Two nights left for Crave Night Noodle Markets

Crave Night Noodle Markets, Hyde Park, Sydney

The Night Noodle Markets are a quintessential Sydney event and one of my yearly traditions as part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival.

Running for another two nights in Hyde Park north (near St James station) to conclude their extended run this year, the Noodle Markets continue to grow in size, taking over more and more of the park with new sponsor areas, more food stalls and more seating (with a variety of improved quality chair settings!).

Citibank VIP area

I think the growth of themed sponsor areas is a fantastic addition, with Citibank, Brown Brothers, Coopers and Rekordelig all taking advantage of the outdoor space. The Noodle Lounge by Chinta Ria is also a good addition for those not up for the queues and seat hunting.

Eat Art Truck at the Night Noodle Markets

Two food trucks also made an appearance - the shiny red bus of Agape and arty Eat Art Truck - the latter which had run out of their amazing shichimi chicken wings just as I walked past.

Chat Thai stall

An easy favourite of the Noodle Markets is Chat Thai; their dual stall handling the crowds and queues much better than the likes of Mamak and Din Tai Fung - also perennial crowd favourites.

Mu bhing and sticky rice from Chat Thai

The mu bhing grilled pork skewers are easily my favourite dish of the night. Served with a sweet and lightly spicy dipping sauce, the pork was charred for a caramelly exterior and had a tender chew that was perfect with a ball of sticky rice - eaten with the fingers, of course.

Fresh young coconut juice from Chat Thai

Even on a cooler evening, a thirst-quenching fresh young coconut is irresistible, especially when the gelatinous inner flesh has already been shaved off the sides, ready for immediate consumption.

Som tum from Chat Thai

We're also gifted with a som tum green papaya salad from Amy Chanta of Chat Thai. Knowing all too well the Thai chilli heat scale ('medium' blows my head off), we elected a "not very spicy" version, bashed out fresh and to order from a huge mortar and pestle.

The papaya shreds, green beans, peanuts and cherry tomatoes form a refreshing, yet still spicy salad, with thanks to a fresh, red birdseye chilli. The sticky rice also worked well to temper the heat of the som tum.

Barbequed corn from Kinn Dining

I'd not heard of Kinn Dining before but was keen to sample their wares which had a modern Thai feel to it; although not so much the barbequed corn with butter.

Soft shell crab and chicken satay from Kinn Dining

The soft shell crab had unfortunately cooled by the time I returned to our patch of grass, although the flavours were fabulous and the batter stayed very crisp. It was even nicer dipped into the leftover dressing of Chat Thai's som tum.

Kinn Dining also had some of the most generously-sized chicken satay I've ever seen - huge cuts of chicken breast that made the bamboo skewers bend under its weight. These were served with a creamy, coconut-ty satay sauce, in the same dish as the soft shell crab for my carrying convenience.

One of The Morrison bars

The Brown Brothers bean bag seats looked incredibly comfortable in front of The Morrison bar. I was just a little envious as I sat on the grass sipping an icy cold Coopers Pale Ale.

Roti making at Mamak Village

Leaving space for another annual tradition - the mango with sticky rice dessert at Chat Thai - we ventured to the southern end of the Noodle Markets where there were a few new and interesting faces.

It was impossible to not join the queue at Mamak Village, watching the incredible roti making show. How the roti chef flings and swings the uber-thin dough, even boomerang-ing the round flat dough in the air, is a wonder.

However, the end result roti canai and curry sauce weren't the best I've tried while the airy otak otak fish cake was singular and minute.

Food stalls at Night Noodle Markets

Rekordelig Cider Bar

Crave Night Noodle Markets

So, you've got two more nights to mosey on down to the Night Noodle Markets for 2012. Indeed, a second or third visit might be in order too. See more photos of the Crave Night Noodle Markets 2012 at my Facebook page.

George Street to shut down for A Moveable Feast

It's already the last few days of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival Noodle Markets, as well as the end of Art & About - and I've been so manically busy lately that I haven't been able to really experience either, other than spotting a zany striped building in Taylor Square.

The Great Crate, Green Square Station
Image from Art & About Sydney, courtesy of City of Sydney

But at least I plan to make the closing celebrations of Art & About, which in collaboration with Crave, is closing down George Street (in front of Town Hall, between Park and Bathurst Streets) this Saturday night for A Moveable Feast.

The food trucks will come out to play together as the night will feature the trucks' food such as pork belly buns from Tsuru, spatchcock confit from Eat Art Truck, spelt pizzas by Agape Organic, tacos by Cantina Mobil and vegie burgers from The Veggie Patch.

Eat Art Truck earlier this year

It will be a great opportunity to sample the food trucks' offerings and see them together as I've found them a little more difficult to track down at the right times than I thought would have been the case.

A Moveable Feast will feature picnic tables, music and film screenings, including Ratatouille which has to be a favourite among food and rat lovers.

Fingers crossed for clear skies to check out Sydney's moveable feast, from 7.30pm to midnight on Saturday, 20 October.

CKT and satay at Sinma Laksa House

I'm not averse to bits of crunchy fried pork fat for in the morning, meaning I'm not going to decline Malaysian char kway teo for breakfast, especially after a seedy night out.

Sinma Laksa House sits at the famous big roundabout in Kingsford; a Malaysian restaurant far enough away from the university to be not jam packed with hungry students, but customed by a value-seeking crowd nevertheless.

Prawn crackers from Sinma Laksa House, Anzac Parade, Kingsfoed

The casual eatery, away from most of the Kingsford hustle and bustle, offers bain marie lunch options, lots cooked to order and for special, luxurious meals there's an impressive selection of dishes featuring fresh mud crabs.

We ordered meals at the counter and snacked on pink prawn crackers, for which I think I'll be forever nostalgic about.

Penang char kway teo - fried rice noodles

I adore the char kway teo at Sinma Laksa House, although sadly it wasn't at its usual high standard on this day. Missing was a bit heavier seasoning and stronger wok smokiness, but at least there were the fried pork fat nubbins.

Treasure hunting for the porky bits are about the best thing ever, amid the wide rice noodles, prawns, fish cake, tiny mussels, lap cheung Chinese sausage and bean sprouts.

Char kway kak - fried radish cake 

The char kway kak fried radish cake has very similar seasoning to the char kway teo, if not the same. But instead of rice noodles, this dish wok fries cubes of steamed white radish cake; an apparently laborious dish to make.

The somewhat floury radish cake makes for a very filling dish that's quite nice the next day with lots of chilli sauce.

Chicken satay

The juicy chicken thigh meat of Sinma's chicken satay is an absolute treat; drowned in a sweet, peanut-ty sauce.

The Spanish onion and cucumber on the side, however, looked like they were prepared many, many days ago, while the lontong compressed rice cubes work well to clean up the remaining satay sauce.

Despite the driving school advertisements under the plastic tabletop sheeting and despite an off day for the char kway teo, it's still one of my nearby favourites for CKT and satay.