Things were very different for Monica and Pete a year ago, most mornings would consist of waking up at 2am for work in a bakery. These days they have Hawker Boys, their own restaurant in the bustling dining precinct of Hardware Lane.  

In those early hours baking, they developed a desire to start their own business and while they contemplated opening a bakery, their true aspirations were to open a restaurant inspired by their Chinese and Vietnamese heritage.

“To make it with a bakery, you need to move out into more rural areas where there are less options, but we wanted to stay here in Melbourne.” Monica said.

Earlier this year when a space opened up in Hardware Lane, they saw it as the perfect opportunity and with a strong business model they were able to create Hawker Boys.

Hawker Boys Wonton Noodle Soup UberEATS
Hawker Boys – Wonton Noodle Soup

In many ways Hawker Boys epitomises the essence of Melbourne, it’s a small business owned by a young couple which produces delightful yet simple Asian fusion dishes.

“Everyone was doing pho, so we didn’t really want to follow that path, instead we’ve gone with what we grew up loving…things like wonton noodle soup and bbq pork.” Monica said.

Hawker Boys and UberEATS Melbourne share a similar trajectory in the sense that only three weeks after Monica and Pete launched Hawkers Boys, UberEATS launched in Melbourne. It’s been a journey shared together with great success.

Pete’s mum, who works in the kitchen making the wonton noodle soup adds a real touch of family and authenticity, which has proved instrumental in Hawker Boys early popularity.

Pete's Mum working in the Hawker Boys kitchen
Pete’s mum at work in the Hawker Boys kitchen

On the surface Hardware Lane could be mistaken for a competitive hub with its extensive range of restaurants, but Monica and Pete were quick to recommend neighbours to UberEATS.

Neighbouring restaurants like A25, Kalamaki Greek Street Food and Claypots Barbarossa have now all joined UberEATS transforming the dining district into a delivery hub.

While the hours are still extensive, being able to share the home-cooked meals they enjoyed growing up with an ever increasing clientele certainly brings a great deal of satisfaction for Monica and Pete.

Try Hawker Boys wonton noodle soup in the UberEATS app.

If you’re a first time user we’ll give you $10 off with the promo code: HawkerBoys10s