Posts Tagged ‘fun activities in Vancouver’

• Summer Night Market

  Date: 2010.09.14 | Category: Inexpensive dates, Limited Run, Night Dates, Richmond area | Response: 0

  Okay, it’s officially fall but Sunday night Peter and I decided to check out the Summer Night Market in Richmond.  I remember going a few years ago when it was the Richmond Night Market and had a vague recollection of it being kind of lame….sort of like going to a massive dollar store that served noodles.  But the market has grown up since then. 

  We arrived later in the evening (around 9pm).  Even though it was dark when we arrived, it was still super busy.  We paid for parking at the Home Depot lot ($5) and walked there.   You have to walk a few blocks to get to the market – so, gals, wear your comfy shoes.   It feels weird to be trudging around an industrial area late at night but just follow the crowds and you will get there! 

  The market looked beautiful lit up in the dark.  Admission is free so we just

  

  Latern kiosk

  wandered in.   Inside the market are a lot of food and vendor stands.  We chose to do some “window shopping” first and began wandering the rows of merchandize stands.  There you can buy everything from cell phone covers, to underwear to Korean Karaoke discs.  Anything cheap and sparkly seemed to fly off the shelf.  Bling is your friend if you are a vender at the Night Market.   

  During our wanders, we stumbled upon a fantastic busker named Dynamite.  We rarely stay and watch a busker’s full

  

  Dynamite the busker was dynamite!!

  act but this guy was so good at audience patter we couldn’t help but stay and watch.  He juggled and did acrobatics – and by the end he was riding a 10 foot tall unicycle in his underwear – so much fun. 

  Next we wandered off in search of snacks…in the centre of the market, there are stands selling a variety of street food (most are yummy Asian based fare).  As a note,  I am very picky about eating street food (Pete on the other hand has a caste iron stomach will

  

  Yummy!

  eat anything, anywhere) .  I was relieved to know that all stalls are inspected for food safety.   We decided to share everything we ordered in order to sample a bigger variety.  By the end of the evening we had consumed:

  • Chinese dumplings (pork dumplings with a nice sauce inside)
  • Hurricane Fries (a single potato swirled on a stick with sauce)
  • Pork and chicken skewers
  • Dragon Beard candy (a sweet light sugar and flour delicacy)
  • Squid (Pete loved it; not for me!)
  • Mango bubble tea
    

    Mollie's Mini Delights aka deep fried oreo heaven

  • Deep fried Oreos.  (Amazing!)

  By the end of the night, we were very full.  While eating, we wandered around and listened to the live music in the main stage area. The night was a very inexpensive evening.  Food cost us about $28.  This coupled with the $5 we gave Dynamite the busker as a tip and the $5 parking meant we had a date night for under $40.  We stayed for about 2 hours and had a really good time.  It is now on our To Do list for next year. 

  Our Thoughts on Summer Night Market:

  • A nice informal place to people watch
  • Has a neat kitschy vibe
  • Inexpensive outing
  • Fun to nosh on a wide variety of mostly Asian street food. 
  • Must like walking – not a lot of places to sit
  • It can be busy; need to be in a relaxed non-hurried state of mind. 

  The market closes for the summer on September 26^th so you have a couple more weekends to check it out.  Details are below:

  Summer Night Market Info