I have a tip. If you have never been to Sydney’s Night Noodle Markets, which usually runs throughout the Goodfood month of October, resist the temptation of going in the first couple weeks, as inevitably, foodies from across the city and interstate will flock to the venue in Hyde Park. Instead, do what we did and head in on the last couple days. We arrived at around 5pm on a Saturday afternoon, not long after opening time. The food was cooking but most importantly, there were little to no lines. It was refreshing to be able to see the menus and walk up to a vendor and purchase our meals with wait times counted in seconds rather than minutes in years gone by, or worse, hearing those words of doom “Sold Out”, as we neared the head of the queue.
Coco and Viner Mavis was on a mission. As we pass through the security check on entering Hyde Park, she is quick to locate Hoy Pinoy. We were unsuccessful in our last attempt to secure delicious skewers of chicken and pork that has made Hoy Pinoy one of the night noodle market’s favourites. Luckily for diners, there were 2 stalls at opposite ends of Hyde Park with barbecue pits casting that smoky, woody aroma across the venue and down Market Street. We feasted on inihaw na manok, a barbecue chicken in a traditional glaze. I loved the tender meat, with flavours of soy and kalamansi lime prevalent. There’s also a generosity in the size of the chicken chunks.
Inihaw na baboy are skewered pork belly with a banana glaze. Now, these were sweet, tender, and sticky with a touch of heat. Each bite is spectacularly delicious with smoky flavours enhancing and caramelising the meat. Little wonder it’s a hit at each edition of the night noodle markets. Thank you Hoy Pinoy for trekking up the Hume Highway from Melbourne to feed us.
From Filipino street food, we spot Harajuku Gyoza and make tracks. Harajuku Gyoza is famous in the Instagram world for its raindrop cake. Before the sweets though, we sample their octodog, which I think might take out this year’s prize for coolest food item. Three balls of fried dough with fried little sticks of sausage form the “tentacles” and the eyes are blobs of kewpie with nori. The “tentacles” are crispy and a touch spicy. The dough balls are also crispy yet very light. The mayo imparts a creamy, sweet yet savoury flavour. Inside the dough balls are frankfurters, which are just like the franks of the traditional dagwood dog, totally yum!
We demolish the octodog so we can get at a pair of raindrop cakes. The original raindrop cake is a spherical shaped translucent jelly that is partnered with brown sugar syrup, roasted soy flour (kinako) and sesame powder. In terms of taste, there isn’t much flavour in the jelly itself, but it really comes alive when mixed in with the sugar syrup, soy flour, and sesame. The sweetness and nutty flavour really awakens the palate. It remains a refreshing dish, but what I like is how the “cake” dissolves and doesn’t have the jelly texture. So smooth, so delicious.
Matcha raindrop cake follows a similar formula but the flavours of green tea replace the brown sugar and roasted soy flour. I love how the green tea flavour builds on the palate. It’s a refreshing dessert, that’s super light and fresh. It wouldn’t be hard to go through a few of these quite quickly!
We continue with the Japanese theme as we sample two dishes from a heavyweight of Japanese cuisine in Sake. We sample their famous steamed prawn shumai dumplings. Ironically, it’s the first of the dishes we sample that actually has some form of noodles in it! By the way, it would also end up being the last (perhaps organisers may need to come up with a new name for the markets, as skewers, fries, and baos seemingly dominate menus). The noodles are soft, as is the casing of the dumpling. There’s the familiar prawn flavours of a shumai, and the sharp citrus and salty flavours of the ponzu sauce give it a distinct Japanese flavour. Three of them is just not enough!
The second dish was the Sake signature loaded fries. After eating Sake’s take on fries, it’s going to be hard to go back to standard fries. Sake’s version utilises a Japanese root vegetable called gobo or burdock root. They were golden and crispy, and combined with tonkatsu, wakame, kewpie mayo, shallots and sesame seeds, you’ve got something pretty special. The “fries” aren’t stodgy and were very light and airy, with a nice balance between sweetness and sourness.
Before departing, there was one last dish I wanted to sample and it was perhaps the most vibrant dish of the night. Queenies prepare a Japanese scallop on a poppadum with black bean puree, tomatoes and radish. Now being of Indian heritage, there’s a saying that goes along the lines of, if an Indian restaurant’s papadums aren’t crispy, then the restaurant isn’t worthy. Now, Queenies is a Jamaican restaurant, but nevertheless the papadum, as they are referred to on the menu, are supremely crispy. The scallops are soft and buttery, sweet and taste of the sea. I love the black bean puree which adds a delectable savoury touch. The tomato and radish, keeps the dish zesty and fresh.
We came away from the Night Noodle Markets supremely impressed, most was with the quality of food. The format of a market layout, feeding thousands, could be an excuse to cut corners and compromise on quality. But, the quality was of the highest order, and definitely restaurant-worthy in a lot of the food we sampled. We are already looking forward to 2017 and what new delights will be on offer.
Essentials
Hoy Pinoy, Website : www.facebook.com/hoypinoybbq/
Harajuku Gyoza, Website : www.facebook.com/HarajukuGyoza/
Sake, Website : www.sakerestaurant.com.au/
Queenies, Website : www.queenies.com.au/
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