The Hawker / Street food magazine

ISSUE #20

from

CDMX’S HEART

BANGKOK’S STREET FOOD an illustrated map

TIPS FOR A GOOD TERERE on page 12...

A SICILIAN BREAKFAST Customer Review

table of contents

FEATURED DRINK

12

A close look at Paraguay’s national drink

EAT LIKE A LOCAL

A truly local experience with Rocío Vazquez’ food tour in Mexico City and its surrounding areas.

CONTENTS Letter from the Editor 3 Featured Dessert

City Food Map #Hawkereats Customer Review

6-9

4

12 14 15

MAGAZINE Vol. 7 | Issue 4 | April 2017

Vice President of Niche Publishing, Catherine Neville cat@thehawker.com

Director of Sales Angie Hensaw ahen@thehawker.com 314.475.1298

TEAM Editor in Chief Isary Amairani isam@thehawker.com

Art Director Alexandra Doyle adoyle@thehawker.com

Associate Editor Nancy Stiles nastil@thehawker.com Digital Editor Heather Riske riskeh@thehawker.com Photographer airbnb Avellana Silva CONTACT US Feast Media, 8811 Ladue Rd Ladue, MO 63124 hello@thehawker.com

All contents are copyright © The Hawker Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents without prior or written permission of publisher, is strictly prohibited.

FROM the EDITOR Dearest Reader, Imagine a trip you’ve been planning for the longest time. You get to your destination and you’re eager to have an authentic experience. However, reality is that most of the resources you have are design for tourists which lacks that authenticity you’re looking for.

At The Hawker, we believe that a big part of a genuine traveling experience is culture and food. We want you to be able to get to your destination and have a sense about that’s place culture, and more importantly to know the locations and the types of food that locals consume. Our focus is on street food and we want to give you tips about locations and dishes that you must try during your stay in that specific destination.

We welcome you to rediscover the travel experience, one that gives you a better sense of the culture and the everyday street-food. The Hawker will provide you with resources that will help you enhance that experience and live it as a local would do. I do hope you find inspiration here!

Isary Amairani, Editor in Chief The Hawker Magazine

APRIL 2017

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PICARONES SERVES: 8-10 INGREDIENTS 1 lb sweet potato (peeled) 1 lb flour 3 tbsp. fresh yeast 2 cinnamon sticks 4 cloves 2 tbsp. anise seed 3 tbsp.v sugar 1 pinch salt 2 eggs (slightly beaten) oil (as necessary) DIRECTIONS 1 Fill water in a pan with clove cinnamon, and aniseed 2 Boil for 10 min and strain 3 Cook sweet potatoes in the boiled water 4 Remove pan and strain mix 5 Keep 2 cups of the water & allow to cool 6 In a bowl, mix yeast, sugar & keep cooking liquid 7 Set aside for 15 minutes 8 Place sweet potatoes in a bowl 9 Add salt, yeast mixture & eggs 10 Fold in flour, stir until dough is soft, smooth, and elastic 11 Cover with a damp cloth and leave dough to rise for 1 hr 12 Heat oil in a skillet until hot 13 Form a ring with the dough & fry until is all golden

PHOTO OF A PICARONES STICK TAKEN IN DOWNTOWN LIMA

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PERÚ featured dessert

A FINGERLICKING DELIGHT Peru’s favorite snack WRITTEN BY SUZANNE VAN ATTEN

PICA-

RÓN

Lima is famous for its street food. Anticuchos (beef heart kebabs), pork tamales and arroz con leche (rice pudding) are among the delicacies sold on corners from Surco to Miraflores to the Centro Histórico. But no vendors are more sought-after than those frying picarones – a particular favourite of pisco-fuelled revellers stumbling on to the streets of Barranco, Lima’s bohemian nightlife district.

At first glance, they look like fat onion rings, but they’re actually more like a variation on the doughnut. Mashed sweet potato, squash and aniseed are made into an elastic dough with flour, yeast, egg and sugar. This is shaped by hand into rings and deep-fried until golden brown.

The rings are then scooped up with a stick run through their centres, and drenched in an aromatic syrup made

from cinnamon, cloves and a sort of unrefined cane sugar called chancaca.

