Rice and noodles have been mainstays of Asian food in Australia for years, but Melburnians are about to fall in love with hoppers.

Jason Jones and Brahman “Bremi” Perera, the team behind celebrated French brasserie Entrecote in Prahan, are opening Hopper Joint later this year. The 60-seat Sri Lankan restaurant, also on Greville Street, will champion hoppers.

So, what are hoppers?

They’re bowl-shaped pancakes made out of batter or noodles and used to scoop up curries, sambals and chutneys just as you would with rice.

Hopper Joint will hero the hopper and offer three kinds:  plain, egg and string.

Plain hoppers are made from a pancake-like batter of fermented rice flour and coconut milk.

String hoppers resemble a nest of noodles, the batter being pushed through a sieve to create the strands.

Egg hoppers come with an egg cracked into the middle of a plain hopper.

Jason Jones says the restaurant will be “pure theatre.”

“The hoppers will be made in the middle of the restaurant, people will ring little Sri Lankan antique bells for service and arak and gin cocktail creations are by the incredible Joe Jones, ex-Romeo Lane,” he says.

“The menu is a nod to Bremi’s (Brahman Perera) heritage – growing up in an extended Sri Lankan family in Doncaster.”

It’s taken six years to get the project off the ground and Jones is excited it is finally happening.

“The fit-out will of course be done by both Bremi and I as a collaboration after a buying trip to Sri Lanka in late February. Think colonial Ceylon with a modern Geoffrey Bawa / Perera edge,” Jones says.

“It will be loud, sexy and delicious.”

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