Cooking has always been an act of care for Lanka Imiyaarachchige. As her family’s eldest daughter (loku means “eldest” in Sinhalese), she has been preparing meals for her household since she was a young girl in Sri Lanka. That same domestic vibe is on full display in her Northcote restaurant.

When you eat at Loku, you’re welcomed into Imiyaarachchige’s home to enjoy the food she cooks for her family. When Broadsheet visits, one of her children, Anju Marasingha, is there. “Since my mother opened the restaurant, I have to come here to eat the food I used to get easily at home,” she says.

The menu at Loku is both a memoir and a manifesto. It stretches back to Imiyaarachchige’s childhood of caring for her mixed Tamil-Sinhalese family in Kuliyapitiya, in north-western Sri Lanka, and reflects the dream she’s had since moving to Australia in the 1990s – to introduce Australians to “Sri Lanka’s real taste”.

Stay in the know with our free newsletter. The latest restaurants, must-see exhibitions, style trends, travel spots and more – curated by those who know.

SIGN UP

The generous lamprais, a classic dish from the island’s Dutch colonial era, is Sri Lanka on a plate. It sees rice with your choice of protein served alongside piquant fried eggplant (cooked with Imiyaarachchige’s own roasted curry powder), blachan (shrimp paste), sweet onion relish, fried boiled egg and a fishball. There are other classics such as pot biryani and roast paan (a yeasted flatbread) with turmeric butter, as well as 12 curries including Sri Lankan chicken, green bean and fish curries.

But the menu isn’t just a culinary history lesson – it’s also a showcase for Imiyaarachchige’s creativity. To make the betel leaf “taco”, oyster mushrooms are fried, topped with shallots and red chillies, then served on a betel leaf finished with sesame oil, lime and soy sauce. Imiyaarachchige based the idea on an uncooked Sinhalese curry called goda hodda made by her Tamil mother.

There’s also a good variety of desserts, including watalappam, a coconut custard pudding with a strong jaggery flavour, as well as Imiyaarachchige’s version of falooda, a cooling counterpoint to the spicy mains, made using delicate basil seeds, fragrant rose syrup, strawberry jelly, creamy soy milk and ice-cream.

A good selection of wines from Yarra Valley is available as well as a small selection of whisky and non-alcoholic Sri Lankan soft drinks. The menu is seasonal, so expect some changes in the cooler months, which might include Imiyaarachchige’s favourite: jackfruit curry.

Loku
298 High Street, Northcote
0461 0461 308 007

Hours:
Tue to Sat 5.30pm–10.30pm
Sun 6pm–9pm

@loku_srilankankitchen