Review: Hawker Malaysian restaurant

Review: Hawker Malaysian restaurant

HAWKER

6.5/10

Address: Shop G.02, 345B-353 Sussex St, Sydney

Phone: 9264 9315

Hours: Lunch 11.30am-2.30pm and dinner
5.30pm-10pm, seven days

Food: Malaysian (street food)

Drink: BYO only

Price: Entrees $8-$16; mains $12-$16;
desserts $6-$8

I’LL be honest, I hate queuing. Sometimes
the end result isn’t worth wasting half your night.

I’m not one for crowds either, unless of
course, I’m being hurled across a moshpit like a madman. However, I have to
concede there are few culinary experiences more deliciously heartwarming than
bouncing between locals to sample their street food.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m
overseas, I’m far more interested in immersing myself in a culture and
consuming as the locals do, than blowing money on international celeb chef’s
half-baked rendition of their original flagship.

Sure, when you hit the streets there can
be a confounding ensemble of creepy crawlies we’re not akin to, but for those
who run the gauntlet the gamble usually pays off. That honesty in food is nigh
impossible to beat.

Hawker, from the good people behind
Malaysian mainstay Mamak, is an energetic homage to the hawker “street food”
eating houses of Asia.

Where Mamak’s influence highlights
Indian’s presence in Malaysian cuisine — seen with the malleable roti (flat
bread) canai, here at Hawker the cuisine focuses on the Chinese (Cantonese and
Hokkien) side. Instead of roti, here there’s classic Chinese-style fried bread
sticks and fried sweetened buns.

Sadly though, on our visit we’re told “the
chef hasn’t quite mastered them yet”, and they’re not available (he has now,
I’m told). It’s a shame, it was the first thing that caught my eye.

The modern, industrial space has all the
enthusiasm of its sibling Mamak — but thankfully, looks less like a food court
in a shopping centre.

Three giant photographs of Malaysian street
food scenes colour the simple space where white walls, high ceilings, and
blonde timber tables and stools are filled and turned over continually to
ensure the queues of people are fed. And boy are they fed well.

Char koay teow is, in my experience, one
of the best. Egg noodles are tossed with prawns, cockles, lap cheong, chilli
and egg. It’s rich, spicy and so damn good.

Meanwhile the ribbed, textural pleasure of
a blackened stingray surprises. The firm, milky rows of flesh are smeared in sambal,
charred, and although small bones may put some off, it’s a minor hazard en
route to heaven.

Then a big, bold white prawn soup puts a Penang white curry front and centre. As you slurp up the
combination of egg noodle and vermicelli, savour the delightful blood jelly
cubes. A generous, fluffy omelet adorned in creamy Sydney rock oysters is simple and satisfying.
Hawker is proof that some things are worth waiting, and yes even queuing, for.