Twilight Hawker Markets, Forrest Place, Eat Drink Perth 2012

The Twilight Hawker Markets started in 2011, as a part of the Eat Drink Perth festival, running for the month of March. Now it looks like it will become a permanent fixture of Perth’s summery months, it started up again on 28 October 2011 and runs until 30 March 2012, every Friday 5-8pm in Forrest Chase.

The second offering of the Twilight Markets is bigger and better with a more open set up, more seating and more stalls on offer. It’s great to see the number and variety of food stalls expanding with new food vendors setting up shop, as it not only shows that the people of Perth are willing to try new things but that people are also willing to task risks by investing in bringing food to the people. It's great to see the food scene in Perth growing from strength to strength. 

(The Twilight Hawker Markets are a family affair, here's a family enjoying Spiral Spuds)

There are always huge crowds at the Twilight Hawker Markets and the queues can be long, even well into the night. As I stand in line waiting to order, it’s interesting to people watch and overhear the conversations around me. Many people walk around and have a peek of each of the stalls trying to make a decision on what to eat, and some eye the plates of others sitting down enjoying a meal and point at a stranger’s plate and ask “where did you get that from?” In a restaurant setting you wouldn’t normally prod people about what they are eating but outdoors here at the Twilight Hawker Markets, you see people happily conversing with each other, and also sharing the communal dining space. I love the sense of curiosity and the enthusiasm that comes through as people share details of their hawker food finds with others.

I have been going to the Twilight Hawkers Markets nearly every Friday after work, it’s great to not have to think about cooking at the end of the working week. At the Murray Street Mall entry you are greeted by a smokey haze and enticing charred meat smells created by the Malaysian Satay stall and the El Asador Argentinean BBQ stall. There are always never-ending lines for these stalls, grilled meats are a definite crowd pleaser. 

(Malaysian Satay Stall)

(El Asador Stall)

I’ve ordered the beef ribs from El Asador which comes with a chimichurri herb sauce. I’m given big chunks of beef ribs on a plate that have some nice bits of fat, barbecued until almost black but not burnt so that it has a wonderful charred taste. Although the beef is a bit chewy, I find it delicious. 

I was quite excited to see the Japanese Savoury Pastries stall selling takoyaki, it brought back memories of Japan. Takoyaki are fried octopus balls with a bit of octopus cooked inside a pancake-like batter. Famous in Osaka, takoyaki is not something that you would generally find on restaurant menus, it’s a street snack and can be purchased at many street vendors across the Osaka and Kansai area. I lined up for some takoyaki one night and as I got closer and read the menu, I saw that they had westernised the takoyaki with a western style pastry batter, cheese and vegetables. You can top the takoyaki the traditional way with Japanese BBQ sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and dried bonito fish flakes, but there are also additional sauce options such as sweet chilli sauce and mustard. Even though I wasn’t getting the real deal, I was still curious to try and see what this westernised version of takoyaki would taste like.

(Japanese Savoury Pastries Stall making takoyaki)

 (Takoyaki from Japanese Savoury Pastries Stall)

The takoyaki looked good but when I popped the balls into my mouth I was a little disappointed. The best way to describe the takoyaki is to say that it felt like I had popped a pizza in my mouth – the dough was like thick crust pizza and it was quite cheesy. Although the Japanese Savoury Pastries version of takoyaki doesn’t quite appeal to me, it seems to be popular with the crowds at the Twilight Hawker Markets.

So from a Japanese street food experience that didn’t meet my expectations, a week later, I would find one that went over my expectations in Fumi’s Japanese Pancake and Noodle stall.

(Fumi’s Japanese Pancake and Noodle Stall)

The lines for Fumi’s Japanese Pancake and Noodle stall are always long, the sign at the front says that the Japanese pancakes are a recipe from Fumi’s great grandmother and dressed with a homemade sweet soy sauce. I approached cautiously as I had my doubts on whether the stall could pull off Japanese street food, but I’m glad that I decided to try the combo of Japanese pancake and noodles because it was very enjoyable to eat. I really liked the taste and texture of the pancake batter, and the noodles were well flavoured.

(combo of Japanese pancake and noodles)

(Inside of the Japanese pancake)

I’ve also enjoyed the food from the Moroccan stall. I think that it’s a stall that gets overlooked and I wouldn’t have tried it myself until I went to the Twilight Hawker Markets with my cousin one night and we both went our separate ways to line up for food and then regroup. My cousin bought a tajin dish which I tried and found to be a really hearty meal, I liked the flavours coming through the dish so much that I when I was at the Twilight Hawker Markets the following week I ordered it again.

