Hawker Chan coming to Melbourne

The big news is that Singaporean street vendor Hawker Chan is coming to Melbourne.

Specifically, it plans to set up its operations in Lonsdale Street.

The first Hawker Chan venue in Australia will open its doors on December 8

It’s quite a coup for Melbourne and should attract a lot of foodies because Hawker Chan is internationally recognised. It’s one of a handful of hawker eateries to ever have scored a Michelin star and is the only hawker cart in Michelin's Singapore guide

That was in 2016 and everyone has been taking notice of it since then.

Hawker Chan started out from chef Chan Hon Meng's Hong Kong-style soy chicken and rice stall and it’s been going strong ever since.

The bottom line is that Chan Hon Meng has had an impressive 30 years of experience perfecting Singapore's national dish: soy sauce chicken.

The menu in Melbourne will feature chicken poached in chicken stock, soy sauce and ginger, the meat then blanched to give the skin a gelatinous texture, and served on a fluffy pile of jasmine rice. Diners will also be able to order wonton soup, seasonal vegetables, Thai-style tofu, and a soya bean-sprouts dish.

All this in a collection of just 19 other dishes, including authentic food items like char siew noodles, roasted pork rice, and soya sauce chicken hor fun. 

The Melbourne version of Hawker Chan will be a 92-seater.

The plan is for diners to order and pick up their meals from the front counter. And it won't be taking any bookings though.

Totally understandable given this is Michelin-quality fare.

Meng plans to train staff in Singapore but will come to town for the opening.

By way of background, the Hawker Chan franchise is owned by Chan and Hersing Culinary.

That is the outfit that’s also behind the Michelin-starred dim sum franchise Tim Ho Wan in Melbourne and Sydney.

by Leon Gettler, November 30^th 2017