Hawker's Delight

Hawker's Delight has got to be the cheapest Asian fast food restaurant in Vancouver. At $5.40 per plate, not even the regular meals at McDonald's can beat that. This restaurant is quite shabby looking, but have caught attention of many Vancouverites due to their solid cheap food. You order the food with the cashier at the counter in the back, take a number, and grab a table. There are not much table space and it is generally quite cramped with the in / out flow of people ordering food and grabbing take out.

When we stepped inside, Meko's friends immediately spotted us. Coincidentally, this couple is always at every restaurant that Meko and I head to! While they were chatting away, I have settled my heart on Hainese Chicken. Meko's friend suggested us to try #11: Mee Siam. They also recommended us to try the vegetable fritter, so we grab those too. The lady at the counter has poor command of English, but was very friendly. From the counter window, we can look right into the kitchen.

Vegetable Fritter ($1.15 per two pieces)
The vegetable fritter was pre-fried and was under a heat lamp ready to be served immediately. A sauce, similar to fish sauce, was drizzled over the crunchy fritters. I took a few pictures and consumed it right away before it got too soggy. It was actually pretty good. The best I can describe it would be a deep fried dough batter with vegetable pieces. Very reasonably priced, I will order again.

Hainanese Chicken ($5.90)
Very generous portion. The chicken itself is average - moist-dry texture, not much chicken flavour. The rice however, was really good. A large bowl of delicious oily rice went well with the chicken. The dish is accompanied by a dip that was very tasty; you do not need to add much for a nice strong sweet and sour flavour. I have had better Hainanese Chicken elsewhere, but I can't complain much for the price I am paying.

Mee Siam ($5.40)
This dish consists of thin rice noodles in a spicy, sweet, and sour sauce. I found the tamarind flavour too tart for my taste, but Meko said it was not bad. There is no meat in Mee Siam, only a boiled egg. It does not look like much food, but Meko claims he is full from the noodles. Ultimately, we both prefer the Hainanese Chicken over the Mee Siam.

The last time I visited Hawker's Delight was well over 3 years ago. I actually wasn't very fond of the food during my last visit. Perhaps the flavour of the cooking has an authentic flare that is not well suited with my taste bud. We did not particularly enjoyed it as much as our friends.

Location: On Main Street, south of East King Edward Avenue. There is paid meter parking on Main Street for $1 per hour. When we drove down the street, we did see someone checking the parking meter. It was also a Tuesday when we visited the restaurant. Usually free parking after 6pm if you are willing to park further.

Food: Below average, but it is reflected upon the price paid.
Service: Friendly. They brought the food out to the table when you dine in.
Price: Cheap. The total came to $14 with tax for two people.
Recommended? Food does not suit my taste buds.

- Hippo


Hawker's Delight
4127 Main Street
Vancouver, B.C.
Phone: 604-709-8188

Tamarind Hill Malaysian Cuisine

For months now, Ken and I were looking for a time we were both available to meet up for dinner. He is such a busy person and our little date is long overdue. Finally, we were able to settle on an agreement! I had work in Surrey, and he was working in Burnaby, so I chose a location that was midway: New Westminster. Honestly, I would probably never go to New Westminster to eat unless there was a reason, since it was out of the way for me. He always let me choose the restaurant, so we ended up in Tamarind Hill Malaysian Cuisine.

Ken was late! How could he? Well, that’s okay. More time for me to take pictures. When he finally arrived, we were going to order their mussels for an appetizer, but they sold out. It was a Monday night when we went and apparently it was really busy during the weekend. So we ended up with the calamari, which came last because it took us so long to decide.

Mee Goreng ($10.25) This is a stir-fry egg noodle dish with a sweet and sour sauce. I found this standard. It taste just like the ones I order from Chinese cafes, which disappointed me. The only highlight of this Mee Goreng is that the amount of beef, tofu, and vegetables are equivalent to the noodles, but personally like eating more noodles.

Beef Rendeng ($13.25)
Ken chose this. I warned him it had a spicy pepper logo indication beside the menu item. He probably underestimated the level of spice in Malaysian food, he was sweating as he ate this! I have tried curry in other Malaysian restaurants and this is one of the spicier ones. It comes with a bowl of rice. I couldn’t find anywhere on the menu for an option of my favourite coconut rice.

Malaysian Calamari ($8.95)
Served with a spicy house sauce. I enjoyed the sauce, but the calamari itself was not good at all. It was deep fried in old oil, so it had a burnt aftertaste. It also did not have a crispy crunch to it. The coating was very stiff.

Location: Near the Royal City Shopping Centre. There are paid parking along 6^th Avenue and 7^th Street. But I just parked in the underground parking lot of the Royal City Shopping Centre. You just need to cross the street, which is a 2 minute walk.

Food: I did not enjoy this meal. Only the Mee Goreng was decent. Perhaps their seafood menu is better? I probably will not come back in the future though.
Service: Average; was not very attentive.
Price: The total came to $37 with tax for two people.
Will I come back? No.

- Hippo


Tamarind Hill Malaysian Cuisine
628 6^th Avenue
New Westminster, B.C.
Phone: 604-526-3000