Hawker’s Cafe

Mind feels like an inward triple twist with a pike. A loud noise… a Harley Davidson on Russell Street this late at night? No, that’s coming from my stomach. A drunken shout to my right: “HAWKER’S!” I slur back “CARN DA BOMB-EERRRS!” and raise my fist triumphantly in air. That same arm gets dragged down and into a brightly lit café that generously opens late. Oh… hawker food… but shouldn’t it be open aired with the soundtrack of the streets, sitting on milk crates, eating off newspaper and drinking out of plastic bags? This is a bit too classy. “Shut up you fool,” using my inner voice “you’re not in KL duh.”

Been here many times but I’ve never let my curiosity get the better of me. There’s one thing and only one thing I come here for. The Hainanese Chicken Rice, boneless, choice of steamed or fried, the rice glistens like the night sky from the fatty chicken stock it has been simmered in. The chicken accompanying is lovely, infused mildly with ginger, spring onion and garlic. Painfully when I relented and tried something different, food Mother Chew from Klang would not be satisfied with. Nasi Goreng was as dull as watching basil grow, lacking spice and chilli. A bit of burning noodles would have given the Char Kway Teow character which was also sadly lacking chilli. The Loh Bak appeared as though it had been incinerated in a cremator, leaving the seafood cake quite chewy and bean curd extremely flaky. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. Wounds will heal, I’ll still go back for the Hainan Chicken.

2 / 5 yums!

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Where? 213 Russell St. Melbourne

What? Average $10

Left to Right : Nasi Goreng, Steamed Hainanese Chicken Rice, Char Kway Teow, Loh Bak