Hawker Hall

As a Malaysian, I seem to get a lot of enquiries as to what I think about the newest addition to the Chris Lucas empire, Hawker Hall.

Rather than get overly complicated in my response, here are my main thoughts, that I tell pretty much everybody:

1. I think it’s awesome that Chris Lucas is giving Malaysian cuisine a contemporary platform; it’s always kinda been the very nice but much less cool sibling of the South East Asian cuisines. 

2. From what I’ve had, the flavours are definitely inspired, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s authentic; nor did I expect it to be. I always knew going in that I wasn’t getting mum and pop restaurant, but a well oiled entertainment machine where you’ll bring your friends for a night out when want to drink in  a great atmosphere, don’t feel like going to the club and want some tasty grub to go along with the booze. 

3. Malaysians looking for super authentic Malaysian food, don’t go here. You’re wasting your breath when you complain later.

4. Anyone looking for a good time, willing to eat off hours, or wait two to get in, it’s worth checking out. 

I myself opted for the eating ‘off hours’ when I found myself in the area for work on a Monday afternoon and head chef Damian Snell kindly reminded me that he was just down the road on Instagram when I shared a picture of another cafe I was at earlier in the day. 

Even on a Monday lunch, the huge space is thumping, with a jovial throb of voices reverberating off the walls. The atmosphere did remind me a bit of a Malaysian hawker hall…just a lot cleaner, cooler and everyone looking a lot better dressed. 

Whilst most of the crowd were big silly season groups, the restaurant very comfortably caters for single diners like myself, with cute little tables that pop out of the wall, overlooking the huge hall and everyone else. Great people watching.

The menu is huge; with lots of hawker favourites (char kway teow hello), some lesser known dishes (such as otak otak) and some slightly more modern dishes. You really don’t need to order much if you’re on your own, a serve of satays and a salad is a nice little lunch. 

The beef satays were a touch on the dry side of me, but the rich spices and flavours were very reminiscent for me and I enjoyed them thoroughly.

I was surprised though how much more I enjoyed my salad, which was a five spiced shredded chicken salad with toasted coconut. It seems simple, but is so vibrant in flavour, I loved the mix of spice, sweetness of the coconut, and possibly some coconut milk through the dressing, which had a bit of a creamy texture to it. The crunchy beanshoots and a little hit of chilli. Would eat again, but might share next time, it’s quite a bit serve!

My only real complaint? No teh tarik. I mean c’mon. 

But on the flipside, I can’t wait tot come back to try the Milo Dinosaur sundae, that sucker’s got my name all over it! 

Hawker Hall

98 Chapel Street

Windsor 

 

Surviving the Night Noodle Market

Disclosure: I dined as a guest of Sugar Prawn 

It’s amazing to see how much the Night Noodle Market, as part of the Age Good Food Month, has grown in just three years. I’ll admit, I didn’t go to the first Nigh Noodle Market in 2013. I could see the crowds, I heard the stories of queuing for hours…and well, that just doesn’t sit well with me.

Now, the Night Noodle Market takes up three huge areas, it takes quite a bit to walk all through, and has copious amounts of eateries to choose to eat from…with a week left to enjoy it, where to begin?

Sugar Prawn, it’s their first year the Night Noodle Markets, invited me down to check out their hawker style fare, and although I wasn’t there long, here are a few suggestions for making the most of the market in the coming week.

1. Start early. All the queues are manageable when you get there at 5:45pm on a weeknight!

2. Do a lap! Don’t get stuck in the first area, cause some of the best stuff is further in (ie. Chin Chin group, N2 x Black Star Pastry, Wonderbao, Sugar Prawn!). You'll have a better idea of what you want to get and spend your money (or just be completely overwhelmed like me). There are three main areas to explore and it can take a bit of time to walk around, but it’s alright, at least you’ll be working up an appetite!

3. Share tables with people! There’s quite a lot of seats and tables this year, and I noticed that they turned over quite quickly. But if you don’t see an empty table, see if people are happy to let you use the spare chair or three on their table. 

