The site centres on a large open courtyard, currently with a 'World of Bamboo' theme around a statuesque central fire pit. There's an enclosed trampoline for young diners and a mix of trucks and kiosks outside, and covered stalls within.
A pair of bao from the Yum Bun Bus kicks things off very promisingly- one with fried chicken, the other with pork, the former crisp and speckled with red chillies, the other confit belly and laced with hoisin.
Fried chicken from Breddo's Tacos is absolutely superb, the fat rendered from the skin until it's almost translucent and full of crunch but with still a hint of that luscious fat. The hot sauce packs a serious wallop and the meat is perfectly done; but really it's all about that skin, and the blue corn tortillas aren't really needed- this is chicken for tearing apart with greedy fingers and popping into impatient mouths, not for making little parcels. In a sense, it's just too good to fill tacos: you just need a big plate of this stuff, a free hand to roll back your cuffs, and a snarl to deter any would-be sharers- because this is some of the finest fried chicken I've eaten anywhere.
Club Mexicana's nachos come loaded with the usual suspects- avocado, tomatoes, refried beans- among which pink slices of pickled onion add a sharp-sweet note which is just the ticket.
A trip to Prawnography is a must: anyone who can resist the lure of crab meat French fries is made of sterner stuff than I. The generous scattering of smoked paprika turns it into something almost Spanish.
A USDA short rib from street food veterans Smokestak and their Texas-built 100 square feet, four and a half ton 'smoke train' tops off our session and excellent it is, too. Speckled with the sweet heat of pickled red chillies, it's a beautifully smoke-kissed piece of meat.
That telltale smoke ring is very much on show: it's a sought-after piece of meat and it shows, the flesh eminently tender and hardly needing a tooth. Indeed, you could pull the entire thing apart with your fingers, if you wanted, with a lengthy enough bone to indulge your most primal fantasies. At £12 it's expensive for 'street food', although I'd do it again. Twice.
This is an accomplished line up with a range of temptations. Hawker House has something for everyone: the fact something of this scale is merely one of so very many street food options in London on the same day, makes me more than a little envious.
Street Feast London
Hawker House
Canada St
SE16 2XU
Friday & Saturday 5pm - 12am
http://streetfeast.com/where/hawker-house
Friday & Saturday 5pm - 12am
http://streetfeast.com/where/hawker-house
Great place for having a meal. Visited there on my business tour and had lunch. It was a pleasant experience food was delicious and the atmosphere was delighting.
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