Spicy Sri Lankan Hoppers at Toronto's Hopper Hut - Dining on a Dime

This week on Dining on a Dime, host Lucas Peterson heads to Eastern Toronto to the Scarborough neighborhood, an area known for its many Sri Lankan restaurants. Peterson samples the hoppers - Sri Lankan topped pancakes - at one such venue, called Hopper Hut.
For more episodes of Dining on a DIme, click here: • Dining on a Dime
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Eater is the one-stop-shop for food and restaurant obsessives across the country. With features, explainers, animations, recipes, and more - it’s the most indulgent food content around. So get hungry.
Subscribe to our KZbin Channel now! goo.gl/hGwtF0
Our Video Crew: www.eater.com/pages/masthead-...

[@hookemups6710]

I'm Irish living in Aus and my great friend is from Sri Lanka. Some of my best memories of each year is to be Invited around to his house for festivities as all his friends come around and cook genuine Sri Lankan food. I just bring the Irish Whiskey.

[@dfonseka2120]

As a Sri Lankan, I'm happy that Lucas of all the people was able to try my cuisine.

[@Chefdethiviz]

I know right. most people think Sri Lankan food is the same as Indian food when it is not. Love being Sri Lankan and love the food!

[@JJJosh949]

Thiviyah Chandramohan but there's is a lot of similar influences from southern Indian cuisine

[@thewat668]

it is literally the same as south indian food, its an appam not a 'hopper' lmao...

[@Chefdethiviz]

TheBlackIndy hopper is another name for appam. hopper is just the english name..

[@Chefdethiviz]

blarson12 that's because they aren't the same.

[@zuharjama3763]

I am somali and i love srilankan food even if it is too spicy, my mouth keeps burning and i can't stop eating

[@iRavenHD]

Yeah I’ve tried it before tastes amazing!

[@albieatsworld3744]

Sri Lankan food is exploding in London as well! Hoppers in Soho often has a 4 hours waiting line. Delicious!

[@lochanishashikala927]

Sri Lankan

[@lochanishashikala927]

Is very good 🇱🇰👌👍🔥

[@rafeluffy]

MOAR LUCAS PETERSON!!!

[@lucaskwanpeterson2010]

Rafael Rahim moar next Tuesday!!!

[@allibell6795]

Sri Lanka has the best food I have ever eaten can't beat it it had the sweet with the savory a mix between Asian and Indian but better

[@skynet000001]

Indian is Asian.

[@JinJinnJinny]

This is what Toronto's all about, the different ethnic food. It's almost like Lucas is food traveling all over the world but really he's just in one city.

[@moekazi6564]

Wow...i need some Sri Lankan food in my life.

[@selinab.robinson165]

I've eaten there!! Beyond amazing!!

[@hogsmate]

In Sri Lanka there is another version of Kottu Roti, instead of using string hoppers we use 'godamba' roti (wrap used in egg roti) to make kottu. That is the most traditional type of kottu.

[@davejude3453]

Kottu is not a traditional srilankan food. Its a south indian dish, they call its kottu paratha and even the Indiappan is a south indian food.only the Hopper is a traditional food of Sri Lanka. But there are more gourmet foods ti be tried in srilanka called Elawalu roti, lawariya, milk Rice, rolls.

[@allah2670]

@@davejude3453 it was invented in Sri Lanka not India

[@chrisjohn1284]

@@davejude3453 We have hoppers in Kerala too. Just called appam (or vella appam to be precise)

[@sanjeays]

As a long time fan of Lucas and eater, from Sri Lanka, this gives me great pleasure ❤

[@pradleague]

Actually, what he was eating is not kothu roti. Kothu roti actually means chopped up roti, so it's pieces of roti that are broken down and spices and all different types of ingredients are added. What you were eating was idiyappam or as you said, string hoppers.

[@williamalagaratnam6816]

He had String Hopper Kothu, not Kothu Roti.

[@RanulHashika]

its string hopper kottu....vatiation of kotti roti

[@caribbeanpot]

Lucas.. thanks for pointing out this spot.. def have to give them ah test-drive

[@islapanorama]

Love you Lucaas! This is the most interesting food show on youtube. Been following your videos since the last year. Thank you

[@lucaskwanpeterson2010]

HI FRIENDS thanks so much for tuning in as our Toronto season approaches its end! Please stay tuned as we will announce our next city very soon! Will it be YOUR city??? Well, statistically probably not. But please watch anyway! I'm on IG @staletwizzlers and Twitter @lucaspeterson if you're into that kind of thing. XxxxoxoxoxoxoxoooX Lucas

[@dompolblanka]

That looks amazing. I love my city. Thank you for doing this Lucas.

