Where?
Cultural Forecourt, South Bank
When?
July 19-30, 2017
Weekdays 5pm til late, weekends 4pm til late
I first visited the Night Noodle Markets on a Saturday night back in 2014, and while the food was good I was somewhat deterred by the crowds and the cost of the food. This year, we visited on a night during the week – fantastic atmosphere, short queues, and the food seemed to be larger servings for around the same cost as we remembered.
Entry is free, which is fantastic, and the markets are cashless this year so you can just tap and eat. There was more security than I recall from last time, but all very friendly. We did a few laps to decide what we wanted to try, soaking up the atmosphere – this year there are 23 food stalls plus several bars and seating areas, as well as colourful displays.
The vendors were very prompt and effective – they kept lines moving, food going out, and people happy. We had yakisoba from Little Kyoto – generous servings, tasty noodles but not many vegetables – and “dessert ramen” from Harajuku Gyoza, which was very visually pretty didn’t quite taste as colourful as it looked. I’d been admiring the watermelon cake from Black Star Pastry on some of my favourite Brisbane blogs, only to discover it’s made with almonds and pistachios…boo, allergies! Happily settled for an “Enter the Dragonfruit” from Gelato Messina – sweetened coconut milk full of tapioca, banana and miso ice-cream, and big, soft chunks of dragonfuit. Definitely my favourite of the night.
Good vibes and good times, would definitely recommend going on a weekday evening to minimise the crowds and wait times!
Backstreet Brisbane 
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