Hawker Eats

photo by Patrick

Hawker Eats, Lunch, Inner Richmond
June 19, 2016

P:
Karaage Curry Rice - House marinated chicken fried bites, house made mild curry with carrots, potatoes, onion, curry aioli drizzle, garlic toast crisp
House infused water w/ pineapple, strawberry, mint, and cucumber

J:
KO Ramen - House made pork belly, house made tonkatsu, rich bone broth, black garlic oil, sous vide egg, seaweed, green onion
House infused water w/ pineapple, strawberry, mint, and cucumber


Notes:
We recently found this place while strolling through our neighborhood.  It's owned an operated by two people - one in the kitchen, one in the dining room.  While it was quiet on a Saturday afternoon, I've seen crowds waiting outside for a table on weekend nights.

Judy, the dining room half of the team, came off as a little pushy, or as I like to put it, "excited about their menu".  We were the only table in the restaurant at first, and she spent a good bit of time telling us all about, oh, everything.  The menu is HUGE, inadvisably large, given the number of people in the kitchen (ahem, one, remember?).  Case in point, we only ordered an entree each and my ramen was served several minutes before Patrick's curry, with no one else in the restaurant.  A table of 5 came in shortly after we were served; I watched as their dishes came out practically one by one.  Their last dish hit the table at least 5 minutes after the first, and unacceptably long period of time when guests aren't sharing entrees.  BUT, I'll stop going on about that because the food was pretty damn good.

My ramen was delicious.  Milky, rich pork broth was the star here, rich and full flavored but not heavy.  Bouncy ramen noodles were hidden inside the broth, beautiful slabs of roasted pork belly rested atop, and the sous vide egg floated off to the side, waiting to be broken, allowing the oozy yolk to enrich the broth.  The black garlic oil was earthy and pungent; sliced green onions added a fresh bite.  It was quite a dish, and I just about polished it off.

Patrick's curry was also very nice.  This wasn't like the curry we're familiar with at Volcano, it was more vegetal, smoother in texture, and spicier.  The chicken pieces were well-fried and super crunchy, and the meat inside incredibly juicy.  The steamed rice was a shorter, fatter grain, closer to sushi rice, and the little green salad piled on top of everything offered a refreshing pause every now and again.

The house infused water was a giant Mason jar filled with ice cold water, sprigs of fresh mint, and huge chunks of strawberry, cucumber, and pineapple.  While quite delicious, it was ridiculously expensive for what it was, and we're not sure we'd order it again.


Hawker Eats is a cute little neighborhood place, and we may go back.  I would want to avoid the place on a busy night; I just can't handle watching two people cook and serve food to an entire room of people, one by one.