Many Sydneysiders were dismayed to learn of O Tama Carey’s departure from Berta back in 2014, but the chef will shortly make her permanent return to the Sydney food scene with the opening of her own venue. Lankan Filling Station is the project of O Tama and her cousin Odette Overlunde and is an ode to their shared Sri Lankan heritage.

The space is set to be a casual eatery with a focus on hoppers – a bowl-shaped savoury pancake made from fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk with crisp latticed edges and a soft doughy crumpet-like centre.

The venue’s hopper mix is formed from the finest ingredients – it’s a combination of organic stoneground flour that is slowly fermented over two days before being cooked. The Sri Lankan favourites are designed to be eaten piping hot, folded or dipped and partnered with curries and sambols. They’re considered appropriate for a range of different meals, and as a result Lankan Filling Station will be open throughout the day and night.

Lankan Filling Station is hoping to be opened by the end of April, and will be serving up a hearty array of dishes to accompany the hoppers on offer. The menu will be divided into short eats (the likes of which include crab cutlets and hot butter cuttlefish), curries (all formed with house-blend curry powders) and sides (with many a sambol to be included), all of which are to be eaten with your hands. 

Sri Lankan specialties will also pervade the drinks menu, which will include a boozy ginger beer and coconut water. There will also be arrack available to those who enjoy a stronger tipple – a traditional spirit distilled from the flower of a coconut palm.