[@donok2222]

I love the diversity of this series

[@dilkushsnaubrey4043]

That is absolutely amazing and brings back so much memories from home thank u for sharing this.

[@gabrielleandres8581]

Eating with your hands!!! Eating Sri Lankan food properly :]

[@roofpizza1250]

But he was eating with his left hand. eeeeeeewwwwwwwww. lol.

[@TheGuideOfDota]

that "rule" is so retarded on so many levels

[@ohnoitsaaaaa]

it rly isnt lol u dont eat with the hand u wipe ur ass with...weirdo

[@Shazz744]

q Shut up

[@Shazz744]

Lukas Adamsson If you don't like it go talk to your mama

[@pastasoo]

When Lucas says subscribe, I actually clicked and subscribed. Never before has a person in a youtube video told me to subscribe and I just did it before.

[@chathurangadulaj2432]

lol..same here..

[@jeffward1106]

Lucas owns Toronto. Canadians voted for this.

[@DarlingBiteMe]

Eating with your hands makes me super happy, Lucas!

[@nedyrb133]

It's so awesome that Lucas is touring Toronto and the GTA. Now I have more places to eat food

[@hyuneeEats]

YAAAAS Lucas is my favorite💕

[@skatingcanuck9837]

I love the videos you do in Toronto. I wish could search a play list for your TO restos only.

[@pertaterful]

Wow! I have never seen anything about Sri Lankan food! It looks absolutely great! I hope someday I can try some of this stuff!

[@camilleorfao]

Jeez. I wish I had your job, lol. I've never had Sri Lankan food before, but now I know where to go for some! Great video. I'm hungry now, haha.

[@gk891]

Definitely head to Scarborough for Sri Lankan food. There's this place that Lucas went to if you want Sri Lankan Tamil food. And if you want Sri Lankan Sinhalese food, there's this place called Araliya Take-Out and Catering on Markham Road.

[@camilleorfao]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[@1013VS]

gk891 Araliya is the best

[@gk891]

Rakash. Yeah, Araliya is great. Their food has so much flavour.

[@njansz6268]

Camille Co Sri Lankan food is the best food

[@water9990]

i like how they always take the effort to add in the visual effects like "dell curry"

[@rund3coy]

I saw Lucas in a brothel in Westworld

[@Altstark]

called saloon

[@jackwongen6671]

I would be real careful there, I seen some "real" folks get hurt. Also, the guns are "real" at Westworld.

[@Y0ug0glenc0co]

This is literally a 2 minute walk from my house 😂😂

[@Retrenders]

Dining on the Dime is a great food show!

[@eater]

Thanks for watching!

[@JeewanthaBandara]

Finally. A Sri Lankan place. Hey Lucas? Did you get other types of Sri Lankan food? Like a Chicken Curry? Brinjal mix? Glad that you enjoyed our food.

[@rubanpaul6617]

One of my favorite sri Lankan restaurant....

[@jpfad7]

Great job, Lucas, as always! Could you also flash the names of these dishes as you're trying them? Would be very helpful... Dining on a Dime is the best!

[@cpunching]

Yum, I've never been out to Scarborough so I'm totally missing out. When I visit Toronto again I'm definitely going out there to get some of this.

[@macattack583]

lol love your show and i go to hopper hut and i live in scarborough this was an awesome episode , keep up the good work

[@jasi121793]

I grew up eating here and my parents know the owners , I never realised how dynamic the food was to others who don't experience this type of food on the regular :) Thank you Lucas

[@williamslicer]

yo say ammanai

[@lenang9332]

Hi thanks for recommending me this hopper hut . I will go and check out this place. I love west indies food 👍😊

[@sanynava]

hey thanks for checking out sri lankan food, good someone showcased it :)

[@gk891]

i always thought lamprais was pronounced like lump-rice. I could be wrong about that though. Nice to see Scarborough place featured on Eater. The variety of food available in Scarborough is incredible, especially Sri Lankan and Trinidadian.

[@traktorworks3200]

just a note at about 4.02. that brown roughish paper is not butchers paper. it is called KRAFT paper. it is a strong water resistant paper. it is used in industrial applications, eg in bygone days as the cordage for the edging of car seats. butchers paper is a white soft semi water resistant paper used for wrapping meat, hence the name

[@sumedaft]

I have missed those 😢😢😢😢 Sri Lankan from Japan.

[@lochanishashikala927]

Ooooooo😭😭

[@JeSuisBacon]

Man I only follow Eater for the Meat Show and Lucas. WORTH IT.

