Adelaide’s first Night Noodle Markets has kicked off in style in the plaza between the Adelaide Festival Centre, the Adelaide Casino and Parliament House.

Held in conjunction with Good Food Month and the Oz Asia Festival, Asian hawker food stalls adorn the plaza, filling the air with fragrant spices, stirfry and chargrilled meats. The stalls are decorated, lanterns are hung and maneki neko (the money cat) greets you at the entrance, bringing good luck!

We were there when the Night Noodle Markets opened and tried a few different dishes. From ‘Let’s Do Yum Cha’, bbq pork buns and chicken dim sims. The bbq pork buns were soft with the pork filling covered in a rich bbq sauce. The dim sims were hot with a dense chicken filling.

From ‘Teppanyaki Noodles’ we tried a chicken satay, which was nicely charred in the outside and still juicy in the middle. The chicken yakisoba with noodles, carrot, and chicken pieces was covered in two sauces and the combination was a little unusual for my liking.

‘Zagyoza’ makes gyoza and we tried the chicken teriyaki ones. There was a bit of a wait as they cooked them, and I’m concerned that when it gets really busy they won’t be able to keep up with demand. They were soft on the top and charred on the bottom with a good splash of teriyaki sauce over the top.

At ‘Spanthai’ we tried the chicken satay curry with rice, which had plenty of sauce to soak through the rice and nice big chunks of chicken. The sauce was spicy, although not hot.

And finally, for dessert, we couldn’t go past ‘Waffle on a stick’. We tried the melted chocolate one and for a little extra added fresh strawberries. I was a little self conscious eating this as I was concerned chocolate was smeared all over my face. But that didn’t faze our son who got stuck into it!

Other stallholders include Madame Hanoi, Hoy Pinoy satay, Kopi & Kitchen, Shallot Thai and more…

There’s nightly entertainment on stage, roving performers, and seating areas from Yalumba and Coopers.

The Night Noodle Markets are running from Thursday September 24 to Sunday October 4, 5pm to late weekdays and 12pm to late on weekends.   It’s free to enter so get a long and try some hawker style food. I’m sure this will be a popular venue!