Hawkers Asian Street Fare

Just arrived, it is nearing the end of the dinner rush and things are already looking up.  It is a Monday and usually quiet throughout the city, so it seems people are making this one of their frequent stops.  As soon as you walk in, you are greeted by a very happy, a very attractive, a very well stocked cooler of beer; so far so good .  I am diggin the feel of the place and as for the crowd, their all throwing off good vibes and seem to be enjoying themselves.  We sit, order a couple Orlando brews, and begin to study the menu.

At first glance I noticed two things; there is five spice all over the menu (there is even a five spice section,) and all the plates can be had for under $6; unless you're buying for larger parties.  Love the prices, and don't get me wrong, I love five spice, but it is like they asked "what ingredient says 'Asian'?"  We order our first round of plates and hang onto a menu; we are closing the kitchen tonight.  

Roti Canai: Malaysian flat bread with spicy curry.  Super flaky dough, rich, buttery, and caramelized nicely.  I usually eat this style of "roti" for breakfast, a little clarified butter and some honey, perfect with a cup of coffee.  Since today it will be curry, which is very well balanced, touch of heat, not overly sweet, and just rich enough.  We decided something needed to be inside, which is why we ordered the...      

Roast duck:  At first taste the skin is crispy, duck is moist, sweet, and yes flavors of  all five spices, but not offensive. Couldn't tell you about the sauce, did not touch it, duck went right on the roti, curry sauce next, fold, and enjoyed.  That roti deserved that duck!  On second look on the curry sauce, it had potato and meat cooked in, which I appreciate, nothing like a little animal protein to flavor a sauce, but vegetarians be aware.   

Char Siu (BBQ pork):  On point!  Tender, fatty, sweet, and smoky.  If you need a little salt to cut the sweetness the dipping sauce is nice.  I enjoyed as is.  

Tom Yum:  Always a favorite so I had to see how it stacked up.  Broth was nice, the lemon grass and ginger really came through.  I could have used two more shots of herbs, and if I really had to be critical, the shrimp were just a little over.  All in all, a good bowl of noodle and you cant complain with it only being six bucks.

Wings with Szechuan Sauce:  It was probably the beers but we decided that wings were a good idea.  I gotta say, the wings were cooked perfectly.  There is an art to cooking a chicken wing, and until you have had a really good one and then a really bad one, you will not realized this.  They look dry in the picture but they were crazy crispy.  The meat fell right off the bone and you could taste the marination (five spice, shhh.)  The sauce, not Szechuan but any means,  but the wings were bangin as is, so we let that one slide. 

...ok time to clear the table, open the menu, and order some more...    

Stir-fried Green Beans & Pickled Vegetables:  Crunchy green beans with a nice taste of char.  Nice hint of acid from the vegetables, and the sauce, although not my choice for my wings above, went really nice with the beans.  Again, not Szechuan, but I could eat these all day.     

Yangzhou Chow Faan:  Shrimp, BBQ pork, chicken, onions, and egg.  Fried rice the way fried rice should be.  It was as if each grain of rice was fried separately so that each one would be just as good as the next.  It was the same BBQ pork so all is well there, the shrimp...flawless, eggs and onions complete the dish.   

Here is what I am thinking;  all the kids that grew up in the kitchens of the restaurants that line 50, got together and decided to open up their own joint.  The flavors are there, the price points are the same, and they threw in a better beer selection.  Whatever the case may be Hawkers hold their own and pump out some solid food, a bridge for the novice to cross to start really seeing what Asian cuisine is all about.