[@ashvinchawla4645]

I went there once too and I was sitting in his seat. There masala dosa was pretty good and all the prices were very reasonable.

[@HaningNugrahadi]

My boy lucas, just saw you on westworld with thandie newton. Kudos for your acting career dawg

[@windex5718]

you know a food's good when lucas swears.

[@jvs81]

Go DODGERS!!! Keep up the good work good sir! You are the best!

[@billsbullets]

I love your videos

[@Red3yeX]

that's where I used to go for my food, you guys should try gasa it's on midland and finch and serve one of the best srilankan food. though hopper hut isn't too bad.

[@nishaismail]

I love you Lucas! 😊

[@cloudburstt]

Oh snap~ you came to Scarborough?!

[@neofelisman]

Nicely done Lucas! As a Sri Lankan-borne I really miss this amazing food. And Kudos for attempting all the pronunciations! But for future note, Lamprais is pronounced, "LUMP-RICE". It's from the Portuguese. Cheers!

[@TimeForChange0]

WESTWORLD, what a legend!

[@developernd4346]

Actually string hoppers alone with mutton curry is delightful for mouth - Suggestion from Sri Lanka

[@jayetchasketcha]

Dude! Did I see you on West World?! Congrats my man!

[@victorha9923]

Awesome episode. Not familiar with this food, so you "learned" me some new knowledge. Hoppers reminds me of dosas, which I find very yummy but are sadly not common at all in Indian restaurants near me (frustratingly the same range of items from joint to joint: curries, ordinary naans, and stuff). Also, the basic concept of lampreis reminds me of Chinese zongs, but the flavors are clearly different. Actually, maybe tamales are closer to zongs, but the cultures they come from are separated by an entire ocean!

[@dilshrd9110]

Woooow Sri Lankan foods are yummmmmy

[@ninamosley89]

Come to Prague, Czech Republic!!!

[@RayfilWong]

Lucas make FOOD HISTORY fun!

[@jfatsnorlax]

Hopper Hut is great name.

[@djgeemo84]

with the cameo in westworld, nice dude.

[@tehjaetsukada1477]

I love this place! But you guys HAVE TO do dim sum in Toronto/ Mississauga!! It's a must

[@qblarg]

Lol why would you recommend Toronto/Mississauga for dim sum. I think you mean Markham/Richmond Hill

[@mmaking8664]

They don't HAVE TO, lol. They will do it if they want to

[@budsam4208]

Yum yum

[@xpinkHOLIC]

when I had that in sg they were called appam

[@HunterfromHeaven]

xpinkHOLIC Appam of India is similar to Sri Lankan hoppers..but not the same. Sri Lankan hoppers taste very milky and very crispy...appam is look similar..but so different.

[@Chefdethiviz]

LOVE SRI LANKAN HOPPERS! LOVE BEING SRI LANKAN AND CANADIAN

[@Yoros009]

Great host you have here :)

[@sunnyhazen7832]

Poor Lucas !!! Sweating and burning and same time explaining what a cutie pie

[@senalperera4305]

egg roti isnt made with flat bread lamprais is pronounced lump-rice but im glad u enjoyed our food

[@gabeng60]

Those hoppers look really similar to Apam which is a rice flour cake-thing with sweet coconut milk

[@eater]

Sounds tasty!

[@danielvho]

"This is fucking delicious" i like hearing that xD

[@nrgnz34]

normal kottu is made with roti (the thing you called flat bread with the egg inside). string hoppers normally is served with white curry made from coconut milk and potato and egg and the cococnut sambol.

[@MSkallywagg]

this has got me clamming

[@moxdownful]

Dhal is actually a lentil curry cooked with coconut milk. Actually that lamprais is missing an essential component. The rice in a lamprais is usually cooked with either chicken or beef broth to give a creamy meaty flavor. That caramelised onion thingy you tried is called "seeni sambal" which means sugar sambal- a connotation to the fact that sugar is used to caramelise the onions when making it. Source : my self. I'm a Sri Lankan. Kek

[@tonymontana5753]

lampraise is a dutch food introduced in srilanka when the dutch settled and remained in the island for 100 years

[@yashithjayasinghe444]

Yeah exactly

[@c-h-i-k-k-a2183]

I'm proud to be a sri lankan

[@buddhikaasela2188]

Are there any srilankan shops in british columbia

[@mycro0n3]

bruh was that u on the second ep of westworld?

[@omore]

Lucas, I love the cap! Come by the house, we'll leave a chair open for you.

[@bshoes1225]

I love the goat roti and chicken roti superrrrr fire

[@bobbyshah5743]

Damn that looks good....

