I like your style.
Let the eating begin!
Tuesday 16 March 2010, 4.57 PM
By The Team | Posted in Places
Chinese drumming and the roar of the wok fire are not the sounds you usually expect on an autumn’s evening. But it’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival time and food in all its forms lurks in unexpected places; from edible city gardens to foodie films at Fed Square.
 
 
 
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The famous Head Beads Hawkers’ Market descended on the Queen Victoria Market last night in the first of three evening sessions. With 12 of Melbourne’s best Asian restaurants in one place, just $45 lets you pick and choose from delicious hawker favourites as well as some of Australia’s finest home-brews.
On an almost tropical Monday night, we started with Japanese chicken ball skewers from Maedaya. These chargrilled balls of meaty goodness accompanied by edamame, steamed baby soyabean pods, are perfect with a cold beer.
Next the Balinese roast pork from Warung Agus, marinated in lemongrass, turmeric and galangal paste. The zingy flavours were a great contrast to the crunchy crackling and the richness of the pork belly.
Chillipadi, one of the city’s few restaurants you can find open in the wee small hours, served up a fantastic beef rendang: spicy and robust in aroma, yet delightfully tender and gelatinous in texture.
Later, sticky black rice dessert was a little too sweet for my tastebuds but the crispy banana fritters from Dumpling King brought back fond childhood memories.
There are two sittings for the Hawkers’ Market, 6pm to 8pm and 8.30pm to 10.30pm. If you have booked the earlier session, keep an eye on the time. It’s tricky to get any food after 8pm as the stalls close for a breather before the second session.
One last tip: start queuing at Dainty Sichuan (or visit its sister CBD restaurant, Sichuan House) when you first arrive. Their skewers of Sichuan prawns and chicken were the hit of the night proved by the lines of people willing to wait so long.
Heat Beads Hawkers’ Market takes place at Queen Victoria Market on 15, 16 & 17 March as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival.
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3 comments
I’ll preface my comments by saying that this was the first time I attended this event.Tickets are only available for $45 from Ticketmaster before the event or on the day before 12pm.As I went during my lunch 1/2hr @1.30pm I couldn’t get any tickets & had to buy them at the door where they cost $48 for 4 plates, although I can’t understand the logic in that. We started our meal with a curry laksa which was very bland, had a few pieces of tofu, one prawn, some thin rice noodles and no vegetables.My second dish was from Shanghai Dumpling & was made up of 2 spring rolls,3 meat filled dumplings,2 were the same,all of which were fried as there were no steam dumplings on offer.My 3rd dish & my favorite was from Dodo – 3 spring rolls,3 patties wrapped in vine leaves and a beef skewer.Dessert was from the Shanghai dumpling & was a banana fritter with icecream.The banana was black inside.I was quite disappointed with the food and felt that for the price, it was quite substandard & that I didn’t receive value for money. Some people were very equipped and had obviously visited this event before, as they had BYO’ed their own drinks(wine,beer & soft drinks),glasses, candles, candelabras & tablecloths to cover the tressle tables laid out under the market sheds.Secure a table first & your food second as we wandered around for quite a bit before finding some space.
By Elektra_Q
Comment meta
Hi Elektra_Q, thanks for your comments about your experience at the Hawker’s Market – sorry to hear it wasn’t as you had hoped. Can we suggest you pass on this feedback on to the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival? You can find their contact details here: http://www.melbournefoodandwine.com.au/site-resources/contact
By admin
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im from Dainty sichuan, but there is only one sichuan food in melbourne
By mackie
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