Melbourne Night Noodle Markets (updated!)

Written by Tim Blight

Writer, traveller, amateur photographer, teacher. Based in Melbourne and Lahore.

November 25, 2015

Melbourne Night Noodle Markets

Last week I went with some friends to the popular Night Noodle Markets at Melbourne’s Birrarung Marr. It was my first time to the noodle markets in Melbourne, which are part of The Age Good Food Month in Melbourne.

noodle markets

The location, at Birrarung Marr, is great – right by the Yarra River and with the city’s imposing buildings as a backdrop. Every year the city’s best Asian restaurants come together to build stalls in Birrarung Marr, dishing up the city’s best Asian cuisine as the sun sets.

melbourne night noodle markets

 

Already planning a second trip, I began by going for my favourite – Thai. Pad Thai and Pad See Ew might be “boring staples”, but I figured they would be my best shot to start with. I also picked up some yummy satay skewers – all of this was from the Spanthai stand in the lower terrace of the park. The satay was great, but the noodles weren’t the best I’ve had.

Spanthai kitchen

Spanthai dinner

We took a walk around the middle and upper terraces, where we were afforded a great view of the city at dusk.

Melbourne from Birrarung Marr

 

Near the western end of the middle terrace we picked up ‘Lime in the Coconut’, a lip smacking lime and coconut ice cream with lashing of sweet syrups and toppings, served in a cute coconut bowl.

Lime in the coconut!

Back on the lower terrace, we picked up mango and sticky rice for another round of dessert, but like the rest of the Thai offerings that night, was just ok.

mango and sticky rice

One thing the noodle markets isn’t is cheap – expect to pay upwards of $10 for a plate of noodles or anything else.

Noodle markets birrarung marr

I’m planning another trip to the noodle markets this week, so will report back soon with tastes from another part of the market, and hopefully more positive news!

 

Noodle Markets: Redux!

Night noodle markets

One week later, and part two of my Melbourne Night Noodle Markets adventure had me in search of better Pad Thai food, this time from a stall named “White Guy Cooks Thai” – as ridiculous as it is hilarious!

White Guy Cooks Thai

This time the noodles were as good as I had been hoping for on the first visit.

Pad thai White Guy Cooks Thai

We washed it down with iced teh tarik (Malaysian frothy milk tea) – in a bag, just like on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Or something. I mightn’t have experienced anything like that while I was actually in KL, but I guess it was sweet and rustic.

night noodle markets teh tarik

Check on the UrbanDuniya YouTube channel this Sunday for a full video round-up!

night noodle markets

The Melbourne Noodle Night Markets are on nightly at Birrarung Marr until this Sunday. The Sydney edition is held in Hyde Park annually in October.

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6 Comments

  1. Anna @ shenANNAgans

    YARM! I reckon the night noodle markets were totes one of the best foodie events to hit the Berra this year. I went every day for a week. Ha!

    Could totes go a ‘Lime in the Coconut’. DELICIOUS!

    Reply
    • Tim Blight

      It was amazing – one of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time! When do the markets happen in Canberra?

      Reply
  2. Agness

    To be honest, I didn’t know that Melbourne had a noodle market. WOW! You really surprised me right now!! 🙂 Did they have many vegan options or I would be starving there :P? 🙂

    Reply
    • Tim Blight

      Yes, there were quite a few vegan options, actually! But the noodle markets are on held once a year – in the second half of November. Otherwise, it’s back to the restaurants!

      Reply
  3. Andrew

    10 bucks for noodles??? man this country is expensive!

    Reply

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