Night Noodle Markets @ Hyde Park, Sydney

With the Sydney Tower watching over a canopy of colourful paper lanterns that welcome visitors to the Night Noodle Markets, the crowd was beginning to swell.

I was fortunate, as the queue was still short at Jackie M's stall. I quickly joined the queue, placed my order and patiently waited for my number to be called.

My plate of Fried Radish Cake ($15), although a tad pricey, was a plateful of authentic Malaysian street food awesomeness. Good wok hei, big portion, fresh bean sprouts, generous serving of radish and yes, good dollop of sambal.

And that was the only thing I had that night, other than a cup of hot chocolate courtesy of C. However, I did take my time to walk the entire market to see who else had set up stall - my first time at this event, after all. Previously, I only go for The Good Food Month's Let's Do Brunch (now Let's Do Lunch).

So, let's start with the stall next to Jackie M (her stall was the first one) and just follow the loop of all the stalls at Hyde Park. There were Kinn Dining and New Shanghai...

Rolls Vietnam and Ippudo Sydney...

Dim Sum Station and Chat Thai...

There was a section of the park that had the violet canopy of jacaranda blooms. The cool weather provided much relief from the heat in the past week.

The Coffee Tram...

Coopers... ah, booze, perfect to usher in the weekend...

Okay, continuing with the loop... Bar Pho and Mamak...

Fei Jai...

Interesting, the first ramen burger to be sold in Sydney apparently...

The smell of cinnamon at Mini Pancakes was so tempting as I walked past. Too bad I only had my camera with me, no cash.

Junior Thai...

Spanthai...

St. Honore Cake Shop...

... with colourful mochi balls...

Rekordelig...

Thai Thai Express...

Ever Green Noodles...

Bombay Central...

Poklol... sorry but I had to laugh with I read it aloud - sounds like one of my 3-year-olds or a super Cina person trying to say pork roll...

Zilver Restaurant...

Lets Do Yum Cha...

... and their very friendly angmoh staff... :)

Mizuya...

Serendipity Natural Ice Cream...

Viet Yum...

Thais R Us...

Shanghai Stories 1938...

East Ocean Restaurant...

Longrain...

Din Tai Fung and their army of dumpling makers...

Himalayan Yummy Kitchen...

Streets of Saigon...

Thai Riffic...

The Eight Modern Chinese Restaurant...

Chinta Ria...

I found it interesting that the first and last stalls were Malaysian stalls. Hm...

And with friends, family, good food (and a comfy spot to sit on), what's there to complain about? This is the last week for your chance to join in the fun, so make your plans now, people!

9-12, 14-19, 21-26 October, 2013
Monday & Tuesday 5:00pm to 9:00pm
Wednesday 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Thursday & Friday 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Saturday 4:00pm to 10:00pm

Mamak Village Chinatown

Located strategically along the busiest stretch of Chinatown and adjacent from Mamak is Mamak Village. No, not the same. At all.

Other than the set up of the place, everything else did not hit the right note for me.

I ordered a plate of nasi lemak and when it arrived, I spot a few misses. Since when nasi lemak comes with carrots? Also, does that look like authentic sambal to you? More like sambal out of a jar! Disappointed much.

Rachel's roti canai also had the same sambal. The roti itself was too oily and too thin. The curry and dahl did not look very inviting and were quite bland. Gosh, disappointed much again.

Okay, drinks are pretty straight forward so they should taste better, or so we assumed. The cold teh tarik did not taste like it was properly 'pulled' in any way. The warm Milo, too sweet.

The waitstaff were apologetic for the long wait for the food, which perhaps triggered my 'this place is not as good as the establishment across the road' radar. To top that off, we witnessed how a waitress dropped a trayful of food and drinks on the floor, causing a loud crashing sound to reverberate through the whole place. I felt sorry for her but also for myself for the sub-standard food.

Argh. And when I checked-in on Facebook, a friend immediately commented: Oh no! You should have told me you were going. Too late to warn you not to go!

At least someone else shared the same sentiments.



Malay Village Chinatown
Ground Floor, No. 1 Dixon Building, 1 Dixon Street (corner Goulburn Street), Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9264 4780
Sunday to Thursday & Public Holidays: 11:30am to 10:30pm
Friday & Saturday: 11:30am to late

Mamak Chatswood

Seems odd that I do not include a post on a place I frequent. Maybe because I dine here pretty often that I think, why bother, right? And they already have made their name. Oh welllllsss.....

It is always this crowded, especially during weekends.

Most people who come here only have their rotis. Very few know that their other main dishes are pretty good, too. Take their nasi lemak ($8.50) for example. Add fried or curry chicken/fish/lamb/vegetarian for $3 or sambal prawn/cuttlefish for $4 and heaven!

This is my must-have - their mee goreng ($11.50), wok-tossed Hokkien noodles with eggs, prawns, fish cake slices  and fresh bean sprout. Other than the ambience and price, it is exactly what it is like back home.

Similarly, I also recommend their Maggi goreng ($11.50). Just like the above but using Maggi noodles instead. Sometimes, I wish they had Indomie goreng, too.

In Sydney, I still think they make the best rotis. All their rotis are served on stainless steel plates, just like those back home and with standard fish curry (which I absolutely love!), dahl and a dollop of sambal at the side.

The original Roti Canai $5.50

Roti Planta $6.50

Roti telur bawang, the classic egg roti with sweet red onion $7.00

Roti tisu, an extra thin, extra crispy, extravagant version of roti canai $9.50

Roti kaya served as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream $7.50

I think the ais kacang ($6.00) and cendol ($6.00) desserts need no intro here.

And all Malaysian drinks on their menu are priced at $3.50 per mug. I almost always ask for teh halia (ginger teh tarik).

Depending on the team on duty, service can be responsive while at times, not so. Be prepared to queue on weekends, although I still wonder why they would rather have a few tables left empty to have a longer queue outdoors. Winter now, so hopefully they won't make diners wait in the cold when there are tables indoors.



Mamak Chatswood
Shop P9, 1-5 Railway Street, Chatswood, NSW 2067, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9411 4411
Open daily 11:30am to 2:30pm, 5:30 to 9:30pm (10:30pm on Friday and Saturday)
*Reservations not accepted