The markets are a mixture of food and nic nak stalls and live entertainment with seating which are open not only during the day on Thursdays and Fridays but into the evenings as well.
Often on a Thursday or Friday night on my way home from work I will stop by these markets and purchase a snack to eat there or dinner to take home with me.
1. Japanese Curry
I used to dislike Japanese curry until I discovered these markets now I quite like it. Starting at $5 for a single serving of rice with 1 slice of chicken katsu (deep fried chicken sliced up into bite sized pieces), some finely shredded cabbage, garnished with some Japanese mayo and sometimes bbq sauce and a few slices of picked radish. This dish is not only nicely presented but quick to make, is enough to satisfy your hunger and a nice hot dish to eat during the Winter months. I have tried a double serving but only on one occasion and found it far too large to finish therefore have stuck to a single serving. This market food stall mainly sells Japanese curry and is very popular however they also specialise in cups of fried chicken pieces starting with single servings for around $5 a cup ( the Japanese version of KFC's popcorn chicken) with a selection of help yourself sauces in squeeze bottles to accompany such as bbq sauce, wasabi mayo, Japanese mayo and hot sauces. I don't add extra sauces to my curry as the curry sauce is already favourful or flavoursome enough (if one of them is actually a real word). Rating : 8/10
It doesn't look as well presented when it has moved around in your bag from walking around to find a seat or taken the lid off to eat it later. Still tastes the same though!
I haven't eaten this for a while probably since the change in the market stall owners and I used to hate the smell of this dish cooking but I loved to eat it. The original Spanish paella dish sold in a small serving (bowl) or large serving (plastic take away container) and was a seafood paella made in huge paella pans on the spot - fresh & hot . The dish included a very tasty stock combined with rice, peas and of course lots of plump prawns, calamari rings and mussels with a hint of white fish. Another nicely presented and colourful dish great for the Winter months. Around $10 for a single served it was more then enough to satisfy my hunger after a day at work. I have yet to try the new paella market stall's menu but it looks as if they offer a different range of paellas . Last night I spotted what looked like a chicken paella dish cooking on one of the huge paella pans on a backburner. Rating : 8/10 (for original Spanish seafood paella)
Post Script: On Friday 6th April 2018 after work I purchased a takeaway paella from the new market stall owners and here is what I thought. There were 3 different paella dishes on offer to purchase 1. Chicken and Vegetable, 2. Chicken and Seafood (Mixta) and 3. Just Seafood. I purchased a Mixta which cost me $15 except without the prawns. Rating an honest 5/10. Very unimpressed. Besides being over priced for what I got compared with the old paella market stall menu, each selection had the same rice base with each selection topped with strictly RATIONED pieces of chicken, calamari, prawns and mussels. 5 pieces of chicken for the Chicken and Vegetable Paella was what was advertised - the pieces were tiny 2 bite drumettes or 3 prawns for the Seafood Paella. For my Mixta - I received what was suppose to be "extra pieces of chicken" as I can't eat prawns. There was hardly 3 small pieces of chicken to substitute the prawns excluded from my selection. There was an awful lot of rice compared to the Chicken and Seafood which was also a bit chalky and undercooked in some parts and a little over cooked in others - you know when you eat boiled rice that isn't quite cooked through yet or cooked unevenly? The calamari pieces were cut up so small I could barely see them. The mussels were stale and were so shrunken , it looked as if only the shells were thrown into the paella and as for vegetables - there weren't any at all! The dish came with a tiny wedge of lemon desperately needing more of to freshen or "lift" the monotony of the paella which did not have any "levels" of flavours and where was the herbs it also desperately needed!
Bring back the old paella stall owners who had cheaper portions of paella which didn't glow in the dark in colour ( the paella I just purchased looked as if a whole packet of saffron had been added into the rice - it was fluro orange in colour compared to the old paella which was a nice yellow/orange in colour). What happened to the plump fresh prawns and mussels , oodles of whole calamari rings and the splashes of green from the peas and herbs I am used to from the old paella stall? All absent. I even had trouble scaping the rice off the cardboard container to eat - it just stuck to it.
This is a market stall I will definitely not purchase from again. Just because someone cooking & serving you has their chef's whites on - it doesn't mean they are a chef!
It may have smelt and looked good but it tasted ordinary.
3. Sugarcane Juice
I don't purchase this non alcoholic drink very often but it is quite refreshing. Some people like to drink it straight with or without ice but is is also very nice with a dash of lime or lemon for example or even a hint of ginger. Freshly made from crushing sugarcane stalks on site. Rating : 8/10 My choice was a small cane juice no ice with lime.
small cane juice with lime
4. Japanese octopus balls
These batter balls are addictive and you could eat quite a few of them. They come in a variety of flavours prawn, crab, vegetarian even. Eaten with a wooden stick or skewer from a plastic or cardboard container. Great with Japanese mayo and Japanese BBQ sauce. I can never spell what they are called in Japanese so will stick to "octopus balls". Rating : 8/10
5. Garlic Prawns
I love seafood especially shellfish but unfortunately have an allergy to shellfish therefore I can't actually eat garlic prawns but occasionally will binge and suffer the consequences. Garlic Prawns on a roll with hot sauce and a bit of greenery yum! Chorizo I can give a miss but garlic prawns are a must try. Fresh off the grill and straight onto a bun with optional greenery. Rating : 8/10 Always a crowd pleaser at Chatswood Markets.
6. Honorable mention to Two Two Korean Chicken & Street Food. It is not actually a market stall but an actual eatery in one of the side lanes in Chatswood Mall. Occasionally I like to get a small cup of fried chicken Korean style instead of Japanese style. Starting at $5 a cup you can request their special sweet chilli sauce or purchase extra rice bites often eaten on a stick interwoven with bite sized sausage pieces and dippoed in the same chilli sauce. A popular Korean snack. Rating : 8/10.
oops sorry I forgot to take a photo of my purchase from Two Two - no longer served in different sized paper cups but on skewers with or without sauce wrapped in a piece of foil - still the same taste.
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