My favourite unfamiliar food moment was about a year or so ago when I had been shopping at the Highland Farms on Ellesmere in Scarborough. In the same little plaza is a place called Hopper Hut. I had no idea what a hopper was, but decided to go in and order some - as if I'd been doing it my entire life.

Imagine my surprise when I received a takeout container (I didn't want to have to eat this in public, just in case) with a selection of these cup-shaped pancakes that held a)a fried egg; b)milk; and c)nothing. There was a little packet of some kind of spicy coconut condiment to go with it. Actually the whole business was quite delicious (except for the egg one which I didn't eat - but that was a personal matter). In addition to the hoppers, nothing else on the menu sounded familiar either - next time I go there, I'll order another mystery dish.

Hopper Hut. Sri Lankan food - very interesting. Try it.

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Hopper Hut has been serving authentic home-style Sri Lankan fare for well over a decade.

Here you'll find lampries and kothu rotti and of course hoppers. Hoppers are Sri Lankan version of crepes usually eaten for breakfast. They are made from rice-flour and shaped like bowl and like crepes you can have either savory or sweet or both.

If you order the hopper combo, you'll get four hoppers - one cradling an egg, two plain ones and one hopper cradling milk which you add sugar and eat it as dessert.

They are light and tasty. Sort of like Indian dhosas but smaller. But what me excited were the lampries; huge rice-based meals wrapped in banana leaf which are unfurled at your table. I love anything that comes wrapped in a banana leaf.

Make sure you go hungry because you'll be facing a mountain of basmati rice topped with a hard-boiled egg, eggplant curry, tiny dried fish, diced potato, onion sambal and potato-chana fritter, along with your choice of meats, seafood and vegetable.

Hopper Hut does a brisk take out business but if you have the time I'd eat at the restaurant. It's best to eat the hoppers hot. They've just renovated so it's very clean and nice. There are so many unique Sri Lankan dishes to try here and such amazing value.

The most expensive thing is the crab lampries for $9 which could easily feed two people. Hoppers are a buck and change.

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