Peruvians have been eating picarones for more than 200 years. They originated with buñuelos, fried dough balls introduced by Spanish colonialists, and were reimagined by African slaves, who added squash and sweet potato to the recipe. The result is a warm, fragrant treat that’s crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, with just the right amount of sweetness.

Good places to look for picarone vendors are Parque Kennedy in Miraflores, Parque Castilla in Lince and Parque de la Cruz in Barranco. El Tio Mario is a restaurant close to the Bridge of Sighs in Barranco that does exceptionally good picarones, and, importantly for the party crowd, it’s open til 2am every day except Sunday. ■

from the heart of CDMX WRITTEN BY ISARY AMAIRANI

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MEXICO featured article

EAT LIKE A LOCAL

Mingle with the locals, eat like they do.

Walk Mexico, and let it tell you its own story.

WRITTEN BY ISARY AMAIRANI

Eat Like a Local is a gastrotour in Mexico

Mexico, and she aims to share with her

City and its surroundings run by Rocio

clients everything about Mexico through

Vazquez, food blogger, cooking student,

exploring the city like a local, discovering

and traveler. Eat Like a Local is a combina-

delicious flavors and hidden treasures,

tion of Rocio’s passion for CDMX and her

listening to amazing stories and fun facts

eternal hunger. Rocio’s goal is to enhance

about Mexico City, and be proud of taking

their customer’s experience by putting

a tour with a company that supports local

herself in her clients’ shoes helping them

vendors and promotes economic growth

avoid tourist traps, bad restaurants, and

for its community.

hidden costs. She wants to make her cus-

There are different elements that make

tomers experience an authentic local ex-

Eat Like a Local tour different from others.

perience instead of a tourist one.

All of the tours are run by Rocio Vazquez,

Eat Like a Local has an important creative

which intends for the groups to stay small,

component, Rocio travels twice a year

they have a maximum of 6 persons per

to places she only knew through books,

group. The flexibility of the tours is some-

seeking inspiration. Not only her 4,500

thing else that make this tour special,

clients have experience her local adven-

tours are adapted to the group, changing

tures, more than 50,000 followers follow

or adding stops. Rocio believes that being

her journey through her social media ac-

spontaneous is what makes the difference

counts.

between a traveler and a tourist. ■

The tours are the result of years of travel and investigation. Rocio is in love with

What our customers say about us.

“BEST FOOD TOUR OF ALL!” Each tour is tailored to the interests of the participants. We learned the subway along the way.

Terrific tour! We’ll call Rocio again when we return to Mexico City to do a specialized tour for us.

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PERSONALIZED TOUR” Rocio is knowledgeable about the city, its history, culture, and food, is a fellow traveler, and clearly love the city she shares with its visitors.

“FABULOUS FOOD ADVENTURE!” I loved every minute of the Mexican Food 101 tour! Next time I visit Mexico City, I will definitely book another one of Rocio’s excellent tours!

EAT LIKE A LOCAL

FOOD TOURS

MEXICAN FOOD 101

MEXICO CITY HOT SPOTS

TACOS, PULQUES, MEZCAL

Duration: a 6 hour walking culinary experience for the food obsessed

Duration: a 4.5 Hour walking culinary experience for the culinary trendsetter

Duration: A 3 hour walking culinary experience

Times: daily 9:30 – 15:30

Times: Wed & Sat 20:30 – 24:30

Times: daily 16:00 – 19:00

Experience the contrast of our chaotic markets. Discover the colorful flowers market, eat fantastic street food, walk around the witchcraft market, explore Merced market and get lost surrounded by screaming vendors, fruits, veggies, “diableros” running while carrying tons of fruits, ride the subway, eat at cute bakeries, have a beer at a cool restaurant.

For trend-setters, cool hunters, & enthusiastic foodies this culinary scene is mind blowing. If you want to explore Mexico City gastronomic boom this is the tour for you, we don´t have a fix route, it changes according to the new openings, prepare yourself for an night of discoveries, become a culinary explorer in one of the hottest culinary spots in the world.

