Noodle Markets 2014

Bao Stop

Serving up some modern Chinese steamed buns. Featuring gua baos (‘Bao’ is bun. But not too sure what the Chinese translation for ‘gua’ is, would be grateful to anyone who can enlighten me).

Gua Baos – Lobster; pork belly; chilli crispy chicken ($20 for 3) Each bao’s was distinct in flavour and each quite tasty. I  loved the fattiness of the pork belly with its sweet sauce. The Mongolian liked the lobster, but I found the meat to be oddly tough. The bread buns was soft and fluffy, but I’m not sure why it was used in the place of the Chinese steamed bun (hence the name bao?). The Mongolian was also impressed with how packed the fillings were.

Khao Pla

Only the best restaurant in Chatswood 😉 Never fails to impress.

Crispy chicken wings ($10); Green mango salad ($12); pork ribs ($14) Khao Pla can do no wrong in our eyes, our favourite  stall out of everything on offer at the Markets. The chicken was well flavoured and fried yet didn’t feel oily, the wings were also decent sized. The salad was loaded with different ingredients, very spicy, which together with the tanginess, which helped to cut through the grease. The ribs were crispy and coated in a finger lickin’ sweet and stick sauce. Although they look small, they packed a heap of meat!

Ramen Burger

The Mongolian tried the Ramen Burger (~$15) himself. Although the burger satisfied his curiosity, it did not live up to expectations and definitely not worthy of the $$ handed over or of such a long wait. While the sauce was tasty and the first bite was interesting, that was the extent of anything positive. The burger started to fall apart from the 2nd bite and utensils were required afterwards. The meat pattie was flavourless and tiny compared to the size of the bun.

Wonderbao

While Sydney has Baostop, Melbourne has Wonderbao. The line for these were tremendous!

Braised pork and roasted pork gua baos ($20 for 3) were fatty and tasty. However, the Mongolian thought the baos at Baostop had superior flavours and more fillings.

Hoy Pinoy

These Filipino skewers also hails from Melbourne and drew quite the crowd!

Traditional pork belly skewer and chicken skewer with a banana BBQ sauce ($10 for 2 skewers) While there was a horrendous line for Hoy Pinoy, in all honesty I didn’t think it was worth the 50 min wait. The pork skewer had a nicer sauce, but the meat was slightly tough. Whereas the chicken skewer was a bit bland and I worried whether it was under cooked.

It was quite a spectacle watching the army of grillers fanning and turning the skewers. Having stood in the smoke while queueing for 50 minutes, I feel sorry for these workers who must stand in the thick of it for the entire night. We went home and blew our noses to find the tissue all black and dirty – makes me wonder what their tissues are like…

Poklol

Korean tacos and Korean fried chicken.

Bulgogi beef and chilli pork tacos and Korean Fried Chicken ($17) The team seemed to have a supply issue, cos while they were taking orders, nothing was being served for about 10 mins! We waited for ages to get our food after our order was taken.

A Chinese proverb, literally translating as “people mountain people sea”, meaning a lot of people.

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