When people ask me about what to see in my hometown Vancouver, BC the first thing I always think about is the food. Vancouverites love food and there are so many fabulously interesting things to eat there that it is hard to choose what and where to eat. We love so many Vancouver restaurants but another fantastic place where you can try a whole bunch of unique foods is actually just outside of Vancouver. The Richmond Night Market is a great destination where you can wander stalls filled with kitschy gadgets, millions of socks, sparkly nail stickers and eat fun foods with friends.
On a recent trip I grabbed my Vancouver bestie and fellow food lover Sheena and arrived at the market for its 7pm opening. We parked in a dirt and gravel field near the River Rock Casino Resort and there were tons of people already lined up. We weren’t too sure where to actually line up for the regular line but we bought the Zoom Pass for twenty dollars and lined up in a giant line. (According to the website the regular admission is $3.25 and kids under 10 and seniors 60+ are free but we can still use our Zoom Pass for 5 more people. I’m not sure if we got a good deal because we could not find the regular line but it felt very VIP to buy the pass.) There is also some kind of VIP parking but I’m not sure how this works. It was fun to wander near the fancy cars parked in these spaces on our way to the Zoom Pass line.
There is also some kind of magical coupon book you might want to read about if you’re thinking of going to the Richmond Night Market. Every place in the market seemed to have some kind of jump the line coupon or VIP extra and I am not sure if I’ll be able to go more than once this year. If you plan on going to the market multiple times or are in a big group it might be a great idea.
Another great idea is the Rotato. I think this is one of the most delicious foods you could ever have at a fair and it’s on this list of the ‘5 foods to try at the night market‘ too! I actually went to the night market because I wanted to try one food I have seen all over the Internet so the Rotato was an awesome bonus.
I also didn’t expect the dinosaurs when I thought of going to this market. There were dinosaurs everywhere. Dinosaurs and food. Food and dinosaurs. I don’t get why they need to be together but after a while I liked having them there hidden amongst the glowing neon Sakura blossoms, growling in the fair midway and wandering through the streets. The dinosaurs were definitely an unexpected touch.
What I wanted to try the Rain Drop Cake. And though it didn’t taste like rain, I really liked it. This one is kind of molasses and soy flavored. I hope people use this food technology to make pretty snow globe tops on desserts or fish bowl desserts. I think there are lots of things you can do with a clear drop of goo and it was pretty tasty and fun to eat.
We also thought this prata with Mac and cheese inside was quite inventive too. I love prata. We look forward to them every time we travel to Singapore. I usually like them dipped in curry or filled with banana so Mac and cheese was something I’ve never seen before.
And this dessert I would have loved more if it was smaller. I love shave ice and mango and mochi and sunshine and festivals. All of these should always go together.
I just got too full too quickly. If all the portions could have been smaller I could have eaten more foods. I would have bought more foods. Oh, I wish I could have eaten more foods. And this is the sentiment we have every time we visit Vancouver. We wish we had more time and more space in our bellies to eat more things. Because it is impossible to eat ALL the things in Vancouver. And I hope if you go you get this feeling too!
(PS. If you visit the Richmond Night Market, I’d love to hear what you eat!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
Rotatoes forever!