A Taste of Home: Asian Street Food, Big in Chicago

Eggholic

In the United States, “street food” means food trucks and hand-held items you might buy from streetside stands, like The Wiener’s Circle or Jim’s Original. But in most of Asia, street food is “what’s for dinner.” My first trip to Thailand, I was astonished to see food stalls lining almost every city block. In Thai cities, a lot of apartments don’t have kitchens—and for those that do, if there’s no A/C, there isn’t much temptation to cook if you can just walk up the street and purchase something from a vendor that you just know is going to taste good. On other trips and in other Asian countries, I learned that street food is widespread and wide-ranging. While some grilled items on skewers might be hand-held, there are also bowls and platters of stews, noodles and soups. Much food is carried home, but often, folding chairs on the sidewalk or in a nearby alley, is where locals hunker down to enjoy a meal. Though rare in Chicago, in Asia, street food is a way of life.

The words “street food” are appearing in the description of more and more Chicago-area Asian restaurants. I was interested in finding out how this dining culture was making the transition—and why. Was it meeting the needs of a growing population for which this was a taste of home? Was it reaching out to increasingly adventurous diners? Or was it because it was an affordable way to start a restaurant? It appears that, to a certain extent, the answer is yes to all of the above. Yvonne Liu Wolf, a Chinese intercultural consultant, points out that Chicagoans are generally adventurous, and many view street food as more authentic than regular restaurant fare. But Lay Patel, COO and co-founder of EggHolic, feels these places meet the needs of a more traditional audience.

EggHolic

Unusual among street-food restaurants across Chicago, EggHolic offers franchises, and can be found in multiple locations, including Chicago, Niles and Schaumburg, as well as seven other states.  “Indians are our main customers,” says Patel. “So we pick areas near Indian grocery stores or that have large Indian populations nearby—but also keep them in places where others can easily come.” Patel says street food is something people are more likely to miss when they’re far from home. “Most restaurants offer foods from north India or south India, but our food is from west India, primarily Gujarat and Bombay. Street food is huge in these areas, and no one else in the U.S. is doing this food.”

It might seem that the people from one state in India would not furnish the foundation of a restaurant empire. But according to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Indian Americans own more than forty-percent of all hotels and motels in the United States, and of those, seventy-percent are Gujaratis. Of course, since the food at EggHolic is sensationally good, the chain doesn’t have to rely solely on Gujaratis. Their sandwiches get rave reviews from every magazine that has written about them (Anda Masala is my favorite), but don’t skip the hot dishes. Hard to beat a plate of goti fry (sliced eggs buried in garlic gravy and cheese) or lachko (runny eggs cooked with green peppers). There are so many great options.

HD Cuisine

HD Cuisine

Echoing Patel’s observation that street food is likely to be missed by expats, Lin Randazzo, owner of HD Cuisine, says that it was she who missed the warmth and authenticity of food offered by hawkers on the streets, and so was born Hawker Delights, or HD for short. Back home, Randazzo says, her brother Tony Tan was a five-star chef, so she hired him to join her here to recreate the Malaysian food she was missing. (And Tony’s daughter Mindy also works in the restaurant, so this is definitely a family affair.)

HD is a tiny venue, with only two tables inside and a few more on the sidewalk. “But the tables outside are under a roof, so we can use them rain or shine,” Randazzo says. “Originally, we thought we would only offer carry-out, but we changed the permit so we could allow dining in. The place is small, but it was all we could afford. Our customers are very understanding. They share tables. They make reservations or visit at times when we aren’t busy. Of course, most of our business is still carry-out and catering. But we do dream of having a bigger place someday.”

Like Malaysia itself, the HD menu reflects Indian, Indonesian, Chinese and Malay cultures, with touches of Vietnamese and Thai. As a result, the menu ranges from Chinese pancakes to Indian roti, Malaysian mee goreng (fried noodles) to Thai green curry. Appetizers include satay, spring rolls and pot stickers, and, among “Tony’s Specialties,” Malaysian Ayam Masak Kicap (chicken) and Penang Char Koay Teow (noodles) are favorites. For those shopping nearby, they also offer fresh fruit smoothies and boba tea. They’re definitely living up to the hawker tradition.

Pinoy Grill

Tucked in a corner of a strip mall at the south edge of Arlington Heights, Pinoy Grill offers the street food of the Philippines. It’s wise to dine here at an off-hour or when the weather is nice and you can eat outdoors, because this popular place almost always has more customers than indoor seats. Most of the diners are Filipino, but owner Chris Yamat says focusing on street food helped them reach a larger audience. “During COVID, Arlington Heights listed places with carry-out options on their Facebook page. Street food is by definition carry-out. We created platters of popular street food items, and we soon had a huge number of new, non-Filipino customers. Many of them have become regulars.”

The first time I dined at Pinoy Grill, the kitchen was handling a full house and a constant stream of formally dressed groomsmen from a wedding they were catering. Despite this, my order arrived quickly. I suspect this is part of the street-food heritage—cook well, but don’t keep people waiting.

Yamat notes that they expanded the menu when lockdowns ended, so it’s not just street food now. The dinners are delicious (try the bangus, or boneless fried milkfish), but street food is still the mainstay. It ranges from “safe” (BBQ pork or chicken skewers, crispy spring rolls, steamed buns) to more challenging (BBQ pork intestines). Interestingly, Yamat says that some non-Filipinos struggle with the deep-fried pork belly. “I now ask people if they know that there is a lot of fat in pork belly. Of course, Filipinos expect that.” (So do I. Yum.) Street-food items can be ordered individually or in sampler platters—and, of course, can all be ordered for carry-out.

Tuk Tuk Thai Isan

Tuk tuks are the tiny, open, three-wheeled taxis that are ubiquitous in Thailand, so including them in this restaurant’s name communicates a focus on the street. In fact, Tuk Tuk is a common name among restaurants nationwide that offer Thai street food. Chicago’s Tuk Tuk Thai Isan, focuses on Thailand’s Isan region. This region is less frequented by tourists, but people from Isan have moved all over Thailand, and as a result, if you know Thai food, and especially if you’ve traveled in Thailand, you’ll have had Isan classics. The best-known Isan specialty is green papaya salad, which is the most popular salad throughout Thailand. Instead of the version found elsewhere, Tuk Tuk Thai Isan has five variations of the Isan specialty.

The flavors of Isan food, all present in the papaya salad, include chilis, peanuts, lime, dried shrimp, fish sauce and fresh herbs (including cilantro and basil). Another generally well-known Isan dish is the ground chicken salad that appears as larb at most places, but it’s spelled “laab” on the Tuk Tuk menu. (Converting names from an Asian alphabet often leads to variations.) There are plenty of other familiar dishes, such as pad Thai, but also many less-familiar Isan-style specialties to explore, such as ribeye, beef jerky or grilled fermented sausage. The combination of Thai transplants and adventurous Chicagoans has made this dine-in venue instantly successful.