10 food vendors you can’t miss at the 2017 Night Noodle Markets

Posted on 3 March, 2017

Eat your way to enlightenment

Known for its spectacular Asian fusion stalls, we’re proud to welcome the Enlighten Night Noodle Markets back to Canberra for the sixth year in a row.

With 23 different food stalls, it’s almost too easy to get lost in food heaven, but we’re here to help! Here are our picks for the top 10 food vendors at this year’s Noodle Market.

Bao Stop

Peking Duck fries!

This Sydney-based hotspot is named after the Taiwanese snack food they’ve become so well-known for. With stints at dozens of food festivals all across Australia the past few years, Bao Stop is one of the most popular places to get your grub (and Instagram-game) on.

They dish out three flavours of gua bao— the traditional pork belly bao with hoisin sauce, the decadent fried chicken bao with a spicy chilli-mayo sauce and a tasty Chinese-inspired peking duck bao with crisp vegetables.

If you’re really in the mood to indulge, check out their insta-famous peking duck fries.

East Street Canberra

Image: instagram.com/annaj31

Even though we can get tasty bites from this Asian food truck year-round, it doesn’t mean it should be passed up for other eats. East Street will be serving some delicious rice dishes you won’t be able to find anywhere else at this year’s festival. You can choose between crispy chicken, tender pork chops or vegetarian spring rolls, all served with a buttery tomato rice and a light and refreshing side salad.

Waffleland

Started ten years ago in Sydney, Waffleland takes one of your favorite breakfast foods and turns it into a decadent grab-n-go dish.

Their waffles are light, fluffy and covered with a variety of toppings which include lychee and caramel, maple syrup and black sesame, mango and coconut and even Nutella and strawberries. If you have a sweet tooth this is the place to go.

Lets Do Yum Cha 

The Night Noodle Markets are back again this year.

If trying a lot of dishes is what you’re into, you should make a stop at Lets Do Yum Cha. The Chinese vendor has everything from BBQ pork buns to chicken dim sum to vegetarian dumplings and even a seriously impressive amount of vegan and vegetarian options.

They also have custard buns which come in a variety of cute colors and characters.

Kusina

Porkbelly Popcorn. Image: Alison Senti

Serving up cuisine from the Phillipines, Kusina is a local favourite which manages to stand out even amongst a dozen other Asian-fusion spots at the Night Noodle Markets.

You can order beef or chicken adobo on top of a bed of rice or on top of some cheesy nachos. If you’re looking to cool off with something sweet, consider trying their ube (purple sweet potato) or pandan soft serve, it’s sure to make for a heck of a photo. They’re also debuting a brand new dish: pork belly popcorn. Are you as excited as we are?

Taiwan Noodle House

Taiwan Noodle House’s hand-pulled noodles. Image: Instagram @taiwan.noodle.house

Taiwan Noodle House will be having their grand premiere at this year’s festival, and we couldn’t be more excited.

There’s only one dish on their menu, but it’s a knockout—hand-pulled noodles in a five-spice beef broth with brisket, crispy pork belly, roasted pork and steamed vegetables. It’s 50% hard work, 50% performance art and 100% delicious. Be sure to check it out, after all, it’s not the Night Noodle Market without some noodles?

Gelato Messina

Open for over a decade, Messina will be the perfect place to cool off if we get hit with a sudden heat wave again. A Canberra food festival favourite, Messina is serving Asian-inspired ice cream in flavors you’ll go to bed thinking about. Their Thai and Stop Me comes with Thai Milk Tea Gelato and is dipped in a chocolate caramel with cacao nibs. Can you say “aroi”?

Donburi Station

Image: instagram.com/donburi.station

If you’re looking to fill up, Donburi Station is a great place to stop at. Known for quickly firing up flavourful chicken and beef rice bowls in a matter or minutes, Donburi Station will show you a part of Japanese cuisine you probably haven’t tried. It’s time to say goodbye to sushi, there’s a new rice dish in town.

Black Star Pastry

Image: facebook.com/blackstarpastry

With desserts as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat, Black Star has understandably been causing some ruckus on the internet as of late. We’re particularly interested in their strawberry watermelon cake which has beautiful layers of almond cake, sliced watermelon and rose cream.

If a slice of cake isn’t up your alley, you can substitute it with their cake smash gelato, the icy version of their popular dessert.

Little Kyoto

This “little” spot from Brisbane is serving up some big flavours. They serve pork onigiri (rice balls) which are a classic Japanese snack which is as filling as it is easy-to-carry. There’s also a hearty yakisoba (fried soba noodles) which comes loaded with vegetables and Japanese flavours.

If you want something new and trendy, try taking a bite out of their phoritto, a handheld version of everyones favourite Vietnamese noodle dish.

the essentials 

What: Enlighten Night Noodle Markets 2017
When: Friday 3 March until Sunday March 12
Open 5pm-9pm Monday – Thursday and Sunday nights and from 5pm-midnight on Friday and Saturday nights
Where: The Enlighten Night Noodle Markets, Reconciliation Place, King Edward Terrace