Syhabout Shakes Up Hawker Fare's Menu & Cocktails

Now that his new spot Box & Bells in Rockridge is up and running, James Syhabout has refocused on his second restaurant, the casual Asian street-food spot Hawker Fare. As Inside Scoop reports, beginning today, he's implementing a new menu in which dishes are meant to be shared family-style in the northern Thai tradition, using a pad of sticky rice in the manner of a tortilla to eat with one's hands. It's the way Syhabout grew up eating, and now he wants to share it with others. While favorite dishes like the 24-hour pork belly and the blistered green beans are still in the mix, Syhabout's also introduced a few new items, like the moo yang (whiskey-marinated BBQ pork), grilled chicken-heart skewers, and a fried egg salad. Rice bowls, previously a staple of the restaurant, will now only be available at lunch. Here's the new menu.

On the drinks side, Box & Bells bar manager Christ Avaliotis has overhauled the cocktail menu, focusing on punches and tiki cocktails inspired by Oakland's history as a tiki mecca (it was home to the original Trader Vic's, among other influential bars). Four punches come by the glass or bottle, and tiki drinks like the mai tai will be made with fresh juices and quality spirits. (Jell-O shots for $1.50 and Linden Street's special rice lager for the restaurant are still on the menu. Here's the new drink menu. Frozen cocktails are also on the way soon, thanks to a margarita machine the restaurant just purchased.

· Hawker Fare unveils new dinner menu [Inside Scoop]
· Box and Bells, Syhabout's Newest, Arrives in Oakland [~ ESF ~]
· Vandals Set Hawker Fare Aflame, Close It Indefinitely [~ ESF ~]