Good Food Month’s hawker-style markets will descend on Hyde Park once again from October 11-18, but this year things are a little different.
The market will be going out with a bang at its Hyde Park location this year before it moves to a larger space (to be confirmed) next year.
For the first time this year, your pooches will also be welcome at the Night Poodle Markets on Saturday October 12. It’ll be $5 entry for your furry friend with all proceeds going to the RSPCA. Each dog that beforehand will receive a professional photo and special dog treat from local gourmet pet bakery, BARKery.
It might be called the but stalls have evolved throughout the event’s 15-year history to feature the full spectrum of Asian street food dishes, far beyond a plate of pad Thai. This time, the market is turning on its own name further, with opening hours that begin at midday on weekends for lunchtime noodle enthusiasts.
This year, there will be a choice between 32 different vendors offering a range of goodies from fried noodles (of course), to whole crispy squid, biang biang noodles and deep fried ice cream, to name a few.
Filling Filipino food cravings will be barbecue masters, , whose story began when chef James Meehan met his Filipino-born wife and travelled there for the first time in 1998.
Hoy Pinoy will be grilling charred chicken skewers in a traditional soy glaze, and pork belly gleaming under a sticky banana sauce. Source: Sydney Night Noodle Markets
“I got hooked,” says Meehan, who is on a self-confessed mission to introduce Filipino barbecue to the masses.
They’re no stranger to feeding crowds; Hoy Pinoy’s barbecue can cook up to 4,500 skewers at a time, all done over charcoals. Expect charred chicken skewers in a traditional soy glaze, and pork belly gleaming under a sticky banana sauce, which is a little sour and a little sweet.
Hoy Pinoy are also offering up lechon, the Philippines’ celebratory whole roast pig (Meehan’s iteration is made up of a rolled loin, scented with a lemongrass, pandan and garlic stuffing) a slow-cooked star anise-scented wagyu beef dish, and adobo-flavoured roasted and smoked peanuts.
Hoy Pinoy’s barbecue can cook up to 4,500 skewers at a time, all done over charcoals.
Hoy Pinoy will be making all their condiments fresh on their day, including spiced vinegar and green papaya pickle, handy to cut through all the rich meat dishes.
“[Filipino food is] getting more popular and I think we’ve had a hand in that, galivanting around Australia and New Zealand,” Meehan tells SBS Food.
Fans of veggie and spice-packed snacks will be taken care of by . The Bombay pakora vendors came to life four months ago out of a hole in the wall in Sydney’s CBD, selling spiced, crunchy, Indian-style fritters powered by local produce.
Flyover Fritterie will be dishing out the same fresh pakoras as their shopfront from the market stall. Source: Flyover Fritterie
“Ours are a bit different,” owner Gunjan Aylawadi explains. “We use vegetables and produce that people are used to eating here in Australia, with spices and chickpea flour. And no butter, just olive oil [because] all our menu is vegan.”
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“We make our pakoras fresh, which is something that’s so hard to do. We want everyone to experience the same freshness you get in India. Even our tamarind and mint chutney is from scratch,” he says.
There are also full meals, like Flyover’s PBG bowl, a playful take on the famous Bombay street food dish, pani puri. It’s a spicy mash-up of cauliflower, kale, potatoes, pickles, herbs and a soft potato bun.
For portable snacks, will also be rolling up with their famous cloud-like buns ferrying punchy Asian-style fillings.
There will be no shortage of food, drink and activities at the week-long affair. Source: Sydney Night Noodle Markets
“You definitely can’t miss the Peking Cluck,” tips Bao Brothers co-director David Griffin. He's talking about the Chinese five-spice fried chicken with hoisin mayonnaise, pickled ginger and shallot salad.
To finish off the night, there will be sweets abound, but you'll want to save room for , where Kenneth Rodrigueza’s land in flavours like ube, pandan, and leche flan: a Filipino-style crème caramel sandwiched between a traditional yeast doughnut.
The flavours are an ode to Rodrigueza’s childhood in the Philippines - but he’s not bound by borders, and this year has taken inspiration from Korea’s sugar-stuffed fried pancake, the hotteok.
“It’s a Korean street food-style fresh pancake. Ours is made from glutenous sticky rice flour, and shallow-fried with a brown sugar and sesame seed filling,” Rodrigueza says, so you know you're in for a crunchy, chewy, sticky-sweet treat.
11-18 October
Monday & Tuesday 5pm-10pm
Wednesday & Thursday 5pm – 11pm
Friday 4pm – 11pm
Saturday 12pm – 11pm
Sunday 12pm – 10pm
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