The Rise of Street Food

It was once a dodgy hotdog or two, now street food has exploded into the mainstream.

Laura Peppas looks at Canberra’s street food revolution.

It's the food you can feel; tear it apart with your hands and watch it crumble. It’s unfussy, a bit messy, probably not served on a plate, definitely not served with shiny cutlery, and it’s more than likely consumed with one hand. It’s diverse, without pretension, easy on the hip pocket.

Welcome to the world of the street food boom.

Once upon a time, the words “street food” would conjure up images of a dodgy kebab cart on the corner of the street. The technical definition of the term is “ready-to-eat food or drink sold by a hawker or vendor in a street or other public place, usually sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck.”

These days in Canberra, you’re more likely to stumble across a street food-inspired venture than a fine dining venue.

But in recent years it’s taken on a new meaning. Now it’s lines of people waiting for the latest venture by a renowned Masterchef judge or an uber-cool industrial space with dim lighting and hip hop blasting.

Yet while it has evolved, street food has stuck to a simple formula: no fussiness, no white tablecloths, shiny cutlery sets or eye-watering bill at the end. Eating with your hands isn’t frowned upon—in fact it’s encouraged.

These days in Canberra, you’re more likely to stumble across a street foodinspired venture than a fine dining venue. To name just a few; Filipino eatery Lolo and Lola, Peruvian food truck Mr Papa, Indian food venture Tikka Stand, Braddon’s The Mandalay Bus or collective events such as The Forage and The Commons, which attract massive crowds rain, hail or shine.

So when exactly did street food make the move from street corner to mainstream meal?

Many experts point back to the global financial market crash in 2008. Restaurants were struggling, blaming the recession, and people were staying in for dinner. But entrepreneurial foodies sensed an opportunity: if they could provide restaurant-quality food at reasonable prices, the crowds would return.

Running a street food operation such as a food van or truck would have seemed like an attractive proposition: start-up costs and pitch fees are low, and unlike restaurants or cafes, vendors pay no rent or rates.

Many could argue Canberra’s own street food scene began long before the GFC, however. Those old enough will remember huddling around hotdog and burger vans such as Dolly’s, RJ’s or Marty’s. (Admittedly, these were largely reserved as a pit‐stop for blearyeyed souls on the way home from a particularly big night out in Civic.)

Events like The Multicultural Festival thrust street food into the daylight, attracting record crowds year after year when it launched 22 years ago at a time where street food was little more than a novelty.

It wasn’t until about a decade ago that venues began exploring street food as a more permanent, day-to-day option.

ONE OF THE PIONEERS of Canberra’s street food movement is food van The G Spot, run by Andrew and Lee-Ann Dale since 2001.

The business spans two generations, having recently been taken over by Andrew’s daughter, Laura, who has previously worked as a chef for the likes of AKIBA, Ginger Catering and CoCu.

“I remember when we first opened, I’d be helping Dad out with hot dogs as an 11-year-old in between reading my Harry Potter books,” Laura says.

When her father first told people he wanted to open a food van in a car park in Gungahlin, Laura says he was “laughed at.”

“He was told ‘it’s never going to work, you’re in the sticks, there’s nothing there’,” she says.

“On the first day we made about $200 and my mum was worried. But my dad said, ‘just wait, it’ll happen.’”

And happen it did. Within a few months, The G Spot had a loyal following thanks to its hearty meals and cheekily-named menu items such as Fat Bastard (burger with eggs and bacon), Dead Cow’s Ass (roast rump roll), and FNC (fish and chips.)

Laura hopes her chef training will take The G Spot into the next era; running the van with her partner Sophie.

“At first I thought it might be a step back to take it over because it was what I grew up with, but now I realise it’s the way forward, because that way of eating is the way forward,” she says.

“I think the more time has gone on, people have let go of the notion that when you go out you have to sit down and be prim and proper and look the part and wait six months to go out—meals can be every day, with anyone from your work colleagues to your family. Food doesn’t have to come in pretty packaging to be amazing; it doesn’t have to have all the swirls, dots and frills.”

