Location: 8351 River Rd,Richmond, BC V6X 1Y1
Phone: (604) 244-8448
Hours: Fri – Sat: 7PM – 12AM | Sun: 6PM – 11PM
Website: http://www.richmondnightmarket.com/
Cost: $1.50 $2.00/person for ADMISSION. Except for child under 10 and senior over 60 is FREE.
FREE Parking (if available) + Heavy Traffic waiting times (dependant on what time you go).
Hints:
Go early for less wait time and more parking spots. It doesn’t matter when you go, it’s crowded period.
- ATM, washrooms available
- Be patient! Especially with the crowd.
- Zoom Pass available ($10 or $20)
- Theme for 2013: Duck Land
Richmond Night Market
Finally, it’s summer in Vancouver with a soaring 20 something degrees Celsius outside. I haven’t visited the Richmond Summer night market yet this year, so it’s definitely my first impression (this year). Although many of my food blogger friends have already been there countless times. But here is my personal experience. Hopefully, I’ll be able to shed some light. First of all, I would like to talk about crowd control. I think this was coordinated pretty well. You could see traffic control even before you reach the intersection on No.3 Road and Bridgeport.
Parking Lot
After entering the parking lot, we still had to walk a mile to the main entrance which I thought was absurd. The early birds should fill up the closest parking first! But it doesn’t seem like they bought into the phenomenon of “first come, first serve”.
Before reaching the main entrance, we could see a huge crowd. (And we thought about walking back to the car). But the line did move pretty fast.
We waited in line for about 10 to 15 minutes before getting inside. Like last year, there were staff selling their Zoom passes while people wait in line. (Talk about good marketing!) The zoom passes are packaged in a bundle of $10 or $20. And they allow you to skip the line and head straight to the entrance. It’s good for those who are regular visitors of the night market. Note: The price to admission have increased a whole 33.3% since last year to $2.00 now.
People!!!
People have just increased by an unknown percent in the past year. It was so crowded that there was barely any room to walk pass. This was only shortly after their opening time but also taking into consideration that people come here for dinner. After we made a round all the food booths, we decided to try a few.
“Fu Jai”
Fu Jai
Unlike most other booths, this one doesn’t have an English name. My girlfriend suggested we try their pan-fried noodles for only $3.50! Although, I saw many people try the pork or beef rice roll which was made fresh right away. Maybe the guy above is “Fu Jai”?
Pan-Fried Rice noodle
The portions was pretty good for its price. Instead of the usual toppings, the rice noodle was pan-fried in soya sauce. Then you get to put on your own toppings, including sesame, Hoisin (seafood) sauce, extra soya sauce, and hot sauce. And I extremely liked this booth because they have chopsticks, unlike most other booths which only have forks or wooden sticks.
Lao Er BBQ Squid
Lao Er BBQ Squid
There were booths that sold BBQ or Deep Fried squid and we’ve had tried different ones throughout the years, so I suggested we try something different this year. And this is where we made a pit stop at “Lao Er BBQ Squid”. I could smell the aroma from a mile away. We got the #1 menu.
BBQ Squid
It came piping hot that I needed a table to put this on immediately. The squid was cooked well and has a cumin-like taste to it. Even though I had ordered #1, it seemed like a mix of squid rings as well. It didn’t really matter because it seemed they give you the same thing. But nonetheless, the tentacles are the best IMHO. There were plenty for the two of us to share.
Chicken Karaage
We didn’t have this. But we ran into @gwenwyw who ordered from this booth that claimed to have the best Chicken Karaage in the city. I haven’t asked her how it was, but at least you can see the actual thing. (Sorry for the infocus, taking “foodtographs” on the go is an extremely talented skill which I guess I haven’t mastered quite yet.)
Not Yo Nachos
We just had to stop here for some nachos. I promised my girlfriend that I’ll make her some nachos a couple weeks ago, but still haven’t lived it up yet. So this is just to substitute the “making” in the meantime.
Not Yo Nachos
“Not Yo Nachos” came in 5 different flavours, we got the original one. And we got it in snack size, which was $1.50 cheaper than the full size.
Not-Yo Nacho
The original came with chips topped with cheese, taco beef, salsa, green onions, jalapeños, and guacamole. We didn’t get the jalapeños cause they were hot. The snack size was pretty decent for its price, those there appears to be a decent size of guac, but it just wasn’t enough for me.
Honey’s BBQ
Instead of trying the usual skewers booth that has been around for awhile, which now averages at $7-$7.50 for 3 skewers, I wanted to try something new. So we tried the Honey’s BBQ skewers at $7 for 3 skewers. We got 2 lambs and 1 beef.
Skewers
The skewers were kept in a warmer, so it wasn’t made instantly. The skewers were warm at most, but since the sun was coming down, it was getting cooler by the bite. The skewers here are not bad, though I’d prefer it to be warmer. We didn’t get to pick flavours/hotness either, it was just given to us. It had the same cumin-like taste as the squid but this was hotter.
Virgin Cocktail
We stopped for a drink before heading home. Not too many lineups, we decided to try Virgin Cocktail.
Fresh Taro Smoothie (Small)
After studying the menu for awhile, we decided to get the fresh taro smoothie. The smoothie was a decent size for $3.75. But it tasted very bland as if they hadn’t added any sugar or glucose at all. However, we definitely tasted the fresh taro.
The Duck(s)
And of course, if you are going to the Richmond Night Market, you can’t miss the iconic duck that is sitting on dry land. It’s iconic of the giant rubber duck parked in Hong Kong for convention earlier this year by Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman.
The view
And if you parked a mile away from the entrance, don’t forget to enjoy the sunset when you leave. Watch for pedestrians when you leave, they are usually in a swarm.
What is your impression of this year’s Richmond Night Market? Let me know in the comments section below.
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