Use your noodle: a guide to Melbourne's Night Noodle Markets 2014

• Kid-friendly eats at the Night Noodle Markets
• Interactive map: Explore the markets and win

Expertly cutting up chicken thighs while simultaneously kneading udon dough? No problem for Yosuke Furukawa, head chef of Izakaya Den. During last year's Night Noodle Market debut, the headline event for The Age Good Food Month, the Izakaya crew were among the 25 stallholders besieged by the ravenous crowd at the debut of Melbourne's biggest Asian-style hawker markets.

"I don't think any of the stallholders expected it," says Izakaya Den co-owner and managing director Simon Denton. "We were playing catch-up for most of the event." And how did Furukawa manage his dexterous multi-tasking? He cut the chicken with his hands while kneading the dough with his foot.

"It was crazy but I love crazy," says Benjamin Cooper from Chin Chin and Kong. "It was mad. It was exciting. It was great to see an outdoor night-time dining event in Melbourne."

The stats from last year's Night Noodle Markets tell the story: across 13 nights, a total of 283,000 punters flocked to the soy, sesame and spice-scented pop-up festivalin Alexandra Gardens. Spurred on by the impressive constellation of marquee names gathered on the grass, they

It also took organisers by surprise, leading to long queues and, in some instances, few places to sit and eat, but last year's growing pains directly informed this year's expansion plans.

Kicking off from November 14, this year the markets run for 17 nights, four more than they did last year. The festival site jumps across the Yarra to a larger, multi-level expanse at Birrurang Marr, and the number of food stalls and trucks on site doubles from 25 to 50.

Proven names, including Chin Chin, Longrain, and Gelato Messina, are back for more, along with a fresh crop – hello to Mr Miyagi and Hammer and Tong – spanning all wavelengths of the Asian-flavour spectrum.As Denton says: "Melbourne has an insatiable appetite for food!"

Build it and they will come. Here are 10 picks to help you follow your nose.

IZAKAYA DEN

This year the team behind Izakaya Den team are offering their classic Den Fried Chicken, as well as nakaochi – tuna and salmon tartare with sesame and ginger on steamed rice – and oden, a traditional Japanese vegetable hotpot more often associated with winter, featuring lotus root, daikon, carrot, tofu and egg. "We wanted to offer something vegetarian and also a fish dish, as we found these tend to be limited at the markets," Denton says.

Eat this: The Den Fried Chicken is a classic, $14

Good for: Those looking for respite from dripping flesh.

WONDERBAO

This beloved CBD lunch haunt made an immediate impact at its 2013 noodle debut, selling more than 3000 steamed buns anight, as well as roasting up to 15 pork bellies a day. Wonderbao's pillowy, palm-sized gua baos are the perfect food for street-style dining. "We'll stick with the traditional closed buns," says Wong of this year's menu, "but we'll definitely be doing three new gua baos that we haven't done before." Wong says his wife is pushing for a chocolate bao to accompany his popular sweet egg custard offering, and although he hasn't decided, he does give hope. "Usually every market we try and do something that people can't get at the store," he says. Tastebuds crossed. What you can expect next week is twice cooked pork belly bao with pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber in thick hoisin sauce, which leaves the other hand free for ... another one.

Eat this: Any of the sensational gua bao, $7, perhaps washed down with homemade soy milk

Good for: Bun fiends

HOY PINOY

James Meehan's Filipino Hoy Pinoy is already a festival fave and bonus points for presentation: look for the crowd gawking at five whole pigs roasting over an open coal charcoal pit. "There's something about large animals turning across charcoal that you can't look away from," says Meehan, correctly. It helps that his juicy, banana-ketchup-lashed skewers have a hypnotic effect of their own.

This year Meehan's prepared for the throng, with additional menu items including Inihaw – Filipino skewered meat over live charcoal – and sweet pork sausage. There's not a big representation of Filipino food in Melbourne, says Meehan, which helps make these markets one of a kind: "People bring their best game and you get to see new ideas and highlights of different cultures, as well as the cool new things coming out of Asian countries at the moment."

Eat this: Barbecued pork belly skewers, one for $6 or two for $10

Good for: Sweet-toothed carnivores

HAMMER AND TONG / GOGI FOOD TRUCK

Ex-Vue de Monde duo Simon Ward and Dennis Ferreira are the brains behind market newcomers Hammer and Tong and their soft shell crab burger has become a sensation. Looking like it could walk off the plate, the caramel-coloured crab sits between a perfectly knitted array of slaw, tangy mayo and a sweet brioche bun, packing a chilli kick that belies its size. It's even inspired the creation of their new Korean-themed step-out food truck, Gogi. It's not just about the crab though, says Ward, who is launching three new side dishes at this year's event: sweet-and-sour charred corn cob, and a black and red rice salad with broad beans, peas, mint, pomegranate and grapefruit mignonette … which must absolutely be finished with a sriracha caramel peanut chocolate bar.

Eat this: Soft. Shell. Crab. Burger, $14

Good for: Seekers of fulfilment you can hold in one hand

SAKE RESTAURANT AND BAR

Making its market debut this year is contemporary Japanese eatery Sake Restaurant and Bar. "It's going to be a whole lot of fun," says executive chef Shaun Presland, who's crafted a menu born from lessons learnt at Sake's recent showing at Brisbane's Night Noodle Markets. "I know the boys had a hard time keeping water boiling for hot noodles in an outdoor kitchen," says Presland. "Hence our very tasty chilled offering of zaru cha soba." The chilled soba should be a smash on a balmy eve. Other options include a chicken chirashi salad – a take on the restaurant's popular sashimi-based dish, but with cooked shredded chicken, noodles, lettuce, omelette, tempura crunch, yuzu dressing and a tangy sweet soy – and steamed prawn shumai dumplings, infused with tomago no moto (Japanese mayo) to go with a zesty dipping sauce of dark soy, rice vinegar and lemon juice.

