Chan’s Street Fusion is Asian-inspired street food at Parkville Market in Hartford
Chan Graham has traveled the world, to about 35 countries, often with her sister. “She’s all about the five-star hotels,” Graham said. “I’m all about the street food, the holes in the wall, places nobody else has ever been.”
Now travelers to Hartford can taste Graham’s own version of street food. Chan’s Street Fusion is a new stall in the Parkville Market food hall. Its grand opening is today.
“In Asia especially street markets are huge and they are a melting pot of different foods. But all countries have street food, even Iceland,” she said.
Graham wants to dispel some notions about street food.
“People think street food is fast food. It’s not. Everything I make is fresh. It’s like home cooking,” she said. “At the same time, it’s gourmet. I could make this in a gourmet restaurant and charge $30 a plate. Here you get it for $18.”
Graham is a native of Laos. Her parents were granted asylum after the Vietnam War and moved the family to Abilene, Texas. Graham graduated from the culinary arts program at Johnson & Wales University, then got an MBA in marketing and finance.
The cuisine of Laos dominates Graham’s flavor palette. She also throws in tastes of South Korea and New Orleans. In a nod to Hawaii, she puts taro in her egg rolls. And one of her handmade teas is flavored as in Thailand.
One of her favorite dishes is the sweet Korean pancakes, which come filled with cheese and corn ($14 for four) or pork barbecue ($17 for four). “The first time I tasted them in South Korea I was blown away. They were so good! You can eat them for breakfast or lunch and walk around while you eat,” she said.
Graham’s appetizers include veggie or pork egg rolls ($8 or $10 for four), Lao-style chicken wings ($13 for four) and fried eggs over rice ($11).
The national dish of Laos, larb, is a meat salad served as an entree. Graham makes them in chicken ($18) or mushroom ($15). Papaya salad (tum maak hoong) is $13 and a mixed salad with peanuts, fried shallots, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes and cucumbers is $14.
Honey-butter chicken with delicate rice cakes is $18. Laotian grilled chicken (ping gai) is $18. Lao-style grilled steak ($22) or chicken ($18) is served with spicy-sour dipping sauce jeow som. Stir-fry noodles (pad kee mao) are served vegan ($14) or with chicken or pork ($16). Crispy golden pork belly is served with a cilantro dipping sauce for $22. Her po’boy has grilled pork or crispy fried chicken ($18), served on a French baguette with maple syrup wasabi aioli. She also bakes a cake of the week, for $9 a slice.
Many dishes are served with jasmine rice or, for $2 more, sticky rice eaten by hand. All the side vegetables are raw. “If you cook them you lose the crunch,” she said.
Graham hand-makes her own juices in lemon, maple syrup, ginger and lavender flavors, for $7. Iced lattes, in original and lavender, are $7. Iced teas, in sweet, peach and Thai flavors, are $7.
Chan’s Street Fusion is Graham’s second venture into Connecticut’s culinary landscape. She and her sister, Khamla Vorasane, made a splash in 2020 when they opened BouNom Bakery in Avon.
Graham’s French-inspired creations quickly became beloved in the community, as did the sisters’ fundraising to fight anti-Asian hate. Within a year, Graham was nominated as Pastry Chef of the Year by the Connecticut Restaurant Association. A few weeks after that nomination was announced, Graham and Vorasane funded an Asian studies scholarship at UConn in honor of their parents. Vorasane continues BouNom on her own.
Graham is excited about her new venture and does not mind setting baking aside. “Baking is my hobby. I’m good at it, but it’s not my thing. Cooking is my passion,” she said. “People who know me from BouNom may have tasted my baking, but they haven’t tasted my cooking. They can come here for that.”
Chan’s Street Fusion is open Sunday and Monday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight. Parkville Market is at 1400 Park St. in Hartford. parkvillemarket.com.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.