OTHER VENTURES that should be credited for taking Canberra’s street food scene to a new level are popular street food event The Forage and pop-up The Hamlet in Braddon. The Forage, in particular, has attracted tourists from around the nation since its launch in 2014, with an exciting collection of local restaurants, food trucks, cafes, wineries and breweries coming together to celebrate Canberra's foodie scene.

Following on from their successes were the openings of Westside Container Village at West Basin, ANU pop up village and street food festival The Commons in Commonwealth Park. In what seemed a short space of time, Canberrans had an array of street food options under their belts, and the crowds weren’t slowing.

There has been an explosion of street food over the past 20 years and it has made Canberra a better place to live.

More recently, street food has taken on a more sophisticated edge as high end chefs sat up and took notice, with everyone from Luke Nguyen and George Calombaris jumping on board with their own street food restaurants.

According to Canberra-based former food critic Catriona Jackson the attraction for chefs is clear: with its transient nature, street food provides an easy way to keep up with ever-changing consumer demand for new flavours, textures and winning combinations.

“There has been an explosion of street food—or quality, ethnically diverse, eat-in-one-hand food— over the past 20 years and it has made Canberra a better place to live,” Catriona says.

“We were coming off a low base—remember how much fuss there was when pioneering café owner Gus had to fight for all those years just to get tables on the street?

Aside from the fact that street/casual food is easy on the pocket, it is also honest, raw, real, and unpretentious.

“Street food has the big three: affordability, accessibility and flavour. Many cultures have established delicious foods that are only available on the street, dishes you don’t get anywhere else, and that are designed to grab on the go.”

Take Peruvian food truck Mr Papa, established by Carlos Ramirez-Roldan. Since launching in 2013 as part of the Multicultural Festival, it has become a wildly-popular addition to The Forage with its staple Chanchito burger (grilled pork belly, sweet potato and onion salsa) attracting endless lines of hungry locals.

Carlos agrees there’s nothing better than showcasing his Peruvian culture through creative food.

“I grew up in an environment surrounded by chefs and staff, as my grandfather started to work as a waiter in a social club in Lima-Peru back in 1930,” he says.

“I always have in mind an image of my grandma walking around the kitchen to make sure food recipes were followed, respecting the tradition and flavour.

“Then there was my mother, who always had this passion for cooking and willingness to teach every secret. When it comes to recipes, no one beats her.”

Carlos credits two things for street food’s skyrocketing popularity: its ability to easily adapt to changing trends, and Canberra’s rising multicultural population.

“Street food allows you to offer friendly dishes that are easy to eat and of course to enjoy—there’s nothing better than eating with your hands,” he says.

“For us personally, we wanted to go a bit out of the box and forget the traditional service out of a waiter with a black and white uniform or being served from the traditional white square/rectangular plate.

“We wanted more vibrant colours, more new flavours that people have never tasted and just a whole new experience—a real Peruvian party."

Another street food venture enjoying success is Filipino eatery Lola and Lolo. Since its beginnings as a food truck selling Filipino breads and cakes at the Westside Acton Park Sunday Market in 2015, the business has bloomed to a thriving permanent space at the Watson shops.

As Filipino-Australian cooks, owners Kim and Jay Prieto say it was their ultimate dream to show locals their heritage and culture through the food that they passionately cook.

“Most of our customers tell us that our food doesn’t just taste like ‘coming home’—they actually feel that they are ‘home’ when they are at Lolo and Lola. I try not to cry whenever I hear this,” Kim says.

“Aside from the fact that street/casual food is easy on the pocket, it is also honest, raw, real, and unpretentious. I have always believed that it is the most genuine reflection of one's culture.”

Catriona agrees, and is strongly of the view that street food better reflects our multicultural population.

“It opens all our senses to different flavours, textures, cultures and traditions,” she says.

“Having a bewildering array of options is one of the things that makes Australia great.”

And while street food may continue to evolve, it won’t be going anywhere soon.

“There is no way to turn back once you have the bug for eating well in all circumstances,” Catriona says.

“The rise of better casual food also puts pressure on more formal establishments in a good way. Better food, everywhere, all the time—what’s not to like?” •

Photography by: Tim Bean Photography | 5 Foot Photography | Bec Doyle Photography