With the release of the Street Fighter live action trailer, this feels like the perfect time to announce the opening and rebranding of South East Asian restaurant Potluck Hawker into Street Hawker Turbo. Now bringing bold Asian flavours and smash burgers to Cambie Village.
Their name and decor is a play on nostalgic 80’s video games with 8-bit logos, neon lights, and splashy packaging.
Their grand opening was late December and I was invited down to take part in trying a few of their new menu items. Street Hawker Turbo carries on the legacy of its predecessors: Potluck Hawker Eatery and Street Hawker on Main, while introducing a new and exciting menu.
They specialize in smash burgers and fried chicken sandwiches made from 100% Canadian and certified Halal beef and poultry. Unique to this location is the addition of a fish burger and chicken wings.
You head to the back counter to order and are given a buzzer to claim things when they are ready. Each served on a tray that you bring to any available seat to eat. The dining area does feel like a club with its tinted lights.
The menu is divided by beef burgers, chicken sandwiches, and deep fried sides. I tried items from each category, starting with a milkshake. With flavours like pandan, mango, ube, Milo, and Thai tea I wanted to try them all. Ultimately I went for pandan with no regrets. The iconic flavour done boldly with hand-spun, thick cream was a great wash in between all the flavourful bites below.
The Filet-O Sally is a take on a classic fried fish sandwich that features crispy salmon katsu, cheese, furikake, bulldog sauce, and tobiko tartar sauce. The salmon is made into a patty where the meat is light and fluffy by grinding it. Lovely enough, but for my tastes I would have liked more of their house made Tartar sauce for tang. This is a nice new option for regular customers, but I still prefer their most popular burgers instead.
Other new menu items include a basil and egg single beef smash; one with spam, pineapple, and teriyaki; and their own plant-based patty for a vegetarian option.
As with any other fast food joint, you can make your meal into a combo with a side. Their Next Level Fries with salted egg yolk, curry leaf cereal, and yum yum is a must. This crinkle cut was so tasty that it didn’t need the Sriracha mayo it came with. There was a great burn to the sauce, but it overpowered the distinct salted egg yolk flavour that I was wanting.
The Sonic Shroom beef burger came highly recommended by the clerk and we couldn’t say no to a smashed double beef with cheese, mushrooms, and truffle sauce. The patty was thinner with crispy edges, the mushrooms added a nice layer to a classic burger, and the truffle additional umami. I just could have used some acid to balance. This is where their side sauces come in. You have the ability to order any of their burger sauces as an add-on for an additional zip or to use as dips. Coconut ranch, hawker sauce, and bulldog sauce, to name a few.
Out of the three burgers I tried, I liked the Fish Sauce Caramel. As the name suggests, the sauce gave the large piece of breaded and fried chicken meat a sticky and sweeter coating alongside garlic butter, sesame, and atchara. The latter most is a pickled vegetable, which I wanted more of or in larger chunks. This is to be able to enjoy its refreshing tang as a brightening agent, to add interest to the otherwise one toned chicken breast.
However, if you can only order one thing I recommend the wings, with seasonings similar to their fries and then some. Salt and pepper, salted eggs, garlic butter, or a spicy Buffalo.
I went for the Golden Sand with buttery salted duck egg yolk and curry leaf cereal. I appreciated the thick coating that thoroughly covered and flavoured. It was so tasty that you wanted to lick your fingers clean of it.
In short this is a fun spot for creative Asian inspired burgers that I would crave again.
Street Hawker Turbo
3424 Cambie St., Vancouver, BC V5Z 2W8
(604) 423-9344
streethawker.ca
