Bao pork buns to create biggest queues at Night Noodle Markets

The Night Noodle Markets are happening again in Hyde Park this October and organisers estimate that 700,000 dumplings will be sold over the market's two-week stint. This number of dumpling parcels means about 6 million individual pleats of dough will be pinched together from restaurants like Din Tai Fung, Mamak, Longrain, and New Shanghai.

The Night Noodle Markets are one of the most popular events of the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Month. The festival is now in its 16th year and launched last night at Merivale's newest venue, Coogee Pavilion.

It's not only about dumplings at the Night Noodle Markets in 2014, though. Last year the "frankenfood" ramen burger was the big drawcard (a hamburger patty sandwiched between two discs of compacted noodles). This year the bao bun is predicted to create the biggest queues, based on its popularity at last year's Melbourne Night Noodle Markets.

Why is the bao so loved? First, they're delicious, consisting of crisp, rich meat in a shotgun marriage with a soft and bready bun. They can also be held in one hand, scoffed by the dozen, and go down a treat with beer. Perfectly familiar fare for Australians who grew up on sausage rolls at the football.

The team at Melbourne's popular Wonderbao will be making the trip north for the Night Noodle Markets and trading bao with fillings like twice-cooked roast pork belly with pickled carrots, cucumber and hoisin sauce.

Chamil Kelly from Wonderbao says he sold more than 3000 baos a night at the Melbourne Noodle Markets last year, which meant roasting up to 15 pork bellies each day.

Sydney's Bao Stop pop-up will also have a stall if the lines at Wonderbao prove too much.

More than a million people are forecast to attend one of the 470 Good Food Month events in 2014.

The entire Good Food Month program can be viewed online at sydney.goodfoodmonth.com

The Night Noodle Markets are on daily at Hyde Park from October 10 - 26. For opening times, head to the website.