880 Ellesmere Road
416-299-4311‎

The first time I went for a meal at Hopper Hut I was taken there by an East Indian employee who’s taste buds were well attuned to the fiery spices of southern Indian food. I am not one to shy away from spicy food but I recall being so overwhelmed by the heat that I had to ask for a side of yogourt just to neutralize the sensations.

My most recent visit to Hopper Hut didn’t diverge much from the first. I stuck to the conventional South Indian choice of vegetarian thali while my lunch partner decided to go with something called the vegetarian lamprie. I wish I was able to discern much less recall what the different vegetable curries were that made up the thali. There were three tomato based curries, each one spicier than the first. The three other vegetables were not as spicy but after a few bites of the other ones it didn’t matter since my mouth was already on fire. The thali also came with a large bed of rice half covered in a yogourty/onion sauce and the other with a milder, tasty “orangey brown” sauce… that is really the only way I could describe it at this point. If this sounds like a lot of food for $6.99 then you need not worry about the papadam and an extra potatoey dish that comes alongside the thali. Dessert, also included in the price of the thali, is a tapioca based custard, that thankfully was not spicy; though by that time I had already used evey napkin at the table plus some to sop up my running nose.

Next time I go for South Indian, I am going to have to try something other than the thali. The lampries that my friend ate was pretty much the same as my meal but with all the ingredients blended together in a banana leaf. This actually made it more difficult to eat as she couldn’t supplant the hot spicy taste with the cooler dishes. Quite an experience but not one that I could easily get used to on a regular basis.