Photo Credit: Willow Peterson

The Richmond Night Market is the place to hang out with your friends, check out accessories like necklaces, key chains, socks, and claw clips, try your luck at carnival games, and taste unique and mouth-watering food. The market is open from around 7pm to 12am, depending whether you go on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It might not seem worth it to go for the three-hour-long wait in the general admission line, so you can always buy a $35 fast pass. This comes with five entries that you can use any time during the market’s run from April to October. General admission costs $8 per person, and it is free for seniors over 60 and children under the age of seven.

All the prices already have taxes included, so you’re only paying the price indicated and nothing more! Make sure to bring cash, because most stalls will not accept card.

Momo’s: The Himalayan Dumplings

We ordered the steamed Momo beef dumplings from Momo’s, which were $15 for six. They weren’t the most unique, although they were quite juicy. Coated with a thin sauce that tasted like tomato soup, they also had a bit of soup inside, which gave the dumpling a fresher taste and an impression of higher quality. The beef itself didn’t taste outstanding. Other dishes found at Momo’s include deep fried dumplings, chilli dumplings, and steamed dumplings, with meat choices of either beef or pork.

The wait time at Momo’s was very short, although we were at the front of the line, so customers coming later may have had to wait longer. Overall, the experience and taste of the steamed Momo beef dumpling is an 8/10.

Burggerist

Burggerist is a unique stall at the Richmond Night Market that serves burgers with an egg cooked inside of the bun. We picked up their signature pork egg burger for $10. The egg lent the burger a unique taste, but unfortunately, although the stall was not busy, the whopping 20-minute wait time was much longer than that of any of the other stalls. If you’re looking for a quick snack, you might want to consider looking for a different meal. If you are willing to wait, the other options at this stall are a Cheese Tuna Egg Burger, a Special Roasted Duck Egg Burger, and a Black Pepper Beef Egg Burger. Overall, Burggerist gets a 6/10.

Takoyaki

At this stall we ordered the octopus takoyaki, a Japanese snack consisting of stuffed balls of flour-based batter. The price for this dish was $10 for six pieces. These pieces were fairly big and definitely justified the price. These takoyaki were a perfect combination of crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They were also covered with a sweet sauce and dried fish flakes, which contrasted nicely with their distinct seafood taste. The distinct taste of octopus is definitely not for everyone, but it is a great dish that we recommend others try. Other dishes at the Takoyaki stall included bacon, scallop, shrimp, and even mushroom takoyaki. With the low price, very short wait time, and unique taste, this dish earned a 9/10.

Yum Yum Tteokbokki

The dish we tried was the Yum Stick, $8 for two sticks of five pieces. Tteokbokki is a Korean dish made of simmered rice cakes, usually served in a sauce that is sweet, savoury, and spicy. The Yum Stick, however, consisted of the rice cakes served without the sauce and instead covered with ketchup, mayonnaise, and parmesan cheese. The wait was short, and the texture of the rice cakes was very unique, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The condiments made it taste like pizza, which did not really work with the rice cakes. The stall also serves Yumboki, Roseboki, Cheeseboki, and Kimari as traditional tteokbokki options. Overall, the rating we give the Yum Stick is a 7/10, but we would definitely go back to try a different dish.

Dango House

At this stall, you can get two flavours of dango, a type of Japanese rice flour dumpling, for $10. We tried the brown sugar and matcha dango, while other flavours included sweet soy sauce, red bean, and black sesame. The wait time was short compared to other stalls. The texture was similar to the rice cakes. They did not have a super strong flavour, and the brown sugar dango also tasted slightly of sesame, but they were very good! The pieces were very small, but eight pieces cost only $10. Overall, the Dango House gets a 7/10.

Ocha-Ya

We ordered the Mango slush at Ocha-Ya. It was $9.00, but including the Matcha Lover toppings it became $9.50. The Matcha Lover Slush is a different drink that they sell, which comes with multi-colored small marshmallows, one large white marshmallow, two matcha flavoured wafer sticks, two chocolate filled koala cookies, and whipped cream. The mango slush was very cold and refreshing, which would be perfect for a hot day during summer. However, it had an underwhelming taste. The mango flavour wasn’t particularly distinct at all and seemed a bit artificial. We like how they only charged us an extra 50 cents for the toppings, but the actual mango drink was drastically overpriced. You could get the same drink without the toppings at another bubble tea store for half the price. The selection at this booth was average; there were three different teas ranging from $8.00-$8.50, and three different slushes ranging from $9.00-$9.50. The wait time for our drink was about four minutes even though there were only about two other people ordering. This drink had a bit of a washed out taste, and it was way too pricey. We rate it a 6.5/10.

The Richmond Night Market is a wonderful experience, and you should pay it a visit! Make sure to look for all the unique and delicious food offered at the market, as well as all the other activities and items!

REVIEW | Reviewing Food at the Richmond Night Market