Aussie Night Markets start in Blacktown next month

FOODIES rejoice — the Aussie Night Markets are starting next month with a focus on good food.

Phaly My at the Village Green at Blacktown where the markets will be established. Picture: Jenny Evans

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FOODIES rejoice — the Aussie Night Markets are starting next month with a focus on good food.

There will be no shortage of delectable snacks to savour, with 40 food stalls set to create an international smorgasbord at the Village Green, Blacktown.

Organiser Phaly My said the markets aimed to be “diverse and international”.

“We have Filipino food, burger stalls, heaps of Mediterranean and Lebanese food, Vietnamese, dessert waffles, Dutch pancakes, a couple of Malaysian vendors, Hong Kong dumplings, Sri Lankan food … we have tried to cater for a lot of variety,” she said.

Mate Burger, which fuses American and Filipino flavours, will be sold at the Aussie Night Markets.

Phaly My comes from a corporate background but says starting the Aussie Night Markets has been her best job yet. Pic: Jenny Evans

Phaly and her husband Sam Adams, originally from New Zealand, noticed there was a shortage of family-friendly night markets focused on food in Sydney.

“We have quite a young family, so going out to restaurants is great but it gets expensive,’’ Ms My said.

“We wanted to create something family focused. Sydney has so many great markets, often we jump online and find upcoming markets — last week we drove to Wollongong — but there is nothing really centred around food.’’

She was shocked at the lack of markets trading during the week in Sydney.

“The majority of the markets in New Zealand are food centric,’’ she said.

“In Auckland the population is only 1.3 million but the markets trade seven nights a week in different locations. In Sydney, it’s like, where are these markets?”

The markets have already received an overwhelming response from stallholders.

“Within the first two weeks there were 20 applications,’’ Ms My said.

“We are about to close applications because we are almost at capacity.

“Everyone we spoke to loved the idea.”

Social media has played a big role in getting the word out there.

“We asked people to tell us what food they like and we had 200 responses,’’ Ms My said.

“Then I made contact with those vendors who then said to me, if you’ve got people asking for us then we are there!”

My My has also tried to address long queues and food running out — a familiar scene at markets for Sydneysiders.

“We went to a festival last month and they had eight food vendors and the queues were one hour to an hour and a half long. That to me is ridiculous. If people are going to wait more than 10-15 minutes then we want to cater for that.”

Phaly, of Castle Hills, has drawn on her Cambodian heritage to create an international food market.

“The whole idea is to bring everyone together,’’ she said.

“Food is an international language.”

Aussie Night Markets has plans to eventually expand across Sydney, operating each night in different locations. For now, Blacktown was the perfect place to launch.

“Blacktown is a great area and very diverse — it kind of reflects everything we are trying to do,” Ms My said.

The Aussie Night Markets start on Friday September 16 from 4-10pm. The Village Green is at Flushcombe Rd. There will also be face painting children and stalls selling candles, clothing, confectionary and jewellery.