So, you get the picture.. there are restaurants and cafe everywhere you look in Melbourne. Sometimes, there are multiple restaurants in one place! HWKR is a new concept akin to food courts in Asian countries. The restaurants in HWKR would change every few months or so to make sure that there is always something new for customers to try out.
In our last visit to HWKR, Chanteen (Diana Chan, winner of Masterchef 2017's restaurant), Rice Paper Scissors, Reynald's desserts (Masterchef finalist) were among the few restaurants there.
We ordered the grilled barramundi with sambal from Rice Paper Scissors, char kuay teow from Chanteen and matcha dessert from Reynald's.
Generous portion of grilled barramundi on rice. The sauce topping was delicious. I just wish it was ikan pari or stingray grilled on charcoal, served hot on banana leaf just like how it's done in Malaysia. But in the absence of stingrays (I have not seen it sold anywhere), and charcoal fire, this dish is good enough.
Chanteen's CKT. There is chai poh (preserved turnip) in this CKT, so it's not exactly authentic (by my standards) but it tasted quite nice. There is the breath of wok in this dish and I saw Diana Chan personally cooking this plate for us. I actually didn't know who she was until my friend pointed her out to me, but don't tell her that!
Reynald's desserts - somehow they look much nicer on Masterchef?? These ones look quite ordinary, but they are expensive.
Don't leave your card at home, as only cards are accepted and I don't mean your business card. One is expected to get a place to sit, order your food at the counter and pay but the stalls will deliver the food to your table. It'll be interesting to see what the next wave of restaurants would be at HWKR.