made sense.
The lentil pancake with coconut yoghurt is a vegan and gluten-free option. (Lankan Tucker) Source: Lankan Tucker
“With the cafe, we wanted to show people that Sri Lankan food is more than just curry and rice,” says Kroon. One of their signature dishes, the Hip Hopper, is a turmeric egg (a bowl-shaped light pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk) with (rice flour noodles), a trio and a choice of meat, fish or veggies.
We wanted to show people that Sri Lankan food is more than just curry and rice.
Their biggest seller is the Roti Riser, a big plate of handmade roti with a poached egg, , and a choice of curry. “It comes from what we just have for breakfast at home … It’s our hangover cure,” says Kroon, with a laugh.
These two dishes are quite traditional, but other menu items – like the chai pancakes and the arrack-glazed cured salmon – mix Sri Lankan and Western influences. “We stay true to Sri Lankan flavours,” says Jayasingha. “We play with the cuisine and modernise it, but the flavours stay close … Apart from the spiciness, which we’ve had to take down a few notches.”
Coffee by and is solid, but consider skipping your usual long black for Lankan Tucker's tea, since it comes straight from Jayasingha’s cousin’s estate in Sri Lanka. And it’s not the only family connection. Her aunt (and former boss) prepares the cafe's moreish milk toffee. Kroon’s mum makes the pan rolls while Jayasingha’s mum is in charge of the accompanying chilli sauce, a recipe she inherited from her own dad. They call it “Sri Lanka’s answer to the Chiko Roll”. Do yourself a favour and get one as a takeaway snack.
The roti riser comes with poached egg, handmade roti, coconut sambol and sweet seeni sambol. Source: Lankan Tucker
Lankan Tucker also offers more conventional dishes like an smashed avo and a fried chicken burger. Source: Lankan Tucker
Kroon’s mum makes the pan rolls ... Sri Lanka’s answer to the Chiko Roll.
Sri Lankan cuisine is known to be great for vegetarians and vegans, so there are plenty of options for them here. “We noticed a big shift about six months ago in that our vegetarian dishes were outselling the meat. So now, we offer the meat more as an option,” she says.
If you’re bringing a friend who is picky with breakfast, Lankan Tucker also offers more conventional dishes like an smashed avo and a fried chicken burger. But we bet they can’t resist adding a side of or to their eggs and bacon once they see your plate.
Nerissa Jayasingha and Hiran Kroon now have a permanent home for Lankan Tucker. (Audrey Bourget) Source: Audrey Bourget
486 Albion Street, Brunswick West, VIC
Tue – Sun 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