4. Get to the big hitters straight away (once you've done your lap and sussed out your options), I noticed these lines build up from 6pm - Hoy Pinoy, Wonderbao, Mr. Miyagi. Surprisingly N2 x Black Star Pastry was moving along very reasonably

5. Have loads of fun!

6. Get stuck into Sugar Prawn’s crispy school prawns with tom yum salt, so crisp and light, I particularly loved the strong kaffir lime flavour from the salt; and the soft shell chilli crab. Holy crap, this was way better than I thought it would be, the flavours reminded me completely of Singapore chilli crab, and the easy to munch on soft shell crab is a far easier to work with since you’re not peeling shell everywhere.

7. Don’t question what ‘Malaysian Bacon’ is. Just eat it (Malaysians/Singaporeans will know what’s up...Travis (or Sugar Daddy) makes his bak kwa with Hennessy!)

8. Leave space for dessert! #Limeinacoconut is a collaboration between Luxbite and Sugar Prawn, with coconut and lime sorbet with sticky rice, gula melaka, pocky stick and a salted caramel macaron…all my favourite Asian dessert things (just missing pandan I guess)! Perfect in the evening, especially on a beanbag near the fit centre. 

Night Noodle Market

Birrarung Marr, Melbourne
Until November the 29th

Monday– Tuesday 5pm–9pm,
Wednesday 5pm–10pm
Thursday-Friday 5pm–11pm,
Saturday 2pm–10pm,
Sunday 2pm–9pm

Sugar Prawn

Wall to wall pink, and a spot for the DJ in the front window. It may not scream hipster, or street, or Malaysian for that matter on paper, but walk in and Sugar Prawn have done something right with the vibe.

Previously Masak Masak, you would hardly recognise the space in it’s previous life, with the lights low and a mix of nostalgic and kitschy crockery; plastic plates and enamel mugs. 

You might not recognise the menu either! There are familiar Malaysian favourites, that were also on the Masak Masak menu, such as the chicken wings with onion sambal, chicken satays and chicken laksa. However, there are also some very modern dishes on the menu as well and Ricky and I endeavour to get our mouths around both.

Take for example, this bone marrow caramelised with sticky master stock glaze and served on top of an enormous prawn cracker. I don’t know how this is Malaysian other than the prawn cracker, but that’s a-okay, because the prawn cracker is the size of my face twice over and all of the bone marrow is hard to dislike. I don’t think it’s the best pairing necessarily, it’s a bit messy and convoluted to eat…but you kind of overlook it because bone marrow is in your life.

The grilled scallop with uni butter, seaweed and served on top of coconut rice is also a modern dish, with Asian flair but I would most certainly not associate with Malaysian cuisine. However, I do love the sweetness of the scallop, the moreishness of the uni butter and the sweetness of the rice which is a surprising compliment, and also provides a tropical feel to the dish.

The half steamed eggplant with punchy sauce is exactly as asked for, the punchy sauce is certainly punchy and I carefully navigate my way around all those chillies! The only thing with the eggplant, is that it was a bit stringy and again messy to eat, I get that steaming it is healthier, but I could have done with a little flash fry in the fryer now to introduce some fat to the eggplant flesh…

The kon low mee with wontons and char siu is a solid Malaysian staple, the char siu could be a little fattier for me (seems to be a running theme for me through this meal!) but I enjoy the wontons and the noodles.

We also go for a half fried duck with tamarind curry, which is really very tasty, tangy and bright. It’s quite different to the Malaysian curries I’ve become accustomed to which generally are a bit creamier and full of coconut milk and cream (yum), whereas this curry was a lot lighter and fresher. Tasty but different. 

It may sound like I had a lot to criticise, but I actually enjoyed my  meal and found it to be quite reasonably priced, I just struggled to find the hawker Malaysian links in everything and found some of the dishes didn’t quite fit the narrative for me. On a Tuesday night it was pumping, so I would recommend making a booking (since they actually take them)! The vibes here are good and it’s a fun relaxed spot to hang out in. 

