In Australia we award our top restaurants for excellence by handing out hats. Overseas, Michelin stars is one of the culinary industries most prestigious accolades that a restaurant can aspire to. So when I heard that a new restaurant which had earned a #MichelinStar rating abroad was opening in Melbourne #MelbourneCity, I couldn't resist the opportunity to visit Hawker Chan and see what all the fuss was about.
My first impressions on entering this eatery #MelbourneRestaurants is that Hawker Chan is definitely trying to recreate the hawker experience one can expect from any of the food centres in south east asia. You line up and pay for your food on one side of the counter and collect your food on the other and then proceed to find a table.
I visited Hawker Chan twice and on this occasion I was looking forward to trying the award winning signature soy sauce chicken with either egg noodles or rice. I opted for the noodles.
The chicken was succulent and moist and just melted in my mouth and the soy sauce with the noodles wasn't too sweet. I also liked the addition of the chilli prawn paste on the side. Mixed in with the noodles it gave the dish an extra layer of depth. I also tried their homemade plum juice which tasted a lot better than it looked. It didn't really have the flavour of plum but it was still enjoyable all the same. I have read reviews online which have complained about the wait and the chicken being dry. Fortunately I didn't have that experience. As a chinese born australian I have eaten my fair share of this dish and would have to say that it was up there with some of the best that I have eaten.
The second time I visited I tried the 3 combination platter which included slices of roast pork, bbq pork and pork ribs. The roast pork had a nice crispy crackling and the meat was very tender. The bbq pork was also tender and was marinated nicely with a really lovely tasting char siu sauce. My least favourite of the three was the pork ribs as there was hardly any meat on them and was a bit on the dry side although again the flavour was good. Hawker Chan certainly knows how to marinate their meats well. All the cuts were very flavoursome.
Just a tip, the servings are not very big so if you come with an appetite you may need to order extra to feel full. But having said that, the dishes on the menu are all priced really cheaply and an under $20 Michelin star meal in Melbourne is a bargain I say!
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