Suzuki Night Market - Melbourne's Summer Tradition

One of the things that I really look forward to in Summer is Queen Victoria Market's 'Suzuki Night Market' on a Wednesday night. To my surprise that night market has actually been going for 15 years. I have only been the last 3 years. The one thing I love about the night market is the ability to be able to choose from such a large variety of dishes from all different parts of the globe in one place.

The night market does tend to get very busy, so my friend, Annie & I decided to get there at 5pm (when it opened) so we would be able to sit down and enjoy the different foods that we purchased.

What I have found this year is there seems to be a lot more tables and chairs, which is a great thing, however by the time Annie and were leaving (at about 6.30pm) it was starting to get really full. So I highly recommend that you get there earlier so you are able to sit down and enjoy the food.

Paella (with noodles rather than rice) - $12 and Sangria - $8

The one item I always consistently buy from the Market is a glass of Sangria. I first tasted Sangria when I was 18 and travelling through Spain. I also managed to spill the Sangria on a friend of mine! Haha, pretty funny at the time, so Sangria always brings back fond memories of my travelling. Next door to the Sangria is the Paella station. What I did not realise is that there are actually two Paella stations at the night market. This one contained noodles rather than rice. I have never has Paella with noodles before but I actually found it was less filling which was better as I was able to try more food. There were several mussels & prawns but no chicken. Still tasted really good and I think I will be returning soon for this little combo.



Whilst I was taking photos, the man making the Paella spoke Spanish to me. 'Hola' 'Como Estas?' As I have begun Spanish lessons as work I was able to answer 'Muy Bien' (I am well, thanks). I am not very confident with the little Spanish that I know but I loved the opportunity to actually be able to use it outside of work.

American Pork Ribs with Coleslaw - $10

You might know from other blog posts that I am mad about Ribs - link. I have never seen the Texan BBQ Stand at the Market before, but as soon as I saw it I knew I would have to have the ribs. I found that the ribs were quite tender and came off the bone quite easily. These ribs were not like the amazing ones that I have tried in restaurants but they tasted pretty good considering the limited space that the stall has. I think a process is used of cooking the meat in an oven set up and then it is put on the BBQ towards the end of cooking. There were several times where there was heaps of meat on the BBQ but I could never get a decent photo of this. Damn!

Ribs on the BBQ

If Paella & Sangria are the first two things that I run for at the market, the third one would be Korean Potato Twister. It is amazing watching the 30 or so people at the back of the stall spiralling the potatoes. It seems that everyone buys one of these so it is easy to see why they need 30 people preparing them.

Korean Potato Twister with Chicken Salt (left) & Chilli (right) - $6 each

The potato is cut so thin but even so, there is still soft potato inside. I am a complete sucker for chicken salt and loved in on the potato. I did try the Chilli one as well but I felt it did not have enough kick in it, but still quite good.

 Last but not least, dessert which we decided would be Dutch pancakes.

Dutch Pancakes with Butter, Lemon and Sugar - $6 (I think, not 100% sure of the price)

When I was younger, I used to make the Dutch pancakes quite often as my Mum had one of the pans. However, now that I have left home and no longer have the pan, I quite miss making these on a Sunday morning. So whenever I am at a market or festival, I do always tend to be drawn to these. The one thing I like about this stall is they make to order. It does mean you do wait a couple of minutes but the result is fresh, hot pancakes straight from the pan. These were just pillows of yummy goodness. Love, Love, Love!!

The Suzuki Night Market is great fun and there are so many dishes to choose from. I am planning on returning in the next couple of weeks and although I will most likely want to go back to my staples of Sangria, Paella & Potato Twister, I am going to try new things because there are just so many good things to try that I would rarely get the opportunity to try at any of the usual places that I go.

Suzuki Night Market,

Every Wednesday Night from 14th November, 2012 to 27th February, 2013 (except for December 26th)

5pm to 10pm

Website