By Marie-Antoinette Issa.
Street food conjures images of bustling markets and humble carts serving up affordable fare. Its recyclable containers and napkins serve as an antidote to a formal, fine dining scene that has traditionally been synonymous with elegant restaurants and white-tablecloth service.
However, a new breed of Chefs and vendors is blurring the lines between these two culinary realms, bringing gourmet dishes to the streets and redefining what it means to enjoy top-tier cuisine in a casual setting.
One of the pioneers of this trend is Liao Fan Hawker Chan in Singapore, where Chef Chan Hong Meng received a Michelin star for his signature soy sauce chicken and rice, served from a humble street food stall in 2016.
Despite its unassuming appearance, the dish - chicken marinated in soy sauce and herbs for several hours, then slow-braised until ridiculously tender - led to Hawker Chan becoming the first food stall to be awarded a Michelin star, almost a decade ago.
Today, tourists and locals alike continue to flock and enjoy the meal that costs less than Singapore $3 and is frequently dubbed the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred meal.
Similarly, Jay Fai has earned legendary status in Bangkok, Thailand for her eponymous restaurant, a modest streetside eatery serving world-class seafood dishes. Known as the ‘Queen of Street Food’, Jay Fai meticulously prepares each dish herself, using high-quality ingredients and time-honoured cooking techniques.
Despite the long queues, diners continue to flock to her establishment for a taste of her Michelin-awarded dishes, such as crab omelette and noodles cooked over charcoal flames.
In Tokyo, Japan, casual eatery Tsuta made headlines as the world's first ramen restaurant to receive a Michelin star in 2015. Here, Chef Yuki Onishi's dedication to innovation, alongside his classic approach to traditional ramen, has earned Tsuta a loyal following of food enthusiasts from around the globe.
With its refined presentation, Tsuta challenges the notion that fine dining experiences must be reserved for upscale restaurants and proves that exceptional cuisine can be enjoyed in a casual, street-side setting.
Heading stateside, but not quite keen to blow the budget on $100+ roast chicken at New York’s NoMad restaurant? You might be in luck, with the Los Angeles-based food truck of the same name offering a more affordable roaming extension.
Led by Chef Daniel Humm, co-owner of the lauded Eleven Madison Park (and NoMad), NoMad LA initially gained fame for working with a rotating roster of emerging local Chefs. With one of the first, featuring James Beard-awarded Chef Roy Choi concocting a chicken dumpling burger with shrimp, chilli and ginger.
Photo credit: Melissa Hom.
Other previous offerings have included the Humm Dog, with bacon-wrapped sausage, a brioche bun, truffle mayonnaise and celery root relish; the NoMad Chicken Burger with foie gras, frisee and pickled shallots and the Milk and Honey Soft Serve - a nod to the Manhattan hotel’s mythical dessert. While the truck has recently switched to an event-only model, it is certainly worth scouting out when visiting the City of Angels.
Across the pond in Italy, a number of partnerships have proven that the marriage between street and sophisticated is not only possible, but can be extremely successful. Examples include:
•The launch of the ‘Follow the Star’ food festival by Michelin-starred Chef Heinz Beck (featuring four of his similarly awarded peers Moreno Cedroni, Ciccio Sultano, Chicco and Roberto Cerea).
•The ‘Il Panino del Re’ (or King's Sandwich) project by Massimo Bottura - the renowned Chef behind three-starred Osteria Francescana in Modena - which launched a food truck that served gourmet panini featuring high-quality ingredients and creative flavour combinations.
•The opening of a series of ‘Mercerie’ branded bars by Igles Corelli - a Michelin-starred Chef in the Atman restaurant in the Province of Pistoia where customers could enjoy mini dishes like lasagnette pasta to take away.
Finally, closer to home, in 2017, Burger Head saw the collaboration between Richard Borg (former-Momofuku Seiobo), Josh Deluca (ex-Quay, Park Hyatt and Swedish Michelin star Restaurant Mathias Dahlgren) and Timothy Rosenstrauss. Bringing the lessons learned from the fine dining kitchens of the world to the vibrant streets of Penrith, and reshaping casual dining in the process.
Regardless of your preference for street food or Michelin stars, the rise of fine dining-influenced roadside food vendors represents an exciting evolution in the culinary landscape.
From awarded Chefs and vendors, there is a growing movement to rewrite the rules of dining, proving that exceptional cuisine can be found in unexpected places.
