Sri Lanka Snacks - Hoppers - Egg Hoppers - String Hoppers

Some common staple foods apart from grain rice are dishes made from rice flour batter, served from breakfast time to late afternoon.

Typical Sri Lankan Breakfast - String Hoppers with Pol Sambol and Dhal Curry

Food in Sri Lanka is generally very cheap, with many reasonable meals costing less than the equivalent of a pound (GBP). We found the best place for a cheap lunch is at one of the many small cafes confusingly known as ‘hotels’, where you can get a rice and curry plate, or finger food such as spicy (spring) rolls. Kottu roti is another must-try favourite which is unique to Sri Lanka and can be found at most street stalls.

Sri Lankans eat with their right hands only, but every café can provide you with cutlery if you haven't got into the habit of carrying your own!

Plain Hopper - We had plain hoppers, using them like an edible bowl with a dhal curry at tea-time once and 'egg hoppers' as a snack a few times. Sri Lankan street cafes make a crisp edged, bowl-shaped rice flour pancake with a thick bottom called 'Hoppers' or 'Appe'

We had plain Hoppers, using them like an edible bowl with a Dhal Curry at tea-time once and 'Egg Hoppers' as a snack a few times.

Hoppers are made from a fermenting batter of rice flour, coconut milk and a dash of palm toddy or pinch of dried yeast.

The batter of rice flour and coconut milk traditionally has toddy added for the typical sourish flavour and, more importantly, the fermentation which makes the centres full of little holes like a crumpet.

To make an Egg Hopper, the hopper batter is measured into the bowl-shaped pan and swirled around over the heat, coating the side right to the rim, the mixture is allowed to stiffen slightly, then a raw egg is poured into the base of the cooking Hopper. The egg is swirled around and allowed to cook in the heat of the Hopper, once the egg has cooked 'as you like it' then the Hopper is discharged from the pan. Add seasoning to the egg, roll the hopper with the egg inside and eat like a pancake. Yummy!

If toddy is not available then fresh or dried yeast could be used. Many cafes use yeast because toddy is expensive and not readily available these days. After leaving to ferment, the batter is swirled in the small high sided wok like pan.

Even without the traditional hopper-pan, it is possible to enjoy the unique texture and flavour using a small omelet pan.

We saw many types of Hopper such as: Plain Hoppers, Egg Hoppers, Milk Hoppers, and sweeter varieties called Paniapper and Vanduapa.

Closeup of Pol Sambol String Hoppers are made from rice flour made into little vermicelli like threads and steamed.

We had Pol Sambol with String Hoppers for breakfast once. The Pol Sambol was made from grated fresh coconut, raw onion and thinly sliced chili! Wow! Red hot, but very tasty, far too hot for most western palates.

If you want to keep your taste buds in tact stick to plain and egg hoppers.

We apologise for the repetition of some place or proper names with different spellings, but there is no definitive spelling translation of these words.

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The conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, commonly known as “the Tamil Tigers”) ended in May 2009. Although the conflict is over, the LTTE are believed to retain some capability to mount terrorist attacks such as grenade or explosive device attacks and shootings. The Government has relaxed the State of Emergency, under which it has extensive anti-terrorism powers but there are still heightened levels of security (e.g. checkpoints, road blocks) throughout the country. You should exercise a high level of vigilance. The risk for the most part is one of being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. In order to minimise this, you should avoid military, government and paramilitary locations. Always carry formal photographic identification with you. Stop and show your ID when asked to do so. If you are detained, you should ask the authorities to contact the British High Commission.

Fatal attacks linked to the LTTE occurred throughout the country into 2009. Most attacks have been directed against Government and military targets though a number have been focussed on civilian targets such as crowded public places, public transport and market areas. Some of the most significant attacks included a suicide bomb at a political gathering in March 2009 and an air raid on military targets in Colombo in February 2009.

JeGraNet.com statement - 15 October 2008 - Quote from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website: "There is a high threat from terrorism in Sri Lanka. Fatal attacks have become more frequent. They have occurred in Colombo and throughout Sri Lanka, including places frequented by expatriate and foreign travellers. Further attacks may occur at any time. There is an increasing risk of British nationals being caught up in an attack". As independent travellers we left Colombo after just 9 days into our planned 6 month stay as a result of a feeling of insecurity, however we are sure that 'package tour' travellers to tourist resorts will probably enjoy a worry free holiday.