Discover three of Sydney’s best suburbs for a diverse range of food and culture

Out and about and looking for a late-night feast? Haymarket – home to both Chinatown and Thaitown – is one of Sydney's best precincts for quality food being served after 9pm. You can follow your nose all the way through this area that functions as a walk-through grocery store and open-space food court. Clock off work on a Friday and start your night at the buzzing Chinatown Friday Night Market that takes over the main strip with dozens of stalls full of Asian street food, desserts and gifts. If you’re more in the mood for Thai but don’t know where to start, join the Secrets of Thaitown Food Tour, where you’ll taste incredible Thai dishes and learn more about the different regions. For Cantonese classics, be sure to stop in at The Royal Palace Seafood Restaurant, a sprawling seafood hotspot that took over the former Golden Century site. Order a classic Korean meal – fried chicken and beer – at Squid Pocha, which is open until the early hours of the morning. And enjoy authentic Thai flavours at the three-in-one café, bar and restaurant Fat Thaiger. 

No trip to Haymarket is complete without a night of cheap drinks and neon lights at one of the city’s best Karaoke bars. Take your chances on the main stage or book a private room at Dynasty Karaoke, where you can choose from a decent list of hits, spanning everything from Britney Spears to ’80s bangers. Or bring a whole party down to D1 Karaoke, which can fit up to 30 people in a room. That sounds like a good time to us.

The CBD is a great place to find Korean food in Sydney, but for those that live a bit further away, Eastwood has its very own Koreatown. Explore Rowe Street East and get around the excellent Korean joints including Pu Ji Mi, which serves home-style food, or order a slice (or three) of cake at Lavigne Bakery. Our pick? The earl grey tea cake. Make Moko your new local watering hole and settle in for a few hours. Once you're ready to keep exploring, find all the great shops showcasing the local community. Drop in at K-Bay to get your hands on Korean beauty products; kick-start your hair health journey at DNK Hair; or take a digital art class at Digiart College. For something more long term, choose between all-ages fitness classes including BalletFIT, Kpop dance, bungee physio and line dance at K-Center, or pick up a less intensive hobby with their calligraphy classes.

Three streets (Marion, Wigram and Station) make up ‘Little India’ in the City of Parramatta which, over the last decade, has become a destination spot for locals on the hunt for Sydney’s best crop of Indian culinary delights. Start off on Wigram Street where you can almost go door-to-door between Dosa Hut for hefty bowls of biryani, Chill N Grill Restaurant for street-food inspired snacks, or A2B Sweets & Restaurant for a meat-free menu. If you’d rather cook at home, pick up 100 per cent halal meat at Green Farm Meat on Marion Street, and shop the latest fashion at Shalini’s Indian Fashion or jewellery at Akshara Jewellers.