Richmond Night Market '05

[Keith Talent]

I heard yesterday that there will be a grand total of 63 different food vendors at this years market...sounds like my kind of place.

Where does one park?  Is there a shuttle from somewhere?  Public Transport of any kind?  Can anyone recommend the least stressful method of getting there and then getting out again?

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Go early, half hour before it opens is ideal. Trust me, a small thing like "opening hours" never disuaded an entrepenurial asian from doing a little business. There is onsite parking, it fills quickly (as in generally before the official opening) after that it is an endless parade of circling vehicles looking for open spots. Surrounding merchants allow parking on their lots for a nominal fee (two/three bucks last year.) Street parking is scarce, but occasionally you get lucky. The easiest/best/least stressful way is to throw your bikes on the back of the car, park wherever and ride in. Parking isn't bad if you're prepared to walk a little.

[Vancouver Lee]

Where exactly in Richmond is the market located?

Edited to add:

OK, I just read the tail end of the Truth be Told thread, and heard about Those Little Donuts (love that expression, Lorna! )....

So when is the eGullet outing?

Edited May 31, 2005 by Vancouver Lee (log)

[Keith Talent]

[Keith Talent]

Beware weird flash interfaces. Richmond Night Market Webpage

[Mooshmouse]

Parking isn't bad if you're prepared to walk a little.

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Walk, schmalk. It's less than 10 minutes to my parking area of choice and it helps me feel less guilty about consuming a gargantuan amount of calories during my visit.

I usually prefer arriving just after dinner hour to avoid supper crowds, and finish up before the late-nighters arrive, which is probably the most crowded of all. I'm aiming to visit on a Friday evening before the end of June (translate: before it gets too freakin' hot in the evenings) and have already heard from about half-a-dozen people who are interested in a Night Market EatFest.

[Paul B]

What time does it officially open and which days is it on?

Thanks.

[Vancouver Lee]

What time does it officially open and which days is it on?

Thanks.

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Hours of Operation:

Friday: 7PM - 12AM

Saturday: 7PM - 12AM

Sunday: 7PM - 11PM

Also open on long weekends

[Sam Salmon]

Night Market info of a different nature here

[PaoPao]

We've been to the Night Market a few different times.

Interesting? I guess if you have never been (especially during the blackout).

Crowded? Yup.

Good food? I looked and looked, tasted and tasted, and there isn't anything there that really would make me want to go back food wise.

If you want to go see lots of vendors selling (IMO) lots of crap, while being elbowed eating mediocre to bad food, This place is for you!

If you do go, the only thing I think that is worthwhile purchasing is the Electric fly shocker/swatter. For about $2 you can get a great invention that shocks the crap out any little flying bug. Easily puts all other fly swatters to shame.

[canucklehead]

Good food?  I looked and looked, tasted and tasted, and there isn't anything there that really would make me want to go back food wise.

If you want to go see lots of vendors selling (IMO) lots of crap, while being elbowed eating mediocre to bad food,  This place is for you!

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I don't know what happens to my judgement whent I go to night markets, fairs, etc... I simply cannot tell what is good or bad - I just become this walking thing of gluttony... Even the crappy stuff is interesting in that science project kind of way....

I may need some sense slapped into me. Regardless - it is a fun experience (meaning both the night market and slapping me).

Edited June 1, 2005 by canucklehead (log)

[Keith Talent]

If you want to go see lots of vendors selling (IMO) lots of crap, while being elbowed eating mediocre to bad food,  This place is for you!

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It's the cheapest way to enjoy the pleasures of Hong Kong without risking deep vein thrombosis and surly Air Canada staff. Plus, where else are you going to get your knock off Hello Kitty pen and pencil sets? Boring meetings go way faster if you throw down a flashing neon Japanese anime pen on a rope. Don't tell me you didn't look at the bundles of ten tighty whiteys for two bucks and question if you'd ever should do laundry again, maybe the disposable underpant route is a sensible way to go.

And who hasn't been intrigued by the giant barebecued squid on a stick? No mere calamri, these things were the stuff of Jules Vernes nightmares. Why would anyone eat a squid pop except on a bet while drunk? It's a question that needs investigating.

Who doesn't want to be assualted by an elderly Chinese gent flogging some crap smelling tea that he promises works better than Viagra. It's both flattering and insulting. I'm flattered that he considers me such a player that I'm a legit prospect, and insulted by the same thing.

The mystery of the six dollar cookies sold at the dragon beard stall. Why? They're average at best. Am I unwittingly financing some east asian terrorist organisation and the mediocre cookies are merely a front? The dragon beard is half that price and twice as good. Someone slept through certain critical parts of business school.

Nightmarket can make you happier than a dog in a pickup truck bed on the freeway, if you just open your eyes to the bizarreness around you. The giant robo-cop statues on the pillars? Why? The logo that looks like it was designed by my kids pre-school, actually just by the slow kids at my kids pre-school? Why? Are there any primary colours they didn't manage to incorporate into that giant F-you directed at every professional graphic designed in the city? The lame slogan, "YES!" Why? They should demand their money back from the English as a Second languge classes if that's the best they can come up with.

And now they're passing fake fives too? Get out. I'd pay ten bucks for a fake five. I'd have a great story to tell for years and the proof in my wallet.

[Mooshmouse]

Though I'm well aware that the Richmond Night Market doesn't boast a plethora of gourmet dining experiences, I consider it 'fun food'... essentially an Asian version of PNE fare. And I stuff myself silly at both venues.