 (Moroccan Stall)

(Chicken Tajin)

While I like trying new things from different stalls, I have a habit of always ordering something from Marcelita's Empanadas and Red Hot Spatula when I am at the Twilight Hawker Markets.

  (Red Hot Spatula’s pork sliders)

I find Red Hot Spatula’s pork sliders, comfort food – fluffy steamed buns filled with pulled pork cooked in a sweet soy sauce with hints of spices like star anise and cinnamon, I love eating it. I also like ordering the Vietnamese inspired chicken salad as it is refreshing to eat on a hot summers day, there is a good balance of vermicelli to vegetables and chicken, and the dressing has a good hit of fish sauce and chilli.

Marcelita’s Empanadas (run by Perth blogger Abstract Gourmet and his wife Marcela) are always satisfying to bite into as the corn maize used for the dough makes it light and crisp, and the fillings burst with flavour. There is a choice of shredded beef brisket, pulled pork and lime, and potato empanadas made fresh to order. You can watch the Empanadista's busy flattening, stuffing, shaping and then frying each empanada right in front of you. I have tried empanadas at other places around Perth and I can honestly say that Marcelita’s are the best.

 (Empanadista's hard at work)

(Guarapo and empanadas - I always go for one of each - pork, beek and potato)

(my favourite empanada is the pork and lime one)

Amongst all the deep fried, grilled, barbecued, hot foods, you will find Maison Saint-Honore, a macaron stall selling some of the best macarons I have eaten in Perth in a wide variety of classic and interesting flavours.

If you are really lucky, you may find the Delish Ice van at the Twilight Hawker Markets. Gourmet popsicles made by Katie who travels up to Perth from time to time all the way from Margaret River. I always get excited like a little kid when I see her caravan and I love the fact that unlike the sugar laden artificially flavoured popsicles that I had as a kid, these popsicles are made with fresh fruits and vegetables which you can really taste and most have little or no sugar. There are always so many interesting flavour combinations on offer like coconut, pineapple and lime; watermelon and mint; apple and peach; chocolate and marshmallow.

The Twilight Hawker Markets run for another 2 weeks so make sure you get down and check it out. There are also heaps of other food stalls on offer and I aim to try some new dishes. What stalls have people tried and would recommend that I check out?

La Cucaracha – Taco Cart, Perth

Customer X - “Are you a Taco Truck?”

… [idiot, this station is clearly immobile]

Customer Y - “It was ages before I knew what la cucaracha was…hahaha” (nervous kind of laugher)

… [hmm I wonder how many times he has heard that one before, probably x100…]

This is what I overhear as I am waiting in line to buy some tacos from La Cucaracha (my thoughts are in italics), Perth’s one and only taco cart, yes a cart, wheeled in and wheeled out. It’s a simple little set up.

La cucaracha is a traditional Spanish folk song which became popular during the Mexican Revolution, the song depicts political opponents as cockroaches but overtime the lyrics have been adapted to provide political or social commentary, similar to Yankee Doodle. Interestingly, Los Angeles Taco Trucks used to be referred to as ‘roach coaches’ (as people were concerned about the sanitary conditions) and some even played la cucaracha as they roamed the streets.

The idea of food trucks is generating a big buzz in Australia at the moment with Sydney recently giving the green light to its first fleet of food trucks. The food truck phenomenon has blitzed Los Angeles and it looks like Australia will follow suit, in some shape or form.

What is the allure of a food truck? Maybe nostalgia for street food eating, a cheap feed, the spontaneity of it all, the ability to watch your food being cooked fresh right in front of you, the aromas which drift through the air and tell you that this is how food is meant to be enjoyed, outside in the sunshine. There’s also the cool factor because you actually found the damn truck in the first place. Food trucks are all about the seek and pursuit, the chase down the street, like when you run after the sounds of a Mr Whippy ice cream van on a hot summers day.

What I also think is good about a food truck is that they only offer a few items, but do it really well and they are generally simple things too like tacos, burgers, dumplings, buns, hot dogs, kebabs, sandwiches, cupcakes (ie: food that you eat with your hands) and often simple foods can be the most satisfying. A physical restaurant needs a larger menu and when many things are offered, inevitably some items on the menu will be really good, while others are just there to fill up space. In addition, when you get food from a food truck, you know exactly when you want, with a limitation on choice, you don’t have to deal with the indecision often faced at restaurants.

Yes, I really do like the idea of food trucks.

