Hawkers Asian Street Food — Restaurant in Charlotte

We were in this place for the first time, and the first thing that caught my attention was the number of reviews. I was surprised to see that this place had nearly 6000 reviews.

When we arrived there, it was quite difficult to find parking because of the very narrow streets, only two lanes, one in each direction, and only street parking. Maybe there is some other parking there that I didn't notice, but it didn't bother me to spend a little time and park.

When we entered, we were immediately told that we would need to wait for about 3-4 minutes. That's approximately how long we waited. I really liked the interior of this place right away. It looked very unusual, stylish, and non-standard for many Asian restaurants.

Regarding the menu. I don't know if it was a certain style or if it was just me, but there were a lot of options and menu names that were faded, making it hard to read. I like to choose based on pictures, so I visited their website and opened the menu page. What I would recommend for this place, and for all restaurants in general, is to have a menu with pictures because a picture always sells much better than just a description.

I was really happy to find out that they offered a kids' menu, because many restaurants and cafes don't have one. This is especially true for Asian restaurants, where kids' menus are not common. Their kids' menu was quite interesting, and when we ordered a kids' portion, it was actually quite large.

I ordered a Pad Thai for myself and I was extremely satisfied; it was very tasty. As for the spiciness, it didn't seem too spicy to me, but I prefer less spicy dishes. Overall, I was very happy. Our daughter almost finished a full portion of the lo mein for the first time. Even though it was a children's portion, it was big. To my pleasant surprise, she ate it and said that it was very tasty. My wife ordered Curry Laksa Ramen and she said it was the best ramen she has ever had in her life, even though she lived in Japan for several years and often ate ramen there.

I also ordered the Satay Chicken Street Skewers and was pleasantly surprised that they were served with peanut butter sauce. Firstly, the chicken turned out to be super tender, super soft, and very delicious. The peanut butter sauce was excellent, and for me, it was a new discovery of combining such flavors.

We also ordered the Jo-Hé Bag O’ Donuts, which absolutely blew our minds. They were insanely delicious. The sauce they are served with is very tasty. It's not overly sweet, but at the same time, it adds incredible notes of some magical feeling to these donuts. The donuts themselves are excellent, covered in powdered sugar. It's hard to describe them; you just have to try and enjoy them.

I also really liked the restrooms in this place. They have a very cool design, are very spacious, stylish, and in pleasant gray tones. I particularly enjoyed the Asian posters, which make this place unique, even for restrooms.

We had a great time at this place. I took some photos of the interior because I loved the style with neon lights, local posters, and graphics. It felt modern and unique to me. We'll definitely visit this place in other states. Overall, it's...

I love coming to Hawkers! The flavors are on point and they have a deep menu with options for everyone. My girlfriend and I sampled a bit of the menu and everything was delicious.

We started off with the roast duck bao buns and shrimp summer rolls. The bun itself was light and tasty with a mild sweetness that tag teams with the savory duck to elbow drop some flavor on your palate. The summer rolls were light and refreshing and were served with some creamy peanut sauce.

Y'all, that coconut shrimp came to play! I think the curry sauce it was served with stole the show though. It's a mild yellow curry sauce that's not too spicy but is packed with spices. The flavors in the sauce really brought out the flavor in the shrimp and plays nice with the coconut.

We had to try the curry laksa ramen too. I've got to say that it's the best ramen I've ever had. A far cry from the cup noodles that fueled late night study sessions in college and a step above local ramen shops.sometimes ramen can get boring when you finish all the toppings but the broth and noodles were bursting with flavor. We got pictures of the other dishes, but the smell was so enticing that we dove in before the thought of a picture crossed our minds.

You'd think we were full at this point but our stomaches were desperate to try more. The last plate we got was the CKT. It's a flat noodle dish with chicken, shrimp, eggs, veggies, and lap cheong. We also ordered an extra egg on top. This was our first time having lap cheong and it did not disappoint. It's a Chinese sausage and reminiscent of spam fried up in spices coated in some caramelized sauce. In short, it transformed the bowl into a flavor minefield. We couldn't finish the CKT in house, but the leftovers were just as good reheated.

Now onto the liquids. We tried a cocktail each to round off the experience. I had an elderflower spritz with Elderflower liqueur, aperol, and prosecco. It was bright and tangy with some evervescent floral notes mixed in there. The orange the drink was garnished with added some citrusy bite too. My girlfriend had the bull in a china shop made with vodka, chamomile tea, agave, honey-lemon-ginger simple, and mint. It was mellow, citrusy, and herbal. Easy going down and tasted SO good.

Overall a wonderful experience with immaculate vibes throuought the restaurant too. With food this bomb and vibes this clean we'd recommend this joint to anybody. It's right across from the light rail too. One small note on a nice spring day most other patrons will sit outside and you may get slower...

This place was truly...just okay. The food, while tasty (if not somewhat inconsistent), is almost comically small and drives a high price on what I see as little basis to be sold at.

This certainly seems like an establishment where you go for the atmosphere itself and not so much the food. On that front perhaps it's best to visit for just the one time. The experience will definitely leave an imprint. The theme and environment they're going for they've absolutely nailed down. The "vibe" was captured perfectly. The decor within the restaurant is amongst the most unique you can probably find in all of Charlotte, but that bodes little when it comes to the entrées.

Imagine: portions so small and prices so high. On some dishes the flavor is rich whilst others are completely lacking. I can't help but feel this place is for people who've never truly experienced real street food— people who have KNOW it's not this expensive, especially for what you get (or lack thereof). The establishment has this act of 'sensationalism' to it that drives its prices steep. Your money's worth will simply not be found here and your appetite will NOT be satiated. You'd better eat something beforehand if you don't want to later resuscitate your wallet having ordered more to get your fill. Granted, I understand this place is found within Charlotte so of course that's another reason but I cannot stress enough how laughable the portions are, thematic with the "street" aesthetic or not. It's just too small!

However, perhaps our timing wasn't the greatest either. My large party and I attended at the absolute peak hours. By some miracle we were seated much earlier than expected and our server (bless them) tended to us justly with swift efficiency in spite our number. As part of our experience (portions notwithstanding) some dishes were cooked to a 'T' while some of us had noodles that were overly-salted, under-flavored, or just straight-up burnt. I can't even exaggerate that last part. How do you burn noodles? I know for a fact that their kitchen was whippin' it up back there that night but it would appear they sacrificed quality for quantity. It's also worth mentioning that some items on the menu were simply unavailable due to how busy it was, but my party and I are a reasonable bunch so we understood the circumstances. The restaurant hustle really be like that sometimes.

All in all, I'd like to give this place another chance during a MUCH less busier time— I'll just be sure to have a little appetite. However, that won't be...