[PaoPao]

Hey, as Keith has so eloquently eluded to, it's an experience that ya gotta go to at least once to experience. If not, who's going to buy all those cell phone covers?

[Vancouver Lee]

I may need some sense slapped into me.

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Nah.....we'll just hit you with an electrified fly swatter.

Edited to add: jeez, the mind boggles at all the possible uses for one of these things. Who knew such a thing was available?

Edited June 1, 2005 by Vancouver Lee (log)

[chef koo]

i'm not too sure what everyone's so excited about. i've always found the food served at the night market to be crap. only reason i go is because ther's nothing to do on a saturday night. personally i find the one downtown much more entertaining. it's a bit dirtier but i think the foods much better there.

[Vancouver Lee]

i'm not too sure what everyone's so excited about.

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"Those Little Donuts" are enough to get me excited by themselves, let alone the people-watching potential that Keith's description of this human zoo makes clear.

...personally i find the one downtown much more entertaining. it's a bit dirtier but i think the foods much better there.

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There is a downtown one??? Details, please.....

[Mooshmouse]

Click and ye shall receive.

[Keith Talent]

Beleive me, the last thing I need is street food in close proximity of lemon chili squid at Phnom Phen (I've been taken to task for my spelling of the restuarnt name/city in Cambodia before, I have no intention of looking it up and/or attempting to correct it. Deal with it, stop being a hater.)

Seems like a recipe for thirty-seven galsses of water before bed, a handful of Tums and a restless night.

[Daddy-A]

Our own Eric Pateman is hosting his own tour of the Richmond Night Market. Details HERE

A.

[Keith Talent]

Went to night market for the first time this year last night. Ate two outstanding things, two horrible things and some other meh/whatever things.

At the Taste of Thai booth I got green papaya with beef jerky salad. This was one of the best things I've recently eaten. Perfect sweet/salty/spicy balance. fresh and simple and at two bucks the best thing for the dollar ratio I've ever had. Across the isle is the only food stall without any english that makes a hot and sour soup I'm addicted to. Cellophane noodles, and brooth, then they start loading in the add ons, half of which I don't even recognize as food stuffs. The things I do recognize are spinach, mushrooms, chilis and strangely toasted wheat berries. Crunchy nutty things in the bottom.

Stay away from most dim sum, and barring any insight into which particular boothes to steer clear of all. Mmm, grizzle flavour shu mai. Actually, steer clear of any booth manned by the club kids looking to put a quick buck into their jeans and stick with boothes that look like they're run by food service pros.

Sadly, the hardest working man in unleavened egg based griddle cooked dough products isn't there this year, and without him egg balls are just overcooked waffles.

No fake fives, but someone did screw me out of a quarter by subbing a Korean 100 whatever piece. Ha! jokes on them, I'd have paid a loony for it.

[snacky_cat]

I popped my night market cherry last week in the company of some fellow eGulleteers. While my camera's memory card was mostly given over to photos of us eating meat on a stick and some videos of the awesomely bad Bon Jovi cover band that was on stage, I did manage to get a few food-only shots. I stuck them in a photo album for everyone to look at.

The meat-on-sticks was generally quite good, particularly at the It's All About Grill stand. They've taken food-on-a-stick to the next level by offering foodS-on-a-stick, with various combos including asparagus and bacon, weiner and bacon, and some other stuff (if it didn't feature the words "and bacon", it slipped under my radar.)

My other favourite were the car-wheel cakes at the awesomely-named Go-Go Station. I stuffed a few Nutella cakes in my mouth and sampled the Mooshmouse strategy of eating a bite of Nutella cake followed by a bite of peanut butter cake. Tasty, and the cooler peanut butter cake reduces the molten chocolate lava feeling that a warm Nutella eruption leaves in your mouth.

A good time was had by all, and if you enjoy food on a stick, you won't be disappointed, particularly if you get a second wind around 11:30pm, when the stands slash their meat-on-sticks price by half. I also got an excellent Pom Pom Purin showercap, and I think I'm going back soon to buy some outfits for my cat.

[sanrensho]

We went for the first time a couple of weeks ago and had a good time, but won't be going back anytime soon. I did like the homemade empanadas at the Philippino stand, but nothing else really stood out. Although not even remotely comparable in scale or "atmosphere," the Chinatown night market has better food, such as bubble tea made with real fruit. Not to mention the Phnom Penh restaurant and bakeries/grocers in close proximity.

At the Richmond Night Market, I kept waiting for someone to give me some Asian currency change, but it never happened.

[Keith Talent]

It helps if you look dumb.

[sanrensho]

It helps if you look dumb.

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I'll remember that next time. Also, you were right about some of the dim sum, the siu mai I had was well and truly pink on the inside.

Does anyone know if "car wheel cakes" are a traditional Chinese street food? Or are they a carry-over from the identical imagawayaki, a common Japanese street food?

I feel compelled to mention the hilarity of the Mini-Donut truck, or the "cop-out stand" as I call it. I didn't see a single non-Asian person lined up at the Mini-Donut truck during the entire time I was there, although we left pretty early.

Edited July 27, 2005 by sanrensho (log)

[snacky_cat]

Does anyone know if "car wheel cakes" are a traditional Chinese street food? Or are they a carry-over from the identical imagawayaki, a common Japanese street food?

Go-Go Station, purveyors of the car wheel cakes, looked like it was of Japanese provenance. This is based on my hazy recollection of seeing the filling flavour list written in Japanese rather than Chinese, and the fact that the head Go Go guy looked like a crazy samurai, with long flowin' hair and what they refer to in Whalley as a "bitchin' 'tache".