Richmond Night Market

I have mixed feelings about Richmond Night Market. I am not keen on line ups but I'm not a person who looks for ways to cut lines either. There is no shame in waiting in line. Lines can teach us things; patience, empathy, consideration. I feel the same way about crowds but I take a deep breath and as long as I feel my wallet is secure, I try to be aware of people around me, show them regard, take my time and smile. So I guess that the night market can be sort of a Zen thing! As for the idea that the market is some sort of a good deal, that idea ends a the gate which charges a little more every year ($4.25 for adults this year) and the food stalls which sometimes seem cheap but really are not! So why are we here? Well, possibly to develop some of the above mentioned fine qualities but also, it has become sort of an iconic local experience and there are some interesting things to eat, some interesting booths and sites and some fun to be had!

As for food, we plotted a course around the stalls and decided what we wanted to try (ultimately, we were full before we got through the list) and threw ourselves into the fray! There are always new and creative things to try like Mac and Cheese Roti from Mamak La.

Watching the chef spin out the dough paper thin was may favorite part of this experience but the end product was pretty decent. A nice curry sauce topped it off beautifully.

Our favourite of the evening was an old standby and market corner stone, deep fried squid.

This was ridiculously tender under its crispy coating. We chose garlic and pepper of the several toppings available. Big Beard Super BBQ was responsible for this and we highly recommend it!

On my meh list is the Japanese Seafood Cracker. It was different and interesting and I like both seafood and crackers and maybe even seafood on crackers but somehow the combination did not amaze me. Marie liked it well enough so maybe it was just me. Or maybe I am just cranky that I didn't think to take this photo horizontally to begin with....

We always like the fish sticks! If anything, these have improved. My memory of last year is of paper thin fish with batter but these actually have a bit of substance.

Salt and pepper on one and Wasabi mayo on the other, these were hot and tasty. One thing line ups guarantee is that no food is sitting around under heat lamps waiting for you! At 2 for $13, this maybe the best not-so-great deal of the market.

And who could leave without Churros and Ice Cream? Truly, walking around with this thing garnered the most attention of anything we ate all evening!

A not overly special churro with a small cup of vanilla ice cream covered with fruit loops (pretty sure they were the bulk bag kind), this was not so much amazing food as a work of cheesy art! And we paid an extra dollar for the unicorn because how could we not? Marie's grand daughter will love it as a cozy for her milk! So we didn't get to the Hurricane Potatoes (it's just a fried potato for heaven's sake but lines are endless all evening) or Korean fried chicken or barbeque skewers but there is always next time. As much as I grumble about the crowds and the traffic and the prices, it's kind of a fun place to hang out once in a while!