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.

Gabriel Chocolate - Margaret River, Yallingup (single origin chocolate)

The Margaret River Chocolate Company is one of the most visited sites in Margaret River, but if you want to know what chocolate should taste like, in its purest form, you must visit Gabriel Chocolate. Fellow Perth food blogger, The Kitchen Crusader, and I visited Gabriel Chocolate last weekend. The road trip to Margaret River was sparked by this month’s Sweet Adventures Blog Hop theme which is Death by Chocolate. Our friend Nadia works at Gabriel Chocolate and told us to come down and check out some single origin chocolate. 

Gabriel Chocolate recently opened up in Margaret River on the corner of Caves road and Quininup road, Yallingup and offers single origin – bean to bar chocolate. Single origin chocolate is chocolate which has used cocoa beans to create it from a single source. This can be a single estate or plantation, but in most instances a single region. Cocoa beans, like coffee and wine, differs from region to region according to the environment it is grown in, where factors such as the soil, climate effects like the rainfall and humidity add characteristics to the cocoa beans resulting in chocolate that has a unique flavour profile.

That’s not to say that all single origin chocolate will be good, it depends on the chocolate maker and the integrity that they put into the process of sourcing and making the chocolate. Gabriel Chocolate is a small family fun business, Gabriel (the owner) and his wife have had a long term fascination with chocolate and Gabriel Chocolate has been 5 years in the making. They have traveled the world to source the best chocolate and they wanted to show people that there is so much more to chocolate than what people think by keeping it single origin. You get a really down to earth vibe about this place and a feeling that they are really serious about their chocolate, especially in the way that they have designed the place and display their chocolate, it’s all about the chocolate and showing off it’s unique characteristics. 

On the wall near the entrance is a huge map of the world showing the wide variety of cocoa beans that can be found in the world with each colour representing the outside of the cocoa pods. I was amazed to learn that so many different kinds of cocoa beans existed. Gabriel Chocolate currently provides 6 different varieties but they are hoping to expand their selection down the track.

Tasting all the chocolate, takes your taste buds on a fascinating journey as you eat chocolate made from cocoa beans from all over the world. Some really interesting flavours will come through in the chocolate that you would have never imagined. It’s fun to evaluate and detect the subtle characteristics of each chocolate, the experience is a lot like tasting wine. There are little sample trays of chocolate and it’s best to get one of the staff to guide you through the tasting process, as they can provide some background on where the cocoa beans came from and start you with the known and familiar territory of milk and dark chocolate, and then bring out the more interesting tasting chocolates. You can also get a behind the scenes tour to see how the chocolate is made. I am a fan of dark chocolate and I generally get 70% as I find that anything above that can be a bit too bitter for me as a general eating chocolate. Gabriel offers Chuao (beans from Venezuela) with 80% cacao, although it has a high % of cacao it was not very bitter at all and very smooth tasting as a result of the high quality of the beans that are used to produce it. The Nacional (beans from Ecuador) tasted like a cherry ripe but there was no cherries added to the chocolate, this was just the natural taste that was coming through the cacao beans. The Sambirano (beans from Madagascar) had citrus notes in the chocolate. The most surprising was the Java (beans from Criollo) which had quite a long finish on the palate, and smoky flavours could be detected in the chocolate such as tobacco and spices like paprika.

The chocolate is made from scratch on site, where all the cocoa beans are hand sorted, roasted, winnowed, conched and tempered. The chocolate is made in small batches and each batch is limited to 250 bars. On the back of the block of chocolate, a description is provided, similar to what you would find on the label of a wine bottle, which details the characteristics of the chocolate. As single origin beans are used, every time a batch of chocolate is made, the resulting flavour differs from the previous batch. Just like how the flavour profile of wine varies from year to year, depending on the quality of the grapes harvested, a wine bottled in 2010 tastes different from wine bottled in 2011. It was amazing to taste all the different chocolates and pick out their individual nuances, and to know that each batch of chocolate will be an original experience.

All the different chocolates are presented on their own podium, they can be bought in simple square blocks, some have nuts and spices scattered over the top. You can also buy cocoa nibs and soap 

Chocolate soap - cocoa butter is very good for your skin.

Gabriel Chocolate also has a café where you can order tea, coffee (they use 5 Senses) and hot chocolate. There is a small selection of baked chocolate goods made fresh everyday on site as well as ice cream.

Gabriel Chocolate has special hot chocolate making machines. 

 Look at all the lovely layers of the hot chocolate, it tastes as good as it looks.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Don’t be fooled by the cakey appearance of this chocolate mousse cake, it’s texture is smooth, velvety and so soft that you feel as though you are just eating mousse.

 Chocolate fudge with pistachios and cherries – a perfect combination!

As single origin chocolate is used in the baked goods, they all have a really refined taste. Nadia told us that Gabriel’s Rio Caribe (beans from Venezuela) 72% dark chocolate is the best chocolate to use in cooking.

Chocolate and Hazelnut Icecream

I was very impressed by the flavours of the ice cream at Gabriel’s. What I loved about it was that it was rich, creamy and full of flavour. It was very indulgent! I had the hazelnut caramel ice cream and The Kitchen Crusader had peanut butter chocolate. There were little chunks of caramel throughout my hazelnut caramel ice cream, and I had a taste of the peanut butter chocolate ice cream and found the peanut butter flavour in the ice cream very pure. We were told that they make all the flavourings in the ice cream from scratch on site (the peanut butter was made in a Thermomix).

Gabriel Chocolate has redefined what chocolate is to me, it was my first exposure to single origin chocolate. It made me appreciate the depth and complexity that can be found in the taste of chocolate. The flavour compounds found in dark chocolate actually exceeds those of red wine. Chocolate is one of the most complex compounds in the world with over 1,500 identified flavour components, while wine has around 500. I like the respect that Gabriel has given to chocolate by making it from scratch using single origin cocoa beans so that people can discover the array of complex flavours that chocolate offers. Unlike the general mass produced chocolate that you can buy, which is made from a blend of cocoa beans and generally over sweetened, contains flavourings and addictives, and when it comes to flavour - quantity, uniformity and consistency is valued over character, quality and diversity. As far as I am aware, Gabriel Chocolate is the only place in Western Australia at the moment that produces single origin chocolate. But it’s not just chocolate that tastes “different for different’s sake”, all the chocolate tastes amazing, you can tell that the best quality cocoa beans are used.

I highly recommend that people check out Gabriel Chocolate when they are down in Margaret River, everyone should have the single origin experience.

Gabriel Chocolate (www.gabrielchocolate.com.au) is open 7 days, 10am to 5pm.
Address: Corner of Caves Road and Quininup road, Yallingup.

Phone: (08) 9756 6689

Email: heaven@gabrielchocolate.com.au
You can also follow Gabriel Chocolate on twitter @GabrielChocMR