Hoppers London toasts Lankan spirit!
Cosy ambience: The newly refurbished Coat of Arms at Jetwing Lighthouse
In a match made in gastronomic heaven, the recently refurbished Jetwing Lighthouse, in Galle, welcomed the owner and director of Hoppers London, Karan Gokani and his team from the award-winning restaurant Hoppers London for a night of carefully curated cocktails and canapes at the Coat of Arms Bar Takeover.
Hoppers started out as a small 40-seat restaurant located in Soho by the JKS Restaurants Group, and was the first Sri Lankan restaurant in central London in 2015. Taking their inspiration from Sri Lankan and South Indian cuisine, Hoppers is credited with popularising our local flavours and dishes amongst the up-market restaurant scene in London. Since then, they have enjoyed consistently long queues of diners and rave reviews, and have opened a second location at St Chris with another location to be launched soon.
Bites to savour: Some of Chef Nihal’s creations. Pix by Ranjith Perera
Jetwing Lighthouse’s cosy Coat of Arms Bar has a stunning ocean view, and Karan tells us it is “one of our favourite bars in the country”. Like the rest of the hotel, the Bar has undergone a modernising transformation to create a wooden accented interior that pays homage to Sri Lankan history.
As the sunset poured in through the windows, the team began creating modern takes on classic Hoppers cocktails in collaboration with a leading brand of Arrack. Karan adds that these creations are yet to be launched in their upcoming third site in London next year.
Group Bar Manager for JKS Restaurant James Stevenson was the expert mixologist for the night, and donned his Hoppers branded hat to take the eager guests through the making of four signature Hoppers cocktails with an extra special Sri Lankan twist.
Twist on traditional hoppers: Miniature creations with fiery katta sambal
James explains that all the drinks are inspired by the flavours and ingredients of Sri Lanka with a modern take, and are meant to be enjoyed alongside the complementary flavours of Sri Lankan dishes.
Created by Jetwing Lighthouse’s Executive Chef Nihal and his team, the canapes featured charmingly miniaturised versions of popular local fare. The menu featured traditional hoppers the size of your palm topped with fiery katta sambol, juicy battered prawns, bites of fish ambuthiyal wrapped in thin roti, polos (jakfruit) bites and small bowls of vegetable kottu amongst others.
This is just one stop for Karan and the Hoppers team on their journey around Sri Lanka, where they hope to explore and showcase the local culture and cuisine even further in their future menus.
Jetwing Chairman Hiran Cooray (left) in conversation with guests