Overview
Queen Victoria Market's legendary summer night market series has wrapped up for another season, and there's still a while to wait before its winter counterpart begins. But QVM is here to fill the void in between, as it stacks your next few Wednesday nights with bold Asian flavours for its Hawker 88 Night Market.
The return favourite kicks off its next five-week instalment on Wednesday, April 12, embracing a different Asian-inspired theme each week. You'll find yourself immersed in other cultures and cuisines as you feast your way through a lineup of street food stalls, with live entertainment and market stalls rounding out the fun.
Hawker 88's launch night is set to span offerings from right across the continent, featuring dragon dances and a wide program of tunes, while the following week (April 19) zeroes in on the flavours of Malaysia, paying special homage to the not-so-humble durian.
On April 26, you'll take a spin through Japan and Korea, enjoying martial arts demonstrations, K-pop gigs and traditional drumming performances; before diving into a celebration of Bollywood culture on May 3, complete with DJs and dance workshops. A hop around the Asian islands of Vietnam, Bali, Thailand and The Philippines wraps up the series on May 10.
Along the way, you'll find a generous spread of Asian dishes to sink your teeth into — including Malaysian nasi lemak from Bawang, Shallot Thai's peking duck pancakes, soft shell crab dumplings courtesy of Miss Wonton, crispy Korean fried chicken from Lui Boss and stacks more. There'll even be long communal tables set up hawker-style, so you can enjoy your eats just like you would on the buzzing streets of Asia.
The Hawker 88 Night Market runs Wednesday nights from April 12–May 10, at Queen Victoria Market, Queen Street, Melbourne.