If there’s one criticism we might have had about Lankan Filling Station, it’s that we couldn’t eat more meals there. But it’s 2019 and things have changed.

Lankan is doing brunch.

“We had the same menu on all the time,” chef O Tama Carey tells Broadsheet over the phone. “I like trying new things, so I decided to experiment with brunch.”

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Her famous hoppers (cup-shaped rice-flour crepes) are there, this time with caramelised jaggery (a type of cane sugar) and whipped coconut to satisfy those craving something sweet, and dahl and green pol sambol for those who aren’t averse to curry for breakfast.

“It’s a more classic brunch, with a couple of traditional Lankan dishes,” says Carey. “A lot of the stuff you get at western cafes is all a bit the same. I wanted to see if [Sri Lankan] brunch would work.”

So the hopper queen’s morning meal is not your typical smashed avo with poached eggs. Even dishes that sound familiar aren’t really. The crisp fried egg roll, for example, is dolloped with fermented chilli sauce and pol sambol, while roasted mushrooms are cooked with a spiced curry leaf butter. There are eggs, yes, but they’re deep-fried and served with kiri hodie (a coconut milk gravy) and a white chilli crumb.

The toastie is definitely not a traditional Sri Lankan dish and is sometimes made with cheese and pickle (white bread piled with buffalo mozzarella, acharu (Sri Lankan pickled vegetables) and black pepper) or spicy curried chicken and pol sambol. Either way we want 10 of them.

Carey has even managed to create a toasted sandwich out of roti, filling it with bacon, onion, green chilli, green tomato, cheddar and curry leaf. It’s so good Broadsheet editor Sarah Norris can’t stop thinking about it.

Fans of Carey’s fruity dessert menu will likely also enjoy the pineapple with spiced jaggery syrup and mascarpone, or the melon with tapioca and coconut. They’re both pretty much dessert for breakfast, which is something we can get behind.

Brunch will be served from 12pm to 4pm on weekends. The regular menu will be also be served from 12pm.

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