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Chin Chin sibling Hawker Hall debuts at Melbourne Night Noodle Markets 2015

Gemima Cody
Gemima Cody

Get the first taste of Hawker Hall's dishes at the Night Noodle Markets.
Get the first taste of Hawker Hall's dishes at the Night Noodle Markets.Supplied

Hawker Hall, the eagerly anticipated sibling restaurant to Flinders Lane's always-packed Chin Chin, is expected to open to massive queues this Sunday. But the hot tip to restaurant groupies is that your first chance to get a taste of Hawker Hall comes this Thursday, when the restaurant launches its menu at the third annual Night Noodle Markets at Birrarung Marr.

Being the first to post dish pics from new restaurants is no joke these days. It's the Space Race for food – the taste race, if you will.

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Fear of missing out has given way to fear of being late. When Chin Chin's other sibling, Kong, opened two years ago, patrons arriving at 6pm would be waiting until 9.30pm for a table – if they were lucky. Two weeks ago, when food god Rene Redzepi opened bookings to his Australian pop-up Noma, tables sold out in 90 seconds.

Understandably, the staff manning the Hawker Hall stand are braced for Instagram paparazzi to descend on Thursday night, when the markets open at Birrarung Marr with a record 55 stalls.

Benjamin Cooper, executive chef for the restaurant group, predicts their Malay rendang, with braised wagyu beef, cumin, coriander and toasted coconut, to become a Hawker Hall and Noodle Market cult hit. "As one of the most famous curries from Malaysia and Indonesia, the rendang is most indicative of the type of food you will find at Hawker Hall," he says.

Other dishes tipped to dominate the hashtags and draw queues at this year's Night Noodle Markets, either have extreme authenticity or freakiness on their side. Or both.

Richmond restaurant Ladyboy Dining will be serving up a legitimate taste of south-east Asian street food in the form of fried meal worms – a nutty (optional) garnish for a papaya salad.

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Internationally acclaimed chef Diego Munoz from Peru's Astrid y Gaston, the restaurant sitting at No.14 on the list of the world's 50 best restaurants, is showcasing Chifa and Nikkei cuisine (the Chinese and Japanese-influenced street food of Peru), in collaboration with Lady Carolina in Brunswick East.

In the sweet frankenfood camp, expect Nutella gyoza from Harajuku Gyoza; ice-cream "bao-gers" from Gelato Messina, working in collaboration with Wonderbao, and whisky cookies designed by international sugar queen Christina Tosi from Momofuku Milk Bar in New York, available from the Singleton Whisky and Sugar Bar.

Last year's markets attracted 560,000 dumpling fans to the banks of the Yarra, but the power of cult dishes may just tip the scales this year.

The Age Good Food Month presented by Citi Night Noodle Markets is on from November 12 to 29. Good Food Month presented by Citi runs from November 1 to 30, melbourne.goodfoodmonth.com

Gemima CodyGemima Cody is former chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Food.

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