Eat this: Zaru cha soba

Good for: What's not good about soba and shumai?

OVERDOSA

Tyson Savannah, co-owner of transient Indian-street food newcomer Overdosa, is beyond excited about the Night Noodle Markets. His team have just returned from a scouting trip to the motherland. "The guys will see dosa under their eyelids every night they go to sleep after the markets," he promises. Dosa – a fermented rice and lentil savoury crepe from southern India, cooked golden brown and crispy – is Overdosa's lynchpin. Expect the classic potato masala and spicy tamarind pumpkin varieties, as well as lentil poppers – spiced nuggets of dhal, onion, chilli and other spices fried until golden brown with a tamarind and date chutney. Overdosa's newest item is the Bombay Burger (aka Vada Pav aka Mumbai's favourite street food), a potato masala bonda shallow fried in a crispy chickpea batter. Savannah says the Bombay Burger has been fashioned directly from the recipes they sourced in India: "We adorn the rolls with zingy Kolhapuri chutney and tamarind and date chutney, served with fresh coriander and a blistered green chilli on the side. They are heaven! I love them."

Eat this: Bombay Burger with grilled green chilli, $6

Good for: Vegetarians

MR MIYAGI

Another stall in its infancy is the funky Japanese Mr Miyagi. Operating for just on 11 months, the team behind the Windsor-based walk-in are eager to use the festival as a launch pad. "It's going to be the first festival market-style thing we've done," says director Kristian Klein. Klein's crew will announce themselves via their crackly Nori Taco – nori seaweed tempura fried into the shape of a taco shell, housing salmon belly, vinegar rice, kimchi, and chilli oil. Its migration from commercial kitchen to market stall hasn't been without its challenges. "It's very delicate," says Klein. "We've had to come up with special packaging to protect it." No such concern for the mega-popular MFC – Miyagi Fried Chicken – nor the soothing green tea soba salad, consisting of green tea soba noodles threaded through edamame, crisp vegetables and kombu-infused salmon with a sesame dressing.

Eat this: The nori taco, $12

Good for: Food-fusion enthusiasts

CHARLIE DUMPLING

Charlie Dumpling is another new kid on the noodle block. "I'm always curious to see what others are doing," says executive chef Dylan Roberts. "Melbourne has such a competitive food scene. Night Noodle is a good opportunity for us to get our name out to the rest of Melbourne that haven't had the Charlie Dumpling experience yet." To that end, the fledgling dumpling doyens have crafted a one-off – pork and ginger dumplings with black bean, chilli and lime – that will appear alongside fried chicken ribs with five-spice honey, kewpie mayonnaise, and a kuromitsu ("black honey-cured") salmon salad.

Eat this: Is it wrong to start with the milk chocolate dumpling? $8.50

Good for: Kids of all ages

GELATO MESSINA

Celebs in their home town of Sydney, Gelato Messina opened its virgin Melbourne store on Smith Street in Collingwood the very same week it did the Melbourne Night Noodle Markets last year. "We thought it would be quiet," says co-director Declan Lee. "It was honestly, crazy." The team had to airfreight refrigerated stock to Melbourne daily just to keep up with demand. "We almost lost control but thankfully held it together," says Lee, whose body bore more than the brunt of the workload. "I also discovered that man cannot live on soft serve alone," he says. "I did bad things to myself working there." As they do in-store, Messina will deliver bespoke creations for the event. "When you visit the markets you want to know that you're getting something new and something that goes well with Asian food," says Lee. Cue his range of "Pot Luck Pies". The tubs of sweet stuff will include the "Bangkok Holla" – kaffir lime sponge, pandan and coconut sorbet, pineapple and lemongrass mousse, topped with a chilli coconut cookie, as well as their barely-PC "Phuc King Tasty", featuring cinnamon scroll, coffee gelato, condensed milk panna cotta, walnut crunch, and an Asian spiced cookie.

Eat this "Happy Taste Bud Time": Lychee sponge, mango puree, rambutan and coconut gelato, with whipped salted coconut cream and a coconut macaron, $9

Good for Gelato addicts (you know who you are)

CHIN CHIN

Chin Chin and Kong will sit side by side at this year's market and Cooper says this year the offerings will be more sophisticated, more technical and they will "push themselves a bit". From Chin Chin there'll be a complex, oil-slicked green curry with skinless chicken dumplings and pea eggplant. "Culturally it's a sign of respect to leave the oil on the top," Cooper says, "It shows your wealth and position but also lines your stomach and stops the heat being too bad." The heat comes in the form of scud chilli with its explosive but short-lived blast of pow. Kong will be dishing up a gingery soy-dressed soba salad with pickled walnuts and crunchy pork belly that's been steamed, then roasted. "It's my take on classic Japanese," says Cooper, "Texturally it's fun for me."

Eat this: Chin Chin: Green curry with chicken dumplings, $12 Kong: Pork and soba noodle salad, $12

Good for: Fans of Cooper's food with it's traditional kick

GETTING THERE

Where: Birrurang Marr, Melbourne

When: November 14 to 30

What time: Mon-Tue 5pm-9pm; Wed 5pm-10pm; Thur-Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat 4pm-10pm; Sun 4pm-9pm.

How: People are encouraged to use public transport to get to Birrarung Marr, where there will be an entrance at Flinders Street as well as off Batman Avenue. Those travelling by train can also get off at Richmond Station and walk down Olympic Boulevarde to the venue. There will also be extra bike racks on site.

How much: Free entry

See goodfoodmonth.com