I think that Perth has been quite lucky in that even though we don’t have food trucks per se, over the past year with the advent of the Twilight Hawker Markets and many festivals (Beaufort Street Festival, Angove Street Festival, William Street Festival just to name a few), we have had a lot of food stalls popping up such as the likes of Marcelita’s Empanadas, Red Hot Spatula’s Asian Tapas, Ole Paella, Fumi's Japanese Pancakes & Noodles, Dracula Catering and El Asador Argentinean cuisine which are all essentially an immobile food truck. The stalls set up in one place, sell food and then pack down, which is how food trucks have to work too as they can’t just set up anywhere. While food trucks seem to be born free, in actual fact, they are quite regulated with the current trial of food trucks in Sydney required to operate around the closing times of existing cafes and restaurant, and even in Los Angeles there are restrictions on food trucks as to where they can park and for how long. A barrier against food trucks operating in the Perth scene is that the Council views it as providing unwanted competition to established, rate-paying restaurants. Hopefully in the future Perth’s position on food trucks will change but at least now we have heaps of awesome food stalls to enjoy. 

So I had heard about La Cucaracha through the grape vine and I stumbled across it as I was checking out the Laneway Night Markets (Hook and Lock Lanes in Northbridge), held over the weekend of 28-29 January, which was a part of the Fringe Festival 2012. At the moment La Cucaracha appears to only do small gigs at some festivals and vintage markets. “Where can we find you?” a customer asked, the dude behind the cart says “check out my website and join the mailing list at www.lacucaracha.net.au”

I ordered what was on available on the board, a beef taco and a pork taco (I’ve heard that bean ones are offered too). It’s a methodic one man operation, in a set rhythm, balls of dough appear from behind the desk to be flattened with a tortilla press, the grill is fired up with his oil spray gun and the tortillas are cooked in front of you as well as pre-roasted fall apart meat which is heated through.

The meat, from what I can detect, has been simply roasted until it’s fall apart tender and it’s tossed on top of a fresh tortilla, with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of greens on top. Presented to you on a paper plate, you get a choice of four bottles of condiments. I’m not sure what they all were, I just went for the chilli sauce and squirted some over the top of my tacos.

The tacos are simple, as they should be, but satisfying.

Be prepared to wait, I was lucky that I didn’t have a long wait, but I’ve heard stories and be aware that if you eventually make it to the front of the line, it might sell out.

Eat Drink Perth 2011…and See (street art)

This month is the City of Perth’s ‘Eat Drink Perth 2011’ festival with a whole range of events happening including hawker food markets, a butchers picnic, degustation dinners, gourmet food and wine tastings, cooking masterclasses, chef talks etc. You can get all the  details on events on the http://eatdrinkperth.showmeperth.com.au/ website, and you can also follow  @eatdrinkperth on twitter (check the hashtag #eatdrinkperth) and 'like' Eat Drink Perth on Facebook. 

How do we eat and drink? We experience the flavour of food in our mouth and our appreciation of flavour also relies on our sense of smell. We also eat with our eyes. An important aspect of food consumption is the visual aspect - what you see. It’s a multisensory experience and the visual is the first stimuli received before the flavour of food is even tasted or smelt!


I think that the visual experience of eating and drinking cannot be isolated from its wider context - the surrounding environment and everything that you see around you. What makes people want to go out eating and drinking in their city? What makes a city a city? I think that the cultural vibe that a city emits is important and the arts play a role in this by giving a city a bit of character. The visual environment of our city can enhance our enjoyment of going out to eat and drink. 


Would you rather be eating and drinking in a city with amazing street art around the place or a city with brown, grey walls everywhere (which would feel a bit lifeless).


So to fully experience and appreciate Eat Drink Perth 2011, I encourage people to not only eat and drink around Perth but also ‘see’ this city. Take a stroll around the city and Northbridge while out at Eat Drink Perth events and check out all the amazing street art that has started popping up everywhere.

Artrage Building (corner of Roe and Miligan Street)

Empty lot at top of William Street (between 434 and 452 William Street)

Ezra Pond (189 William Street)

Little Parry Street (near the Coles in Northbridge)

Parking lot behind Last Chance Studios (456 William Street)

399 William Street

Carpark corner of Roe and William Street

Laneway off Howard Street (near Helvetica, rear 101 St Georges Tce)

 

Laneway off Murray Street (255 Murray Street Mall, near Cotton On/Java Juice)

Grand Lane (entry off Murray Street, next to Vodafone)

Prince Lane

Wall next to City Farm, stairs coming down from Claisebrook Train Station in East Perth

Other Eat Drink Perth 2011 posts

• Twilight Hawker Markets
• What the Pho eating competition
• Fine Food Western Australia
• Amuse Project, Restaurant Amuse