Experience chaotic markets

Join the ultimate food experience

Hop on the tacos roller coaster for the taco obsessed

Tacos and mezcal no best possible combination. Walk around La Condesa, eat delicious tacos, pulques, fruit water and more, while learning about the different taquerías, taco techniques and daily life facts. Sauces are really important when we talk about tacos, learn why Mexicans say “The salsa makes the taco” and prepare yourself for a tasty afternoon.

WRESTLE AND DANCE

LATE NIGHT SUNDAY

Duration: a 4 hours experience for the adventurer and food enthusiast

Duration: a 5 hour walking culinary experience for the food obsessed

Times: Tuesday 20:00 – 24:00 & Friday 20:30 – 24:30

Times: Sunday 20:00 – 12:00

Luchas are the most amazing and fun Mexican spectacle, watch the “luchadores” flying in the air wearing their masks and colorful costumes while listening the screams and cheering from the fans. After some beers and lots of fun, we will have a tacos at a street stall, that will give you the energy a night of salsa, cumbia and bachata.

Let´s dance! Join this tour and dance in one of the most famous ballrooms, sip a cuba libre and let the tropical rhythms drag you into the chilango night. After a good dance, prepare yourself for amazing food, discover 3 late night spots, taste churros with hot chocolate, tacos dorados with café lechero, and pozole with horchata.

Live the most fun and colorful mexican show lucha libre

Dance, eat, live the magical Sunday chilango night

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PARAGUAY featured drink

MADE to SHARE Paraguay’s national drink WRITTEN BY BRITTANY BOROIAN

If I had to describe Paraguay in one word, it would be tranquilo. It’s a hard phrase to properly define in English, so here’s a few expressions that encompass its essence: everything’s chill. Relax. No worry, no hurry. Be at ease. Hakuna Matata.

Tranquilo is not just a word; it’s a state of being.

This tranquilo lifestyle permeates all aspects of Paraguayan culture. Perhaps it’s because many campesino (typical) Paraguayans spend their days hanging out on lawn chairs with friends and gossiping about the latest news, or because there’s not a lot of hustle and bustle in a town of 8,000 people.

It all starts and ends with tereré, a drink that is as concurrent in Paraguay as is breathing.

Tereré is made of yerba maté, the leaves and twigs of a tree grown in South America. It’s always served out of a guampa (a small, special rounded-out cup or bull horn) and with a bombilla (a flat, metal straw with a filter that ensures you aren’t actually drinking said leaves

or twigs). Tereré is always provided iced cold, and accompanied by a thermos or pitcher to pour into the guampa. The server will pour water into the guampa and pass it around in a circle to any visiting participants. There is no hesitancy to sanitation here; everyone all shares from the same straw. Paraguayans drink Tereré while they hang out with friends.

Like choosing a fine bottle of wine, Para-

Honestly, there is something about the summer heat (which can top 115 degrees) that zaps you completely of energy and can put you in a coma during the siesta (lunchtime) hours. Tereré is the answer to all of your troubles: it is the most cool, refreshing drink you will ever taste in your life. The caffeine is stimulating and energizing, it is the best part of the day.

Think of Tereré as Gatorade and Red Bull, except super-charged.

Tereré promotes the tranquilo lifestyle because it is a ritualistic experience and communal activity. It doesn’t matter whether you are old or young, rich or poor, Paraguayan or foreigner–Tereré is shared with everyone. It links friends, family neighbors, colleagues, and even strangers. Everything’s chill. Relax. No worry, no hurry. Be at ease. Hakuna Matata. When you have Tereré, life is good. ■

There is no hesitancy to sanitation; everyone shares from the same straw. Paraguayans drink Tereré while they hang out with friends.

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guayans like to pick their own special yerba maté blends and yuyos (herbs) to add to their Tereré. Popular picks are mint and lemongrass, which Paraguayans will usually pluck out of their backyard to put into their drink. There are also all kinds of herbs that Paraguayans claim to cure every medical issue possible, ranging from stomach indigestion to preventing pregnancy.

So what’s the deal with Tereré, and why is it such a staple down in Paraguay?

MUST HAVE FOR A GOOD TERERÉ

1

Natural Juice

people recommend using citrus fruits and make sure it is really cold

2

Yerba Mate

3

some of the best brands are: Guayaki, Taragui, and Cruz De Malta

Bombilla

spoon filter bombillas are the most popular used by expert mate drinkers.

