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Top 9 most Instagrammable dishes at Melbourne's Night Noodle Markets 2016

Eunice Oh

The Night Noodle Markets are in full swing. Sure, the point of the markets is to rove around in a haze of spice and smoke, sucking up the atmosphere and being in the moment. Except that this is also 2016, and if you didn't 'gram it, it didn't happen. That's just a scientific fact.

To save you time for some mindful market appreciation, here's the shortlist of Instagrammable dishes. Click, eat, relax.

1. Black Star Pastry x N2 Gelato
For all the Melburnians who have been dying to try Chris The's strawberry watermelon cake, the Night Noodle Markets have saved you a flight. Chris The's cult cake, uniting sheets of rosewater-infused watermelon, cream and almond dacquoise has been turned into frozen dessert by the liquid nitrogen weilding loons at N2. Doubt the power? Last year at Good Food Month's Sweetfest, one participant cried just being in the presence of the cake.


2. Mr. Miyagi
​Jexican? Mexinese? Either way, Mr Miyagi's Jap-Mex nori tacos are always one of the biggest draws of the markets. At least this year chef Kristian Klein has a new kitchen to allow for prep. Last year, the restaurant's Windsor kitchen was operating 23 hours a day to feed the crowds. Grilled salmon is probably their best known version, but if you're thinking with your camera first, go straight for the tempura soft shell crab.

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3. Wonderbao
Fluffy buns. What's not to like? The local team from Wonderbao might be going head-to-head with the likes of Bao Stop, but their ace in the hole is their perennially popular vegetarian bao, filled with panko-crumbed eggplant.


4. Gelato Messina
For die hard Messina fans, the gelato kings' one-off Night Noodle Market creations are the Pokemon of the dessert world. Every year Messina raises the bar both in terms of their desserts and the puns to describe them. This year it's deep-fried coconut gelato ("Fryer and Ice") and matcha green tea waffle cones ("Matcha do About Nothing"). Go, collect.


5. Hoy Pinoy
Who goes to the markets and doesn't get a skewer? Amateurs.

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6. Waffle on a Stick
It's waffles, on a stick, covered in Nutella. Add a Trump reference and it's the holy, or unholy union of the year's biggest trends captured in one dessert.


7. Bao Stop
In the noble tradition of halal snack packs, poutine and those cheese-and-bacon assaulted chips they once served at Lone Star Steakhouse, comes the latest frontier in topping fries with something that isn't fries! In this case, it's spring onion and shredded Peking duck that's all crackled skin and juicy flesh.

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8. Let's Do Yum Cha
Get around a char siu bao (barbecue pork bun to you) made to Footscray specs. Read: the size of a large clenched fist. Give the internet the novelty-sized food it deserves.


9. Nem N' Nem Food Truck
For anyone who doesn't like food with faces, Nem N' Nem has one of the strongest vegan offerings in the markets, with a special shout out going to these tofu bahn mi sliders and their vermicelli salads.

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