A taste of Asian night markets at Hamilton’s Fisticuffs
Pasar malam is a Malaysian word that means night market." Night markets are popular in Asia and consist of vendors selling random knick knacks and of course delicious food. It is very casual, and families and friends will make it an event and explore the night markets to haggle for deals and enjoy a meal together. Nothing really compares to it in Canada, and it is something that you really must experience in person to fully appreciate, so add an Asian country to your bucket list and make sure you go to a night market!
Despite not having anything similar in Canada , there is a delicious new restaurant in Hamilton that is bringing a slice of the night market life to the city. Fisticuffs is Hamilton's newest restaurant that is specializing in Chinese Malaysian snack foods.
Owners Caitlin Chee and John Chee's goal is for guests to come to Fisticuffs and enjoy a unique and memorable dining experience where the history of the flavours and traditions of the food can be felt through second-generation interpretations and reimagining," Caitlin said.
This is our labour of love, and I want the personal touches to be felt just like they would at a hawker stall run by the same family for generations. Fisticuffs is a part of building new traditions for our family, and we want to bring guests and Hamilton into that experience, and make sure that it is always approachable, casual, and accessible."
Caitlin and John met while working together at a restaurant in Toronto, and quickly became friends. They originally had an idea for Fisticuffs to be a dive bar but their combined goals, passion, experience, and dreams led them to make Fisticuffs into a snack bar.
When I first started dreaming up the ways that the bar snacks could bring in the Chinese Malaysian food that I grew up eating and had a tough time finding out, the idea started to evolve into the restaurant that we have right now," Caitlin said.
As Fisticuffs continued to grow, I drew from the food that my grandma made for inspiration, and John started researching and recipe testing. My grandmother passed away early into the pandemic and the huge loss that that had on myself and my whole family made me think about how much she brought people together through food, and I knew that I wanted the restaurant to truly be a dedication to her and her kitchen."
Fisticuffs paid tribute to Caitlin's grandmother with their out-of-this-world food. When you visit, try a handful of dishes with the family and friends you dine with, to truly experience family-style dining.
Let's jump in to their unique menu.
Satay
Satay is skewered grilled meats loaded with flavour and toppings and we tired both the chicken and prawn options. The chicken satay was garnished with satay sauce, coconut floss, and crispy chicken skin. The prawn satay was served with sambal sauce (a popular Asian condiment that is made up of spices, chili peppers, herbs, and different aromatics), shrimp floss, and coriander. Also on the menu are an eggplant satay and maitake (mushroom) satay if you are looking for vegetarian options.
Plates
Under their plates section, you will find larger dishes that are also perfect for sharing. We tried the shrimp chips, which brought back a flood of childhood memories for me. Shrimp chips are light, airy, fried chips with a touch of shrimp flavour. At Fisticuffs, they top their shrimp chips with laksa dust and a spicy peanut drizzle. Laksa is an extremely popular spicy, coconut noodle dish in Asia. Chef John took the flavour of this noodle dish and made it into a powder form to dress these chips.
We also tried the nasi lemak which is a beautifully fragrant coconut rice dish served with crispy chicken skin, fried anchovy, peanuts, cucumbers, and eggs.
The hokkien mee did not disappoint either. This noodle dish was topped with fried soft-shell crab, gai lan, cabbage, and XO sauce. If you did not grow up in an Asian household, you are probably not familiar with the wonders of XO sauce. XO" in the name means extra old, which does not sound very appealing, but the sauce consists of dried seafood, shallots, garlic, chili, and oil. This sauce is the epitome of umami.
Sweets
For dessert, they were serving kaya French toast. This dish brought me right back to Singapore! Kaya jam is made with coconut and pandan leaves which gives it a beautiful light green colour. Pandan is a tropical plant, and its leaves is used to make this delicious jam. This dessert French toast is made with a light and airy milk bread which just melted in your mouth. This was a fantastic way to end a truly magical meal.
Drinks
The drinks menu at Fisticuffs consists of a healthy selection of beers, ciders, wines, non-alcoholic drinks, and their famous teapots that holds hand-crafted cocktails made for two to four people served in a beautiful Asian teapot.
Caitlin and John have a wealth of experience in the service industry and when you dine at Fisticuffs, you can feel that in their service. Caitlin glides through the dining room touching tables and making sure all their guests are happy. Chef John is in the kitchen dancing a well-choreographed dance in the back of the house creating magic with their dishes. It is quite a sight to see and experience and as I sat back soaking in the atmosphere, I felt incredibly lucky that we have such amazing people opening spots like Fisticuffs in Hamilton.
Fisticuffs is located at 301 Barton St. E. (at Victoria) and each plate ranges from $4 to $26. This is definitely the new hot spot in the city so make sure you book your table early through their website here: https://booking.libroreserve.com/24f5f899fef84ab/ON016645675604/seat
Joyce Leung is a food writer and blogger who lives in Hamilton. Find her teaching Asian cooking classes around the city when she is not dining out and trying all the delicious restaurants of Hamilton. Joyce will not write about any organizations she has a separate business relationship with. You can reach her at joyce@joyceofcooking.com