Mt Hawthorn Hawker Markets

On a balmy Friday evening, we decided to explore a new Hawker Market not far from our home. We made our way down to a grassy reserve in Mt Hawthorn called Axford Park and were greeted by rows of food vans and marquee stalls offering fresh street style international food. We stumbled upon delicious smells, authentic street food and live local music adding to a relaxed and fun vibe.

There is a bit of a novelty element when it comes to food trucks but we found many food vans and stalls serving up fresh, high quality and delicious dishes. Like this paella. Totally delicious – a bright layer of roasted red capsicum and peas, juicy pieces of fish and squid and topped with a lemon, garlic and parsley oil. Our favourite dish of the night. B raved about how great the stock was.

Sidenote: it’s always worth making an effort to prepare a good fish stock when it comes to paella. When you eat the rice, most of its flavour will be coming from the stock so it’s a no-brainer that the better the stock, the greater the dish.

We visited the American BBQ truck and B had his eye on the Vienna hotdog. The hotdog was a tasty mixture of pork and beef and it had a moreish pickle and onion relish. It didn’t however rank as high on flavour as the paella. I would probably eat that paella every night if I could.

The Town of Vincent has initiated this weekly Hawker Market with a 4-week trial period and so far the community support has been very strong. There is so much to love about this Market and we’re hoping it will be around for awhile – the crowds on the night we went suggest it’s a favourite with the locals already. We loved the relaxed atmosphere and diversity of food so we’ll be back there soon.

UPDATE: The trial was successful and approval has been given for a full season. Great news! Be sure to check it out if you’re a Perth local.

Mt Hawthorn Hawker Markets
Every Friday night in Summer from 5-9pm
Axford Park, 130 Scarborough Beach Road, Mount Hawthorn, WA 6007