Night Noodle Markets

Market Street Entrance to Night Noodle Markets

Tonight I had the pleasure of enjoying Sydney's annual Night Noodle Markets in Hyde Park. It only opened yesterday and it's been the talk of work emails and Twitter feeds.


After experiencing such awful weather the last two weeks, Dave and I decided to talk our first bridge walk this spring and head over to Hyde Park to see the action. Walking on Elizabeth Street was like being part of the masses headed towards a concert.


Once we entered the gated area, we were met with hundreds of diners sitting at tables, sitting on the grass, waiting in line, eating in line or just wandering.


All around the park are food tents from restaurants around Sydney. With so many options, we began looking at what people were eating rather than fighting our way up to the front of a line to inspect the menu.

Hyde Park Filled With Night Noodle Markets Diners

We wandered around till we found exactly what we wanted. Dave always goes for Vietnamese vermicelli bowl. I always go for calamari. Luckily, most tents were Asian inspired and we found our cravings. What we didn't want was to wait in long lines.

I waited in my line for about 15 minutes. For $12, I received a plate of salt and pepper calamari rings on a bed of greens drizzled with zesty lemon Asian dressing. I took my plate back to where Dave was waiting and we ate my plate together while he waited for 25 minutes for his $14 lemongrass beef vermicelli bowl. Quite pricey from our usual mid-week cheap eats, but it was worth the festival experience and having something you love ready for you.

Calamari is Always a First Choice

Salt & Pepper Calamari with Asian Salad

Can't Get Dave Off Vermicelli Bowls

Lemon Grass Beef Vermicelli Bowl

Huge Woks to Feed the Masses

We wandered a bit more to see a few tents we missed. One of the most eye catching was a Thai restaurant tent, which served only six dishes - all with their own giant wok individually manned to serve fresh hot stir-fries. There are a lot of mouths to feed each night. I wonder how much money each tent is making if each person is paying about $14 for a single serving dish.


We finished his meal while standing in line for dessert. Being the type to have finish off with sweet when I have salty, I opted for some mini pancakes. We could chose two sauces and then toppings at $1 per topping. We went with chocolate and caramel sauces and bananas. With bananas selling at such a high price because of Cyclone Yasi, we got only half a banana on our plate. It was a treat, but was it worth $11? 

Sweet Finish to the Night

Mini Pancakes With Bananas, Chocolate and Caramel Syrup

Time To Talk Off All That Food

Park Street Exit

Stuffed and overwhelmed by the crowds, we exited the park to walk off the $37 meal we had. "For Sydney..." tends to be a common phrase to justify prices in this city and I'll say it again. For Sydney, this was a decent meal.

If I feel lazy to cook in the next few weeks, I may just visit the food festival again. I'm always on the look out for the next best plate of calamari.

*The Night Noodle Markets will be running from 10-14 and 17-21 October from 5-9pm.