Straits of Malacca, Hawthorn

Hello Fellow Nom Seekers!

The Glenferrie Road strip in Hawthorn is a busy haunt on Sunday for brunch/lunch.  It's a relaxing scene - loads of eateries to choose from, people walking their dogs and dining al fresco. After regular visits to Straits of Malacca in Glen Waverley and liking that very much (see our review here), we figured the Hawthorn version would be a safe bet - generous serves, authentic hawker stall food.

We went with several friends and their very gorgeous Cavelier King Charles Spaniel who waited very patiently for us outside.  I ordered their Nasi Goreng.  It was a generous serve of fried rice with a crispy egg on top, sides of achar and satay sticks.  I would have preferred the satays to be grilled rather than deep fried but overall, it was a decent feed.

Nasi Goreng

My friend ordered the 'red chicken'.  We are not sure what the red sauce is but it was a blend of sweet and savoury with perhaps a bit of tomato action involved.  Whatever it was, it was delicious.  It also came with a side serve of achar and half an egg.

Red chicken

Kiddo had her usual Curry Laksa.  I found the Curry Laksa in Hawthorn slightly less loaded with ingredients than the Glen Waverley edition.  It seemed to be a bit skimpier on the baby clams and fish cakes.

Curry Laksa

The virtuous among us ordered the stir fried veggies and tofu with rice. Whilst it was rather a bland choice, the veggies were nicely cooked ie not too soggy and seasoned well with oyster sauce.

My other friend ordered the Malaysian Choices Combination Hor Fun.  This would be my pick of the bunch.  It is consistently good.  It has combination of flat and thin rice noodles with an egg gravy.  There was plenty of 'wok hai' and a decent amount of fish cakes, bok choy and chicken on top.

Malaysian Choices Combination Hor Fun

Overall, Straits of Malacca deliver consistent quality hawker stall food in generous serving sizes.  The Hawthorn edition is smaller than the Glen Waverley one, so it can get a bit cramped if you are dining in a group larger than 6 - 8 people.



Until next time...