What’s on offer?
Mountain View Markets in Ballyhale, just a few kilometres outside Kilkenny city, is owned by the O’Neill family and run by Bee O’Grady. It’s in a stunning location and is a popular venue for weddings. It comes into its own as a Sunday food market in summer. The Cowshed, which serves coffee, is filled with interesting vendors selling food produce and homewares, and food trucks line the perimeter of the shed. Food trucks include Socafro African and Caribbean food; Day & Night fish and chips and lobster rolls; Nomad Street Food; and a serious barbecue set-up too.
You need to get there early, as the food stalls tend to sell out before 2pm. We missed eating in Socafro, and then Day & Night. If you notice that dishes are being crossed out on the board, check that they are not about to run out of other items, particularly if you’re quite far back in the queue.
What did we order?
We queued at Tasty Land Asian Noodle Bar, and ordered the chicken fried noodles. The prawn skewers and chicken fried dumplings had sold out. As the wait was long, we also ordered chips from the Loaded food truck and a corn dog from Cranky Yankee Corn Dogs to eat while we waited.
How was the service?
There was quite a wait at Tasty Land Asian Noodle Bar. The mise-en-place was lined up – the chicken pieces, shredded carrot, cabbage, beansprouts and noodles – and each order was cooked individually. The aroma was tantalising. There was a lovely atmosphere at the market and we had some interesting chats with the people in the queue. Service for the corn dog and chips was much faster.
Was the food nice?
The noodles were worth waiting for. It was a very generous serving that would feed two people. The chicken and vegetables were nicely charred, flavoured with garlic, soy sauce and other aromatics and tossed with the fine noodles. The corn dog was tasty; they’re not premade. It’s a frankfurter dipped in batter and deep fried at the food stand; very good with a dab of mustard. The chips were fine and there were plenty of them, which filled a hole while we waited.
What about the packaging?
All of our containers were cardboard, so crushable and recyclable if clean.
What did it cost?
€22 for lunch for two people: chicken noodles, €12; chips, €5; and corn dog, €5.
When is it open?
Mountain View Market is open Sundays, 10am-4pm, until September 28th.
Would I order it again?
Yes, but I’ll get to the market earlier to catch more food stands while they still have stock.