Sugar Prawn

230 Smith Street

Collingwood 3066

 

Blue Chillies

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant

There are a couple of things that don’t happen frequently in Melbourne. Restaurants that are celebrating their 16th birthday and slightly fancy Malaysian food. 

Blue Chillies have both of these ticked off.

Being Malaysian myself, I love authentic and traditional Malaysian food, but can be very sceptical about it being interpreted into modern adaptations; twisted into the fusion cuisine and taking it further away from it’s Malaysian roots. 

However, when I visited Blue Chillies, I found they struck a very nice balance between traditional flavours, and elevating the cuisine. 

The space is modest, familiar and comfortable, the staff smiley and immensely approachable, with the owners working the floor as well. One thing that’s not so traditional is the abundance of booze available, with bottles of wine filling up the shelves and a very deceptive gin cocktail sitting in a jug on the table. Could drink all of that and not realise there was booze in it…until it was too late! 

We got a delicious sample of a variety of items on the menu, which definitely all kept the essence, the strong spices, the coconut, the richness of flavour, but executed a little more delicately, with a little more care, and an extra ingredient or two to complement the flavours in an unexpected way.

First was black pepper soft shell crab with ground peppercorn sauce and aromatic curry leaves and delicious little whitebait and sweet potato fritters with a chilli lime dipping sauce. I loved how crunchy the soft shell crab was, the curry leaves definitely aromatic with a nice little bit of heat. The whitebait fritters were gorgeously sweet and also crunchy. Found it hard not to reach out for a third one… 

I was absolutely thrilled to see a yee sang salad, a traditional Malaysian salad with sashimi salmon and a variety of shredded crunchy vegetables in apricot plum sauce topped with roasted peanuts. Yes sang is generally served only during Chinese New Year, families and groups gather and mix up the salad together to usher in good luck in the new year. The only thing is, this salad is absolutely delicious, and really should be eaten more! I absolutely adored how sweet and refreshing the salad was, the plum sauce is just too good! 

Rockling fillets dusted with potato flour and wok swirled in curry leaves, chilli, spices and buttered egg floss are cleanly fried (am I allowed to say that?). Golden, light and so crisp. I adore the crisp curry leaves in the mix as well. 

Wok roasted marinated ribs, caramelised in chilli jam remind me of home, a pure comfort food. They’re a little on the lean side for me as far as pork ribs go, but how can you not loved a sweet and sticky caramelised chilli jam? Yum.

King prawns wrapped in fine strands of rice noodles, snap fried on a bed of tomato puree with pineapple and coconut milk are slightly unexpected for me in flavours. Perhaps it’s the tomato and pineapple puree? It doesn’t read so Malaysian, perhaps more generally South East Asian, and the acidity of the puree is a little overwhelming for me, but the prawns are executed perfectly. Crispy, plump and lovingly sweet. 

Between the two duck’s, a duck rending, slow cooked with roasted coconut and malaysian spices, fresh ginger-root garlic and chillies and a thrice cooked duck, with a blend of wild ginger flower, lemongrass, chillies and lime juice, the duck rendang just has my heart. I thought that the rending would be a bit dry with duck, but was I proven wrong! Lovely wobbly bits of fat which just soaks up the flavour of the rendang, which has me going back for way too many spoonfuls!

I didn’t think dessert would excite me so much, but the black sticky rice pudding is absolutely perfection. Perfection. The black rice is slightly al dente, sitting in a small pool of coconut milk, with toasted coconut over the top, giving a bit of crunch. It’s really beautifully balanced and one was definitely not enough…!

I was really very pleasantly surprised by Blue Chillies. It’s all the hearty Malaysian flavours I like, but also a nice meal out…this ain’t no hawker centre. I would definitely return for many of the items I tried tonight…and perhaps some other things on the menu as well! 

Who needs to run around town chasing hype, when the oldies but goodies can still rock out the goods? 

