Richmond Night Market!! 2007 (Part 2)

Alrighty, here we are at the Night Market... see the sign? :) This year wasn't as packed as last year, maybe because we came a bit early... but still, some of the stalls weren't being occupied by vendors? Last year, I think every stall was full and there were people elbowing each other to get through... well, not literally elbowing but you know what I mean.

Being early to the Night Market has it's perks, you can actually find good parking! If you want to park in the RNM lot, you'll have to fork over $5.50, and if you choose to park in a lot adjacent to the night market it'll cost you $5. But if you're crafty like my family (and a handful of others) you'll park on the road side. Sure it's a bit of a longer walk to the RNM but hey, it's free! You can save your hard-earned $5 on something like a pair of shoes, stuffies or food... which I believe it more worth it.

There was a lot of walking, but we didn't mind. That's the whole RNM experience. Walking around, as if you're in chinatown... except that all the awesome stores are in one concentrated location and you don't have to drive all the way to downtown Vancouver.

I wasn't too intrigued by the electronics vendors (mainly because they were really pricey, and I don't have an Ipod to "trick out"). But me and my sister were eager to hit all the stationary and stuffed animal stalls. We bought quite a couple pens, pencils, eraser and other accessories. They are pretty cheap, but you have to really shop around for the best deals. You also have to know what you're looking for, and be able to spot the cheapo products from the genuine thing.

I don't usually buy clothes at the NM (because you can't really try them on, unless you want to change infront of watchful eyes), but I actually managed to find this really nice top that fit me. I was just walking by this clothing stall and it caught my eye... it was just the right color, style and size and there was only 1 left. It was originally marked for $12, but my mom managed to haggle it down to $10 (yes, she is amazing!).

But of course, since this is a food blog you know that I couldn't post about the Richmond Night Market and not about it's wonderful treats. It took me a while to find what I wanted... usually I get the taiyaki, but this year they jacked up the price! I was appauled, usually they cost $0.50 each but this year they were $1!! I was saddened, because I was really craving something hot and sweet. The NM has a lot of food that's cold and sweet, or hot and savoury... but not hot and sweet. If I had the time/energy/money I would probably open up a stall at the NM that sold all of the tasty South-east Asian goodies... nonya kuehs, tong sui, bulut hitam, pulut inti, etc.

My sister ordered her usual mango bubble tea, while my other sister ate 2 skewers (one chicken and one beef). My mom ordered her sharkfin soup and then tried one of the red bean pancakes (which I admit was actually pretty good, but for $1 a piece I wouldn't buy one). My dad got fresh sugar cane juice, and let me tell you... it tastes nothing like the juice boxes. But I was still in search for my perfect dessert to end off the perfect night.

And then this stall caught my eye. After seeing their sign, I was hooked... the drinks reminded me of chendol... one of my favourite desserts from Singapore. And although not hot, it was deliciously sweet.

Much more tasty than my now sad looking attempt at making chendol. This vietnamese dessert had just the right coconutiness. The only thing they could have improved on was making the shaved ice more fine. There were small ice chunks that I had to chew up and thus it interrupted the flow of the dessert. Taste-wise it was awesome. It had pandan jelly, red bean, white beans, mung bean paste and tapioca cubes... YUMMERS!

I hope that the Richmond Night Market returns for 2008... it would be a sad break in tradition if they couldn't continue it. Apparently, it's because they can't rent out the location anymore... even if they had to change locations to keep it running I would definitely go. Please stay :)