Richmond Night Market

From mid-May through early October, an Asian-inspired street market springs up in the Lower Mainland on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights—and holiday Mondays, too. Just steps from the Canada Line’s Bridgeport station, the market also offers more than 1,000 free parking spots. Adventurous eaters can graze from 100-plus food stalls, serving everything from poutine and spiral-cut “potato tornado” on a stick to creamy octopus takoyaki (a circular-shaped Japanese snack). Finish with Mango Yummy’s shaved ice desserts or a box of Dragon Beard candy—similar to floss halva and spun sugar—to take home. Then, shop over 200 retail stalls or hit the carnival rides and live entertainment.

Each year between mid-May to mid-October, Vancouver food fans hot-foot it on the Canada Line to Bridgeport Station to visit the weekend Night Market. I can remember reading about the Richmond Night Market years before I finally visited, and the anticipation was all totally worth it. This is a dream for adventurous eaters, with around 200 stalls offering fresh-cooked bites of night market deliciousness on those gorgeous long summer nights. Make sure you try a Rotato “potato tornado”, some grilled squid, a box of creamy takoyaki octopus balls, and skewers from ‘Chef James’ before finishing with Mango Yummy’s shaved ice desserts, and a take home box of Dragon Beard Candy. Yes, you’ll absolutely need friends to share the food for this trip or a pair of very stretchy pants!