Blue Chillies 

182 Brunswick Street

Fitzroy 3065

 

Old Town White Coffee

With Melbourne’s food scene the way it is, with a new cafe, concept, pop up or collaboration happening every other minute, it’s very, very rare that I visit a place more than once in like a month period. Heck, it's rare I re-visit at all!

Yet somehow since opening, I’ve been to Old Town White Coffee multiple times. Like in the last month. That doesn’t happen. The Malaysian cuisine fever is real.

Old Town White Coffee, for those of you who don’t know, is a chain from Malaysia that specializes in Malaysian classics…along with some weirdly bastardised Western food (I mean, why bother Old Town? Maybe if you’re in Malaysia, but there’s really no point bringing that stuff to a western country…). This place has an outlet in the international airport in Kuala Lumpur…which has saved me multiple times. There’s really nothing better than a teh tarik after a long flight…

So I visited once with just my mum, and then visited again with my mum and my brother. On my first visit, we shared an Old Town nasi lemak with fried chicken, a Malaysian classic…and I was impressed. The coconut rice was aromatic and fluffy, the chicken drumstick was huge, but perfectly fried and still juicy inside. I love the shiny peanuts, oily enough so you know they’re bad for you but so delicious at the same time and the ikan bilies were crispy perfection. The sambal is also absolutely delicious, not just spicy, there’s a lot of body, and actual flavour with a nice smooth consistency, we asked for more and they brought us some with no questions.

On our second visit, we ordered the nasi lemak again and I was just as happy again…except that this time our chicken wasn’t quite as big as the first time and now extra sambal? They charged you for it. Clearly learning their lessons quickly here! However, despite that, as said, I still loved the nasi lemak for the flavour and fluffy rice. It’s not the cheapest on the market, but for around $15, it’s a really big serve, with lots of different components, including satay!

The wattan hor dish we ordered at the request of my brother, had fantastic wok breath, but lacked a bit of punch in flavour otherwise and was a bit lack lustre. 

The roti though, oh my goodness. Beautiful. Beautiful, fluffy and flaky, light to break apart, and leaving just a light sheen of oil on the fingers. The curry sauce it came with was also packing with flavour. 

As expected as well, the teh tarik does not disappoint, I’ve come by during the day while running around for work as an alternative to my afternoon chai, and it’s also rich in flavour and creamy in texture. On my off days, this is really all I need. 

Lastly but certainly not least, I adore the cendol here. I don’t think you understand. I really really adore it. There’s not many places in Melbourne doing a good cendol, and I reckon Old Town might be as good as you can get it. The pandan noodles are aromatic and a generous amount of red beans (which I personally like). Mum reckons there could be a little more gula melaka in it, and the first time we had it, we found some crystallised gula melaka at the bottom which kind of affected the texture, but otherwise no complaints here. I’m totally down for a cendol date…anytime guys. Really.

It’s certainly not the cheapest Malaysian joint in town, but the servings are generous and the surroundings pretty comfortable as well.

I thought also in comparison, I would visit a Papparich, since I had never been and see how it fared.

Brad and I visited the Papparich in Nunawading for a late lunch one weekend, where we ordered a nasi lemak, a curry laksa, roti with curry sauces and a teh tarik (duh).

Honestly, although Papparich is a bit cheaper, and has probably a slightly bigger variety than Old Town, I much, much preferred the food I had at Old Town. At Papparich the nasi lemak rice was heavy and gluggy, sticking to itself like sticky rice, and the sambal did not pack the same richness of flavour that the Old Town sambal did. 

And the roti, which is also made fresh like at Old Town, cannot compare to the fluffiness of Old Town’s. It was thick and dense…delicious, but the texture was not there at all. 

So all in all? I currently basically have Old Town cravings on a weekly basis, which if my time working at Chillipadi as a waitress tells me anything…my waistline is probably going to have issues in the next few weeks…but it’d be so, so worth it. 

Old Town White Coffee

303 Elizabeth Street

Melbourne 3000