Hawker’s Cuisine

Twenty eight. A ‘composite’ number. A ‘perfect’ number. The sound made by the Western Australian parrot ‘Barnardius zonarius semitorquatus’. Next time listen out for the sounds of “wenniate”, “wenniate”, “wenniate” when you step outside. Twenty eight is also my new age. Sadly, the ironic thing is I don’t look 28, I look more like an 18 year old who still gets checked for I.D. So it’s a bit of a shock to strangers when I tell them I have worked for nearly 7 years – they say I’m more of a uni student type.

I was never expecting to celebrate and had no intentions to celebrate my 28th birthday this year. It just all happened. First Hawker’s Cuisine, then Restaurant Amuse, followed by Kitsch Bar, and lastly Cantina 663. So I apologise for not having had the time to update my blog lately. I’m just so glad it’s Sunday now. I’m buggered as a bass drum. But before I go further and further off topic, I’m here to tell you my experiences at Hawker’s Cuisine, a place that is a favourite of mine.

My family took me to Hawker’s Cuisine in Chinatown for an early birthday dinner. It was 5:30pm and at this time the place was quiet. By 6 o’ clock the restaurant (indoors and outdoors) was a full house. The majority of patrons were Malaysian and Chinese students (I had fit right in). I wanted to say “fat right in” but it’s not like “sit” and “sat”. I felt like I was in Singapore again.

Hawker’s Cuisine, Chinatown

That Hawker’s Cuisine Menu

The simple decor

For our dinner we order the Cantonese Ho-Fun ($12.90), Marmite Chicken ($14.00), Sambal Kang Kong ($12.80), XO Clams ($15.00), and Sambal Prawns with Petai ($20.80). We also get the Steam rice ($1.00 per head), and an iced Teh Tarik ($4.00).

My Teh Tarik is not “stretched” but rather, just tea mixed with condensed milk and ice. Despite this disappointing fact, it still tastes good. I suck it down so quickly that I inhale my straw in the process.

Teh Tarik

Our Cantonese Ho-Fun is a large bowl of flat rice noodles stir-fried with chicken, fish fillet, prawns, squid, and choy sum covered in egg sauce. Spooning the ho-fun from the bottom releases soy sauce which darkens the overall colour of the egg sauce, giving it a slightly rich and salty taste. The seafood is not overcooked, and the choy sum bright and crispy. We literally drink our egg sauce – ah pure bliss. We could have used my straw if I hadn’t already inhaled it.

Cantonese Ho-Fun

Stir-fried rice noodles, prawns, chicken, fish fillets, squid and choy sum in egg sauce

The Ho-Fun is happily swimming in thick egg sauce

The Marmite Chicken is boneless chicken wok tossed and fried in a special marmite marinade tasting nothing like Vegemite. The chicken is fluffy, crisp, and both slightly sweet and salty. It is quite rich in flavour.

Marmite Chicken

The Marmite Chicken is steaming hot

The XO Clams are literally just that – clams tossed with XO (“ix-oh“) sauce. It is not our favourite – the dish is all shell – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eat your heart out! There is more spicy XO sauce than clam meat (which are about the size of rice grains).

XO Clams

XO Clams garnished and nicely presented

The Sambal Prawns with Petai is a hot dish that smells pungent and is slightly irritable on the nostrils. The petai (pale green flat seeds) have the same texture as boiled water chestnuts. The prawns release juices with each bite and squish with my teeth. The sambal is not so hot – quite mild in fact.

Sambal Prawns with Petai

An abundance of Petai

Our only vegetable dish is the Sambal Kang Kung which is bright, fresh, crispy, and hot. A good accompaniment with all dishes just mentioned above.

Sambal Kang Kung

The last thing we do for the night is order two House Special Ice Kachang desserts ($4.50). They are the best in Perth, made with red beans, grass jelly, green agar agar, longans, evaporated milk, condensed milk, rose syrups, and last but not least, shaved ice. The unique thing about the ice kachang at Hawker’s Cuisine is that it is so bloody big. I struggled to finish mine. My aunty, grandma, and mum shared one between themselves.

House Special Iced Kachang

That’s just for one person

Grass Jelly, Green Jelly, and Longan in an icey bath of sweetness

Of all the items ordered only the XO Clams were disappointing. The rest of the dishes were delicious as expected, with the Cantonese Ho-Fun being a standout. I may be biased because I love ho-fun. I also truly recommend the Iced Kachang as I have not had anything better than this in Perth.

Hawker’s Cuisine serves up relatively inexpensive food in true hawker style. The place is always busy so it’s best to get there early for dinner. It’s a shame that it doesn’t open for lunch.

Hawker’s Cuisine
Address: Unit 17, 66 Roe Street, Northbridge (Chinatown)
Tel: +61 8 9328 9668

Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Sunday (5:00pm – 1:00am)

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