An Asian fusion set up in white tents around Hyde Park with a combination of art and modern architecture is something otherwise known as the famous annual Night Noodle Markets, which was on October 10-26 from 5pm.
“If it’s Good Food Month, it must be time for the Night Noodle Markets! With all the colour, sounds and smells of an Asian hawker market plus the buzz, hype and vibe of a huge outdoor festival, the Night Noodle Markets is back for 2014 with a record 50 food stalls across Hyde Park.”
Two words: food coma. Enough said. Blogs ends.
I can’t believe how much the night noodle markets have transformed! My eyes were popping out everywhere I went and I kinda felt like I was a kid again. Most impressively, I cannot believe how beautiful they’ve transformed Hype Park.
Our journey started from the closest corner to Townhall station. The tents with red flags had the food and the ones in yellow were bars. To our disappointment, the booze was very pricey…probably $8 for a bar? It was not a surprise that there weren’t many lines when you could go for a mid week special at any other pub.
Starting from the right and walking anticlockwise, we totally did not expect to stumble upon the second biggest line ever- for the ramen burger and rice burger. They went for $13.50 a pop and to be honest, I was sooooo tempted!
The queues were long, the food smelt so good, it was hard to choose what to eat! The most popular store by far was the Hoy Pinoy. They made smoking got Filipino BBQ and street food and the line was a snake in a maze!
Look at dem skewers sizzle!
St Honore Cake Shop sold these tempting pancakes with mango, strawberry, taro, custard or banana for $6. It’s a shame I don’t fancy cream but boy do they look delicious!
We followed the red laterns and stumbled across teppanyaki noodles, pad thai, curry, laksa, span thai, dumplings, Korean chips on a stick… And the list goes on! The standard pricing was around $12 a dish.
The atmosphere was incredible! I can’t believe this was Tuesday and it was packed! There were tons of chairs and tables, umbrellas, and some were even on the grass.
The Temporium really desserts a trophy, if not, an awards for designing the best portable artwork in a park. I loved how the lights made it illuminate and there was even seating inside! I also enjoyed the 3D hexagons with plants. Fancy!
Coopers Pale Ale had a wall as well..using potted plants as inspiration.
Using wine barrels as tables will never ever get old!
Cathay Pacific was running a silent film and had colourful lanterns as decoration. I’m not if many people were paying attention but the movement made the atmosphere more lively.
Since the weather was pretty chilled, I guess there could been rain potential. What really stood out from this year was that there weren’t many people sitting on the grass. I think they’ve realised that office workers don’t want to damage their expensive clothes (if they’re rich. I don’t mind since most of my clothes are under $10 hehe).
The Messina line was, as expected, long. At the end of the night we got dessert here and it actually didn’t take too long! From the white stand, it only took 15 minutes? We tried the Street Hawker, which consisted of a very intense and very hard-to-stab lime and chocolate with peanut butter gelato, coconut and caramel jam and fortune cookie clusters topped with a peanut cookie.
We took it up the Yalumba balcony and had it there.
I loved the three scoops of ice cream but the brownie was rock hard..we didn’t even finish it. According to my credible sources, the mango one is the best!
Continuing on into the spring wonderland, we passed wooden tipis. I actually love this. I know it is absolutely useless in terms of productivity but I see the fun of it!
The red lantern spectacular has returned! Once you get there, it’s selfie-land. #noregrets
Thatchers hired a DJ to play in their area and might I say, I have always wanted bean bags. My life is now complete.
Citibank has once again produced their iconic tent of lights.
I think the most creative area was the lounge with the umbrellas. There was a dude drawing a funky piece of art, which I’m sure he’s been working on since the beginning of the markets, and it’s quite fun to see someone create magic.
The umbrellas in the ceiling were way cool. I’ve loved the colourful theme that has been consistent in all areas of Hyde Park.
The Ping pong area looked more like a competition studio than a temporary outdoor area. Look at those looming red light!
We ended up getting a mixed entree for $10 and Nasi goreng for $8 at China Ria. The curry puffs were crunchy and flavoursome and the chicken skewers were sooo juicy!
The Nasi goreng was really nice too. I guess because it was vegetarian there was a whole heap of different toppings but nevertheless, it was still flavoursome and delicious! You could add more sauces if you wanted.
I’m amazed at how many people were there! It seems to get bigger and better so I’ve got high expectations for next year!
Rating Review: (1-5, with 5 being exceptional)
Event (Night Noodle Markets): 5/5
Ambience: 4.75/5
Service: 4/5
Value: 4.5/5
Would I recommend going to the Night Noodles Markets? Definitely!!!! There is such a variety of food I don’t think anyone would not be able to nothing to eat. Even if you don’t want to have a meal, its great to get into the atmosphere and to walk around Hyde Park. So much is going on and the photos above are only a snapshot.
Highlight: The art installations/pop up bars and atmosphere. I was most impressed at how Hyde Park has been transformed into a night bazaar. Before, it was more about the food but this year, they’ve really thought about the people attending the event and experiencing it as a whole.
Suggestion of improvement: The prices of the drinks were .. not that great for $8. The gin and tonic green goblets were amazing because it wasn’t ordinary and quite quirky but if there’s nothing special then it’s not great. I liked how there were distinct lines for each stall but it would’ve been better if the clusters of stalls were congregated into types of food? Perhaps by region, or type of food.. makes it easier to navigate back to what type of food we wanted!
Link: http://sydney.goodfoodmonth.com/nightnoodlemarkets
End: Sunday 26 October 2014, occurs annually
Official hashtag: #noodlemarkets
Angela Bee
The Walking Advertisement 