Hawkers Asian Street Fare Foodspotting Eat-Up May 2011

Hawkers Asian Street Fare was the May Orlando Foodspotting Eat-Up venue. The eat-up was big fun with Droolius, Mega Yummo, Mikochu, and a bunch of other enthusiastic foodies! Hawkers is located in the Asian District on Mills Avenue, and is an inviting open space with high ceilings. The laminated tables were decked out with images of Asian newspapers, which were quickly covered by dozens of small plates as the food started rolling out of the kitchen. Hawkers specializes in small, dim sum-style portions. Think Malaysian tapas?

Droolius mentioned the chef is Malaysian with an Asian homestyle flare. Either way, there’s enough on each plate to share, or not share and not feel terribly full afterwards. Adam and I tried a little bit of Mega Yummo’s Five Spice Tofu, which were plump, savory little cubes served in a deep dish. The Bulgogi Banh Mi Sliders were like thick beef subs, but with a delicious sauce. There was also an interesting cucumber spread on the shooters that I could probably eat with anything — the spread was that good!

The spicy Char Kawy Ted was also delicious; the shrimp were plump were lightly sautéed with chicken and shallots in spices. There was a lightly breaded Asian Fried String Beanstossed in the house-made five spice that I could eat by the ton. The string beans “dan seguidilla,” which is when you can’t stop eating something even if you want to stop.

The traditional roast duck was crunchy on the ends and savory, juicy goodness in the middle. The sauce that accompanied the duck was poured over almost every subsequent dish at one point or another during the meal. There was also an order of tasty duck tacos floating around too. Oh and the Roti Canai! The roti was a curry and naan-style plate that will definitely order for myself next time.

Hawkers is an ideal place to share great food and conversation with friends. I just can’t wait to share noms with everyone again! Until then, I know I’m going back to Hawkers with several friends in tow.