Night Noodle Market 2014

October is almost over and one my favourite months of the year is about hit its close. That's right guys, it is time to get out those tissues because Good Food Month is almost over. I joined the band wagon a little late this year mainly because of university work and other commitments, I did however  let myself go a little at the Nigh Noodle Market and yes I couldn't help but take an obligatory lantern photo. I have to flag that you should go the the Night Noodle Market loaded with cash (avoid the ATMs at all cost) and prepared to pay a premium. There is a huge mark up here, take for example last year where I just toured the market without buying anything, instead of going to the Din Tai Fung store, I went up to the one in Westfield Sydney which is actually bigger and offers a bigger serving as well.

So if you're especially frugal like me, only go here for the specialties and I really only had 2 to go to place and they were Wonderbao and Gelato Messina.

I still am to this day astounded at how a gua bao can cost $7, buying all 3 flavours for $20 was perhaps one of those decision that I resigned myself to make. I mean after all, Wonderbao is a Melbourne store...

Amongst those that I have talked to regarding these baos, the consensus has been mixed but I alike many others actually found this to be overhyped. I'm not saying that they are bad, not they were nice but not nice enough to justify their $7 price tag. My main issue was with the bun, yes not with the filling; the pork belly as faultless and I loved the flavour combinations. Having tried Ippudo's pork bun the softness and slightly sweet taste just cannot compare and being Chinese I am most definitely a bun/bao junkie and so no ordinary bao can impress me. I would be open to the possibility of trying these guys in store to see if it was the change in location that resulted in the drop in quality.

Korean chips on a stick $6

I had no idea if these are really Korean or not but my friend (pictured above) wanted this so we conceded to her request. It's pretty much spiced potatoes, they're nice but I'm frugal remember so this will really be a one off.

Some photography snaps, enjoy~

Sweets sandwiched in between savouries but I'm good with that. Dutch pancakes, 12 pieces for $10 with caramel and red bean sauce. The red bean sauce was more like a paste- makes me wonder how they made it. I think the only time I eat these are at markets, again another once off.

Rows and rows of coconuts for $6 --> that's shocking in light of this post

Harajuku Gyozas 5 for $8 

Again, slightly overpriced (sorry I can't get over this, the inner Asian in me is screaming) but still as delicious as always.

Obligatory noodles because I'm at the Night Noodle Market plus we had to also get something Viet.

Luke Nguyen lemon grass beef vermicelli noodles $12 

Really loved the flavours that they got into this and the generous serving of beef but sadly there were little vegetables in comparison. Unfortunately by the time the food was ready, the beef was already overcooked and very tough.

L to R: 

Happy Taste Bud Time- Lychee sponge, mango puree, rambutan & coconut gelato, whipped salted coconut cream, coconut macaroon (not macaron)

Street Hawker- Lime & chocolate brownie, peanut gelato, coconut & caramel jam, fortune cookie clusters, peanut cookie

Bangkok Holla- Kaffir lime sponge, pandan & coconut sorbet, pineapple & lemongrass mousse, chilli coconut cookie

All $9 each and comes with a fortune cookie

Someone should really do a coconut Ctrl + F to see how many times the word coconut appears.

So I chose the Happy Taste Bud Time, overall it was really nice but it got very sweet after several bites. The servings are actually quite big and it's definitely enough for 2 people. I'm not sure if anyone else experienced this but that lovely yellowish cream isn't gentler but rather the coconut cream. Imagine the shock I had upon getting a giant mouthful of cream. The lychee sponge is hidden inside though it would have been so much better had they served more of it just purely because it offer some relief against all the other sweet elements.