Good Food Month Noodle Markets

The annual Sydney Good Food Month rolls around again, with their famous noodle markets out for business for 2 weeks. The stooges and I havent got together for ages so we decided to have dinner at the noodle markets at Hyde Park. It was massive! There was heaps of stalls selling a variety of asian foodstuffs (not just noodles). Thai, Malaysian, Fusion, Japanese, Himalayan... all were there. Heaps of seafood stalls (mmm salt and pepper calamari!) as well as a bar which sold your usual alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, premixes).

The four of us went abit crazy buying everything that caught our fancy. We had ginger chicken udon, some noodle and green bean thing, satay chicken noodles, curry puffs, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, a mixed rice dish (from the himalayan shop - it had tandoori chicken...drool!). By then I was feeling quite full, but could have eaten more if I pushed myself. However, the 'Dutch Poffertjes' signboard has caught our eye, and we were unwilling to forgo dessert for more savoury food.

We lined up for ages for the 'Dutch Pofferjtes' (very very fluffy small pancake looking things in a variety of flavours). The only thing not so great about the noodle markets was the fact that they only had 2 dessert stalls. There was the pofferjtes shop and the ice cream parlour. Hence, the lines were incredibly long. However, the pofferjtes were absolutely a.m.a.z.i.n.g. We got 'maple' and 'chocolate strawberry'. The maple pofferjtes was my favourite dish for the night. Having scoffed them down (far too quickly), we lined up once again to indulge in some ice cream. I had chocolate fudge, and very very yummy it was! Complete with a Copenhagen-esque waffle cone. Tasty....

The whole ambiance was really nice. They had strung chinese lanterns and various other balloony lantern things on the trees and stalls. Many of the trees twinkled with fairy lights, or were dramatically lit, bottom up, with rich purple, blue or green hues. They also had some mild chinese acrobatics show mid evening, followed by non-specific upbeat music. The air was warm, the company was great, the smells were enticing and the food was delicious. It all adds up to one of the best evenings Ive had in awhile.

The cherry on top of the icing was the thunderstorm that hit us (suddenly!) as I was walking home. I love thunderstorms! I love the smell of an approaching storm, I love the sound of driving rain, I love the distant rumble of thunder and most of all, I love the sudden intensity of lightening flashing across the sky. I got home soaking wet, but I reckon I wouldn't have it any other way.