Melburnians can now try the food from Singapore's one Michelin starred hawker stall without having to fly out to the lion city. Teaming up with Hersing Culinary, the company responsible for bringing fellow Michelin star recipient Tim Ho Wan to Australia, Hawker Chan has opened a hundred seater venue on Lonsdale Street.
The new restaurant is dishing out chef Chan Hong Meng's signature cheap-as-chips dishes. The majority of items are less than $10 a plate – you'll get some spare change back when you order any of the signature Hawker Chan meals like the Hong Kong-style soy sauce chicken rice (only $8.30), egg noodles with roast pork ($11.30), or char siew ribs with hor fun noodles ($10.30). It's an efficient operation, there's no table service, customers order at the counter and the food comes out at lightning speed.
Lonsdale Street is a long way from the original stall in Singapore's Chinatown Complex, and while that inimitable hawker market charm is near impossible to replicate in a large, new venue, it's hard to complain when you can get a decent meal for less than a tenner.