[@Jaketuh]

WESTWORLD!

[@rukdogg]

If you want sinhala food. You need to go to Apey Kade in Tarzana CA.

[@Themalable]

the homie lucas repping the SL. love u dude no homo

[@iggyGOGO1]

Houston next!!

[@muneebahmad7860]

Shoulda used a pic of dell on the raptors!

[@eater]

Unfortunately the AP didn't have any!

[@dhanikaweerasekera]

Loved the episode as a lankan, but this isn't very authentic Sri lankan food. The Rotis looked leathery, the hoppers looked soggy, and that wasn't a lamprais at all. It was just rice and curry (looked good though) wrapped in a banana leaf, lamprais is very different. Also, coconut sambol isnt supposed to be sweet. They probably used desiccated coconut due to lack of fresh coconut.

[@dimitriwickremasinghe8030]

That looks nothing like the traditional lamprai.

[@dimitriwickremasinghe8030]

Sanuk Ferndandez most of the srilankans living in Canada are Tamils so yeah

[@bronsonchristian1901]

real sinhala food is garbage

[@saggiteightyfour8367]

@Max Rider Lamprais is neither Tamil nor Sinhalese, or you can say it's both. It is a burgher (dutch/portugese) influenced dish. And yeah, it looks authentic. They just used jasmine rice instead of samba rice.

[@theshaunsta]

@@bronsonchristian1901 you sound like you've never tried it. In any case youre being rude. Real srilankan food can beat any type of food any day

[@chuiboy377]

Yo. Saw you in Westworld!

[@mohammedyagoub1397]

Lucas asked me to subscribe. Can't say no

[@hiddenrainn]

Go to Sampaguita Village in Bathurst next! Skip FV foods...

[@WiseTheSecretOne]

Been watching this channel for long and still, no Indonesian food. Though Indonesian is the major source of world most important spices, and Indian food, Malaysian food, etc use indonesian spices.

[@eater]

Indonesian restaurants have been on our list for awhile. We either can't find one in the city we're in, or they don't want to have us film there. But we're trying! Thanks for watching!

[@sanjayr]

Indonesia has some unique spices but mostly it's the other way around friend. Indonesia mostly uses spices introduced from India. Apart from cloves and a couple of other spices most of the ones we use are originally from India.

[@cocoleo8111]

Wisewarna Nazara : Sir, please understand that the world came to know of spices because of India. Spices were the reason what led to invasion of India by the Portugal and East India Company. How can you possibly say that we use Indonesian spices? We are the birthplace of spices. No offenses meant but the spices you have in your kitchen were taken from India may be a few centuries ago.

[@SamIhsan06]

#doneclaim

[@rohyco]

Can you please go to Montreal next?

[@usamashoaib3696]

Dining on a dime so he can go eat at the saloon in Westworld which costs 40,000 a day

[@snehageorge4551]

We have hoppers in South India we call them uppams

[@JJJosh949]

Looks very similar to. Lot of southern Indian foods

[@Shaanujaanu]

John Joshua well, most of the Tamil speaking Sri Lankan’s share the South Indian heritage. You have to understand only ~15% of the Sri Lankan population is Tamil, and thus share these food. Unfortunately, most of Toronto’s Sri Lankans are Tamil. When you say Sri Lankan food in Canada, you are mostly getting the Tamil food which is also shared by the Indian Tamils in south India. You should search Sinhala food if you want to know the other 70-80% Sri Lankan’s dishes.

[@njansz6268]

John Joshua kind of but better than India

[@yourstruly2232]

John Joshua if you want to try real sri lankan sinhalese food go to araliya cateres or visit sri lanka

[@yourstruly2232]

John Joshua not that expensive to visit here

[@eamonnmurphy8116]

Those "hoppers" look remarkably similar to South Indian-style dosas. And ALL of the food looks goddamn delicious.

[@wellfedartist8502]

I saw him in westworld, I didn't know he was an actor.

[@K1nG787]

Is there a reason why it's packed in the banana leaf? is it for flavour or something else?

[@tekwiz99]

food is still cooking itself for a bit when away from stove, place on leaf enhances the aroma even further.

[@K1nG787]

tekwiz99 thanks! :-)

[@GPbasketballCards]

and back in srilanka the banana leaf is used as a plate

[@whipasnaper]

Westphal don't listen to that, it's basically a portable plate like a lunchbox which becomes a tray

[@senuriamaya6977]

The way he says "kottu roti" 😅 and btw it's Dhal curry 😂

[@rosewhite872]

When you say heat do you mean spice?

[@Woah808]

Am I the only one who heard "FUCK!" out of no where at 1:23? Lol