Shivika Gupta

Jelarah, Wompoo pigeon, migrating lorikeet, maratha, swamp turtles, green ants. These are the tastes of Kowanyama, West Cape York. Nyoka Hrabinsky fondly remembers the bushtucker in the region where she grew up, a part of the country whose name translates to ‘the Place of Many Waters’.  Nyoka and her husband Laszio Hrabinsky co-own the Lillipad Café in the heart of Glebe on Glebe Point Road. Laszio, originally a Sydneysider, moved to Cairns in 2006. Soon after the move, he began working at the Lillipad Café Cairns, a spot known for its welcoming community atmosphere, generous portions and vegetarian-friendly fare. Somewhere along the way, a tropical love story brewed: Nyoka and Laszio met whilst studying horticulture at TAFE. Laszio, having worked on and off at the Lillipad in Cairns until late 2019, wanted to honour the original Lillipad when the pair moved to Sydney. They opened an offshoot, but with a twist. “The menu is quite similar to the Cairns location,” says Laszio. “But we added our personal touch and changed some things – we added flavours to reflect and represent Nyoka’s Indigenous heritage”. Originally from the Yidinji clan of the Yarrabah Nation near Cairns, Nyoka spent many years living further north in Kowanyama, speaking Kokoberra, before moving to Cairns and then Sydney. When a bout of culinary homesickness hits, she calls her parents, who tell her stories of what they’ve been catching and cooking. “When you hunt traditionally, you only eat what’s in season,