Melbourne's Noodle Night Market

Well as far as night markets, Asian food frenzies, hipster trends and cool Melbourne scenes go, the Noodle Night Market will probably take the cake for 2013. If you're not from Melbourne then I can forgive you for not knowing what the hell I'm on about, but if you are blessed enough to frequent this wondrous city then the hype about the Noodle Night Market would have been impossible to ignore. In fact, the only way you could have no knowledge of this event is if you lived in some kind of cave (along with Tony Abbott) and had no kind clue about what was happening in the real world. In which case I pity you, not only as you have to live alongside our ridiculous Prime Minister, but also because you missed out on what will potentially be the most talked about event of the year.

 For two glorious weeks Alexandra Gardens was transformed into an Asian-style hawker street food market filled with more than 25 food stalls, entertainment and a range of bars that drew crowds by the thousands each and every night. This was not your usual Asian market (which usually entails un-identifiable meats and more OH&S hazards than the Bourke Street McDonald's), complete with fairy lights, free chop sticks and picnic tables. Some of Melbourne's finest eateries were working their magic each night to present a range of tantalising dishes to entice and excite the massive swarms of people. There were offerings from the likes of Chin Chin (pork or tofu sliders), Mamak (roti chanai), Dumplings Plus (steamed or fried dumplings) and Longrain (yellow curry) so, whether you wanted to dine in style or just gorge yourself on some good old fashioned dumplings, these guys had your back.

 

I gotta say, I went on a 32 degree day (probably not the best decision I've ever made) and I don't remember the last time I saw so many people in one place. Despite the fact that no queue was shorter than 50 minutes and there was the faint smell of sweat mingling with that of the tandoori, the exciting and bustling atmosphere was worth every second. There's almost nothing more satisfying than chilling out on a hot day with a bowl of pho in one hand, a Coopers beer in the other and watching the most talked about Melbourne event un-folding before you. With a Dj keeping things moving (unlike the queues), Melbourne's finest eateries present and bars spaced every 50 meters or so (which gave me just enough time to finish my drink before I needed a refill), there's no wonder that the Noodle Night Market was such a huge success. If you did miss it this time around then do not despair my friend, because I'm almost certain this monster of a market will be back with bells - or should I say Chinese gongs- on.