Cousins O Tama Carey and Odette Overlunde have found a permanent venue for Lankan Filling Station on Riley Street, Darlinghurst.
The restaurant will be open during the day and throughout the evening, providing the opportunity for diners to come in for a snack or enjoy a number of dishes.
Inspired by traditional Sri Lankan flavours, the casual eatery will focus on hoppers. The bowl-shaped savoury pancakes previously sold at Sydney’s Carriageworks Farmers Market are made from a fermented butter of rice flour and coconut milk with crisp latticed edges and a crumpet-like centre. Hoppers can be torn, folded or dripped and are made to be eaten hot, accompanying a range of curries and sambols.
As meals in Sri Lanka are meant to be shared, the same principle will apply at Lankan Filling Station. The menu will feature a selection of curries, sides and sambols to be eaten with your hands.
Entrees include crab cutlets and hot butter cuttlefish. Curries range from potato curry with Sri Lankan mustard, prawn curry soured with tamarind and a dry, black-spiced mutton option. All curries are made with house-blended curry powders.
There will be a range of sambols available including katta sambol (onions, chilli and lime, which is fermented) and pol sambol (fresh frated coconut and maldive fish).
Drinks are not to be missed, and there is a strong focus on teas. “Sri Lanka is one of the world’s greatest tea growers, and reflective of our fondness for the drink, we are creating our own unique blends from leaves we tasted in Sri Lanka,” says Carey.
Coconut water will also be available alongside boozy ginger beer made in Sydney and a spirit distilled from the flower of the coconut palm. “It’s strong, almost whisky-like, yet aromatic and is an essential Lankan drink,” says Carey.
Carey has 20 years’ experience as a chef (Bistro Moncur, Billy Kwong, Berta) and is a veteran of the industry. It’s no doubt Carey’s followers are rejoicing now Lankan Filling Station will have a permanent location. Overlunde will be the general manager of the venue.
Lankan Filling Station will open in April 2018, seven days a week at 58 Riley Street, Darlinghurst.
More details to come.