TERE-

RÉ

HOR MOK PLA

(Steamed Thai Fish Custard)

WHERE TO TRY IT Nang Loeng PRICE RANGE 40-60 baht ($1.20-1.80)

KHANOM KROK

(Coconut Griddle Cakes) WHERE TO TRY IT Banglamphu PRICE RANGE 15-30 baht ($0.50-0.90) per dozen

KANOM BUANG (Thai Crispy Pancakes) WHERE TO TRY IT Talat Phlu PRICE RANGE 10–30 baht ($0.30–0.90)

MOO PING

(Thai grilled pork)

WHERE TO TRY IT Charoen Krung PRICE RANGE 4-10 baht ($0.30-0.15)

KHAO NIAO MAMUANG (Mango Sticky Rice)

WHERE TO TRY IT Mae-varee PRICE RANGE 100-145 baht ($2.90-4.20)

PLA DUK YANG

(Grilled Catfish)

WHERE TO TRY IT Central World Mall PRICE RANGE 60-100 baht ($1.75-2.91)

SAI KROK ISAAN (Sour Issan Sausages) WHERE TO TRY IT Soi Ari PRICE RANGE 10-15 baht ($0.30-0.43) per stick

7 street foods to try in

BANGKOK

#hawkereats

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ITALY customer review

Gelato for Breakfast?

It’s the Sicilian way WRITTEN BY SUE STYLE

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GREAT SICILIAN GELATERIE TO GET BRIOCHE AT

Catania

MUSUMECI SANTO Piazza Santa Maria, 5 Randazzo

Ragusa

Gelateria l’Artigianale Via Pietre Nere, 31 - Pozzallo

Palermo

Gelateria Brioscià

Via Mariano Stabile, 198 - Palermo

Taormina

Gelateria O’Sciality Piazza Antonio Abate, 11 - Taormina

Agrigento

Gelateria Le Cuspidi

Viali dei Giardini, 6 - San Leone

Cefalú

L’Angolo Delle Dolcezze Via Pietro Novelli, 2 - Cefalù

For sheer decadent deliciousness, gelato with brioche is hard to beat. Where on God’s earth did such a gorgeous idea ever take root? In Italy’s Sicily, that’s where. And it’s not even some kind of exotic dessert, reserved for high days and holidays. Sicilians eat gelato con brioche for breakfast.

Long before we left home for our late September break on the island, excitement at the prospect of trading up from yogurt, fresh fruit, cereal and toast to lashings of ice cream sandwiched inside a sweet, buttery bun began building up. In idle moments while planning the trip, we pondered which flavors we might go for: darkest chocolate, Nutella, coffee or pistachio? Or maybe mango, peach, strawberry or blueberry? And could Sicilians routinely break their fast on ice cream and brioche, or had we been fed an urban myth?

That first morning in Sicily, we piled into the car and drove to the city of Ragusa Ibla to find out. Threading our way through the cool, shaded streets on the way to the center, we happened upon chef Ciccio Sultano drawing on an early-morning cigarette outside his world-famous restaurant, Il Duomo. Could he point us to the best place to get gelato?

Ma certo (of course). It all depended whether we wanted a cafe, where we could have the full works seated at a table, or a gelateria, where it would be breakfast on the hoof.

We chose the cafe option and settled down at pavement tables on the square below the Duomo, etched in dazzling white like a gorgeous Baroque birthday cake iced in white against an azure sky. At any moment, we expected police cars to screech to a halt and for Inspector Montalbano, Andrea Camilleri’s famous Sicilian serial cop (the TV series was filmed here), to leap out with his uniformed team in hot pursuit of some hapless criminal.

We placed our orders and leaned back expectantly. After a gentle pause, breakfast arrived. Cappuccinos with smileys traced in frothy milk, freshly squeezed orange juice, a couple of cannoli front-loaded with ricotta and candied fruits, and the long-awaited pièces de résistance: cushions of warm, softly yielding brioche cradling sinfully smooth, ice-cold gelato. We wrapped our hands around them, took a bite, moaned in pleasure, munched again. Heaven. ■

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AD Belong Anywhere

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