From the same brains behind fabulous fusion spot Hawkers Potluck and Longtail Kitchen comes their love child: Street Hawkers. Bringing the flavours they love into a handheld format.
Hailing from South East Asia and not finding enough or authentic representation of the food that I grew up with and love, I was immediately attracted to this one of a kind burger joint and its concept.
The space and staff are bright and bold with orange and purple paint and a font that has you reminiscing of old school arcade Street Fighter (but I guess that is the point).
You order right at the counter, right by the door. Then have the option of taking your tray out to the patio or up to the second floor for a seat. The following are a handful, and you definitely need to be seated to enjoy each fulsome handheld and each savoury bite to its fullest. I often find the tastiest items are often the most messiest.
Looking up at the menu, everything read so fun and exciting, that I had to try it all. All the burgers and fries you know, but with one key fusion twist be it salted egg yolk, pickled mustard greens, or green beans.
So not being able to narrow it down, I ordered it all, minus what they had already sold out in, for the day. This included their house made ice teas, their ube milkshake, and their specialty vegan mushroom burger.
All hamburgers come with fresh Two Rivers beef patties, and the option to double or triple stack them. The former is recommend on the caution that more is not always more. To it they add American cheese, lettuce, onions, and their hawkers sauce; all on a griddled potato roll.
The Pickle Smash had the addition of caramelized onions and pickled mustard greens. I am not a fan of lettuce or cabbage so to have the pickled mustard as your greens was a great substitution for me. One with a lot more flavour and crunch, which also holds up better as leftovers. True to pickle tang, but make it Asian.
The Karpow Attack was unique with black pepper sauce, chopped up long bean, and crispy basil. Once again there was a substitution for greens with a lot more character. The heat of the spice alongside the beans were a match made in heaven, that left you wondering why no one brought the two into a burger sooner. When I return this is one that I will order again. Then again, I am biased as I love green beans.
Similarly, they had two fried chicken sandwich options. Each packed with a whole pickle brined, double fried, Farmcrest chicken breast dusted with their house seasoning plus lettuce on a griddled potato roll.
The Egg Yolk Flame was so fragrant. You knew you were gonna get plenty of salted egg yolk flavour in this, and it did not disappoint. Aburi salted egg yolk, pickled mustard greens, and pickled red onion. The egg yolk was the star, which is the way I like it. With the crispy chicken, a juicy receptacle for it; and the pickles adding some freshness into the mix. The other two burgers do get heavy towards the end, but I found the pickles here kept me be going through this to the very end. Although I still could have used more for a 1:1 ratio.
The General Tao Crusher was a sweet and salty sando thanks to their unique “extra hot mala caramel”. This was a saucy burger that gushed when we bit in. I didn’t actually find this all that spicy on the onset, though it does build and leaves the mouth tingling. Here, the salted cucumber helps to balancing things out along side the sesame, pickled mustard greens, and herbs.
Then there were two specialty burgers. Once again, sadly they were out of the vegan one that was apparently worth trying with its vegan “chilli crab” sauce; even if you are a self prescribed carnivore. I guess that is reason enough to return for it and more.
The Shrimp Mac is a Double Smashed Beef burger patty with a Shrimp Toast layer, Mango Mustard, Pickled Mustard Greens, Lettuce, and Onions between a Potato Roll. The sweet shrimp patty was a game changer, adding a unique flavour to an already delicious, classic burger. It also added moisture and crunch. Described as a “shrimp Big Mac” it is the one to try on their menu, if you can only have one.
And this weekend (May 27-28, 2023) you can do so at 50% off, until quantities last. A great promotion to have you coming down to try their food on their grand opening weekend.
And what is a burger without fries? The Basic Street Fries was everything, but basic. Crispy fried crinkle cut potato dressed in their secret medley of spices with curry leaf and ketchup. Salty and savoury, the ketchup was unnecessary, other than offering a change in taste between handfuls.
For something a lot more decadent and the one I recommend is the Dirty Hawkers fries with cheese sauce, chilli sauce, pickled mustard stem, pork floss, and herbs. Like an Asian chilli nachos with spicy heat, sweet meaty bits, and a bitter tang for an acidic balance.
Honestly, all the above was so well seasoned and tasty as is that you didn’t need condiments or dips. But for more indulgence they do offer all the sauces and spreads listed in each burger and on top of each fries on the side as extras to accompany anything.
And be sure complete your combo with one of their hand spun milkshakes made with BC milk and local craft ice cream. They had the mango in stock, and it was the perfect sip to help wash the palate in between such bold flavours. I loved everything we had and will be recommending this one hard. Not to mention, I already have plans to return and order everything again!
Street Hawkers
3088 Main Street Vancouver, BC V5T 3G5
