Another year, another night noodle market. Certainly the most popular event of Good Food Month, and I have some mixed feelings about this annual food fest held at Hyde Park. On one hand, the atmosphere is great - many Insta-famous shops bring out limited edition or new products (think Messina, N2, Black Star Pastry); it's a one stop shop for trying a wide variety of new and exciting casual food trends; and no booking or planning is required. On the other hand, the food is usually over-priced; lines can be very long and I have always thought, if I could get the food from your actual shop, why would I settle for something you've cooked up on a make-shift stove top instead of your fully kitted-out, professional kitchen?
My advice is to
a) do your homework before hand: work out what you actually want to eat, and make a beeline for the queue. It is very easy to get distracted by sub-par food at these markets, so you have to have a firm and prepared attitude;
b) military-style organisation and cooperation is key if you go in a large group: have someone hold fort with a picnic blanket / at a table; and then divide and conquer with the puchasing of food. You don't want to line up multiple times as a group;
c) if you're going alone or with just one other person, go at the most inconvenient time: like 4pm before the line gets crazy.
Here are a few of the highlights from this year's market.
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| Chili chicken waffle @ Puffle |
The Hong Kong-style egg waffle is truly easy to love - there's something about the chewy, bouncy and eggy texture of these cute yet hugely satisfying waffles that's simply so delightful to eat. Normally, egg waffles are sweet and loaded with chocolate sauce or ice cream; whereas a puffle is its savoury cousin - amped up with Korean-style sweet chili chicken and Kewpie mayo, this is one loaded meal.
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| Curry Potato @ Potato Twist |
I have seen these for a few years, they are much better than your average fries or chips because it is the perfect combination of moist and crispy. Surprisingly curry powder on chips works very well; and because it is freshly fried, no fancy flavouring is required - simple and delicious at its best.
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| Chicken Skwer @ Hoy Pinoy |
Hoy Pinoy has two stalls at the noodle markets this year, both charcoal-grilling meat right there on the spot, which is pretty impressive. These chicken skewers have a deep, smokey flavour as one would expect, and is drizzled in a thick, sticky soy glaze. The meat is tender and so far there have been no reports of salmonella poisoning, which is always a bonus in my books.
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| Kamikaze Katsu Sandwich @ Messina |
Messina always brings it. It seems like there is no end to their creative juices, as they always manage to bring out a couple of special limited edition items to every event they attend. They are certainly a big draw card with this year's Kamikaze Katsu sandwich, which the media seems to be going on and on about. It is a deep fried vanilla gelato sandwiched between Japanese bread slices. I'm personally so much of a fan - the bread is overly familiar to me (you can get them at Bread Top, just a tip), and the vanilla gelato is a tad bland and uninteresting. The red part is supposed to be red velvet cake, but I completely missed that. The yuzu sauce is a nice break from the sweet and heavy (yet somehow still bland) flavour, but overall, I'm not impressed and certainly wish I had bought the O-No-Giri (green tea gelato and pistachio mousse dipped in rice bubbles and white chocolate) instead.
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| I Think I’m Turning Sesame @ Messina |
Now this is a treat. I Think I'm Turning Sesame is, as its name suggests, centered around a sesame gelato.Red Bean's much superior sister, black sesame is a popular Japanese flavour that is the perfect level of sweetness for me - in other words, it tantalises the taste buds without being overly saccharine. The gelato is accompanied by condensed milk coffee jelly, miso crunch, banana miso bread, vanilla cream and coffee powder. The miso crunch, in particular, is a highlight. Worth it.
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| Mango Sago Cake @ Black Star Pastry |
The Mango sago cake is invented for the 2017 night noodle market, so this is another big draw card for the crowd. I'm a tad disappointed by it because it is so small for the price! Having said that, it is a pretty pleasant cake - it has a very South East Asian flavour, with strong taste of cardamon and rich coconut sago. Compared to its famous watermelon cake, however, this comes short - the texture is too uniform; the taste is veering towards the overly sweet and heavy.
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| Pimm's Cup @ Pimm's |
Finally, no food market trip is complete without a hit of booze. Pimm's is like fruit juice, and barely gives a buzz, but its charm is so far beyond its alcoholic content. Let me paint a picture for you of what comes into my mind whenever I hear its name: lazy summers drifting down a canal in a barge; lounging in a stately country estate playing croquet. "Always alone, always summer, the fruit always ripe, and Aloysuis always in a good temper."
Score: 3/5
Some hits, mostly misses at these things - that is just inevitable.
Price: over-pricing is a rule. Even the famous watermelon cake from Black Star Pastry is inexplicably a dollar more expensive than in their shop less than 500 metres away from the market. I get it, I get it, cost of running a stall and all - but you'd think the foot traffic and sale would more than make up for it. I suspect stalls charge more simply because they can.
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