Oh My Calico!: June 2010

Hawker's Delight

My friend Rachel introduced me to Hawker's Delight years and years ago. I remember stepping inside and being reminded of what it was like to be at a roadside restaurant in South East Asia: a little sketchy and basic, but knowing you'd be getting really cheap, great food.

Hawker's Delight is a hole in the wall on Main Street and King Edward. It's a really no frills place. Don't expect any service or special attention here. You get your own water and napkins, you know? To me, there is something a little refreshing about how non-fine dining this place is.

The menu is smallish, and what's great is that there are pictures of every item on the menu, so you know what to expect even if you may not know the name of the dishes. The cuisine is Malaysian / Indonesian / Singaporean, and the prices are really, really great. Almost all of the dishes are six dollars and under, and that is a bargain these days.

I ordered the Laksa (around $6), a coconut curry broth with noodles, egg, fried tofu and chicken. This was pretty tasty. There was a good amount of spice and seasoning, and the broth had a nice richness. The noodles slightly overcooked, but it was a decent bowl of food.

Shane got the Mee Goreng (around $5), Malaysian style fried noodles. This was good and pretty tasty, although it was not the best Mee Goreng around. However, for the price, it was an amazing deal.

We also ordered 6 pieces of satay at $0.75 each. The pork was nicely cooked, with lots of charcoal flavour, and it was surprisingly tender. The satay came with a peanut sauce with was a little too sweet for my liking, but it went pretty well with the pork.

Hawker's Delight is a great place. It's always consistent and reliable, which is saying quite a lot. It is one of the best cheap eats you'll ever get in Vancouver.

Going there feels like visiting Asia.

La Belle Patate

Sorry about my absence from the blogging world. Things have been a little crowded in my work and life! So bear in mind, the next few dining reviews are not going to be super current.

If some of you have read my reviews, you may know that I don't shy away from fatty foods, especially poutine, which is probably one of my favorite things to eat. There is something special about fries, cheese curds and especially gravy. It is one of my failings.

So one day we were in the West End to see a movie, we decided to pay La Belle Patate a visit. This place is relatively new, and specializes in poutine. They have other stuff like hot dogs too, but those things are more of an afterthought.

The interior is surprisingly pleasant and clean-looking. There were leather-esque booths and chairs, and mirrored walls that make the place look twice as large as it actually is. The menu is written on chalkboard right above the counter.

Not being too hungry, Shane decided to try the smoked meat poutine ($7.50), while I opted for the traditional version ($5.50). The food arrived very quickly. The portions were quite small, but given the richness of the dish, neither of us was complaining. To state it simply, La Belle Patate does a good poutine. The fries were decent, but the star was the cheese curds, which were squeaky and chewy and melty at some points. The gravy had the right amount of saltiness, and elevated this poutine from its competitors. I felt that the smoked meat could have been saltier, but Shane thought it had a nice balance. Perhaps I'm just a poutine traditionalist, after all. There is nothing more perfect than potato, cheese curds and gravy.