Hawker, Sydney CBD

We can't get enough of Malaysian cuisine these days. With the success of PappaRich, Petaling Street, Malay Chinese and, of course, Mamak with its non-stop queues; you can be forgiven for noticing more Malaysian restaurants popping up more often these days. Mamak has clearly noticed this success so they have recently opened another restaurant. This time focusing on the more obscure Malaysian hawker street food that you are less likely to find at other similar restaurants. No rotis on the menu though.

Cham Ping, Teh Ping, Milo Ping ($4.00 each) 

We started off with a few drinks to freshen up after an epic gym session. My fave so far was the  cham ping (half tea and half coffee on ice) which was light and not too bitter. Found that the iced milo was not too sweet but a bit too milky for my preference. On the other hand, the girls really enjoyed the Teh Ping (iced milk tea) for that reason...hah.

Penang Rojak (Top left, $14.00) and Ikan Bakar (Grilled Stingray)

We ordered the Penang Rojak (top left in the above pic) to share as a starter. This was described as a salad of fresh yambean, fried tofu, cucumber, pineapple, guava, dough crisps, coated in a dark sticky sauce and chilli paste. It's one of the more unusual and interesting dishes I've tried here with all those ingredients meshed together. With all the hot dishes they have, it was a cool, refreshing plate that's great to share in a group. Personally I found it to be quite addictive when popping each ingredient in my mouth.

Ikan Bakar ($16.00)

The grilled stingray got CC and N curious enough to order. For a dish listed under snacks on the menu, it was presented as a full sized stingray which amazed us once it landed on our table. While it was well cooked and zesty, it was scattered with so many tiny bones. This made it tougher for us to eat peacefully without worrying about getting stabbed in your mouth but otherwise it was a very tasty dish for us.

Picking the bones out!

KL Hokkien Mee ($14.00)

I was personally excited to try this stir fried Hokkien dish but it ended up being let down in the end. It was way too fatty and oily for my liking and it wasn't as flavoursome as I would have hoped for - even with the black sauce.

 Wan Tan Mee with pork dumplings and soup ($13.00)

Despite an average first visit, there was still other dishes that I was keen enough to sample so I made another visit at Hawker recently. After all, I believe in second chances. Thankfully, that second visit was a more positive experience for me. The saucy noodles were tasty and well complemented with the crisped duck meat scattered within the noodles. I wasn't too sure about the dumplings at first but it ended up being a good palate cleanser after all the sauce and oil from the noodles. 

Goreng Durian ($8.00)

Didn't try much of the durian fritter but damn look at that batter! So crispy. Didn't seem to be strong from where I was sitting. Maybe I've gotten used to it. Both CC and N seemed to really enjoy this dish. The ice cream was probably too much for us to handle since we were so full by this point but I can imagine its creamy texture and flavour matching well with the durian fritter. 

Apam Balik ($6.00)

This dish was certainly one that I haven't served before at other Malaysian restaurants. It definitely looked like a popular street food dish if I was in Malaysia. I'm a huge fan of peanut butter so this sweet and crunchy turnover pancake was another highlight for me but not too keen on the creamed corn. Overall this was certainly an enjoyable dish to end the dinner on a high note. 

There was plenty of dishes to choose from the menu whether it's a main or entree. The pricing was also in the cheap side which is good if you are on a budget and the serving size was on the generous side. While the dishes were delivered quickly, it was hard to get the attention of the staff every now and then. While it has been a mixed experience so far, I would still return eventually (especially once the weather gets colder) to sample some of their other dishes including the laksa, har mee popiah, fried bread snacks, and char koay teow . 

Hawker
345 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000
(02) 9264 9315
http://hawker.com.au/
Mon-Sun: 11:30am - 2:30pm, 5:30pm - 10:00pm