Richmond (BC) Night Market

June 24 - Richmond, BC
Our friends took us to the Richmond Night Market, an Asian market featuring, in addition to three aisles of food booths, vendors selling everything from suitcases, books ("New Books, 3 for $10"), clothes, fabrics, cookware, dinnerware and toys to semi-precious stones, swords and oriental herbs. In the summer, over 400 vendors sell food and wares on Fridays and Saturdays from 7:00 to midnight and on Sundays from 7:00 to 11:00 pm.

The principal goal of our evening was to feast on the variety of Asian foods available. We tried to stick together in the food aisles in order to share the riches, but it was impossible, so we split up into couples. R. and I sampled skewers of meats, seafood and vegetables; curries; tiny hotdogs with asparagus wrapped in bacon; several varieties of dim sum; shaved ice with fresh mango sauce and coconut; and lychee and coconut milk jellies. I avoided animal parts I hadn't tried before. I tried to get a bubble tea, my favourite, but couldn't get anywhere near the booths. I couldn't get any photos of the food booths - it was just too crowded. In fact, we barely had breathing room except at one end, where the area widened to accommodate a stage for entertainment and karaoke.

The merchandise aisles were a little more open, but still very crowded. Although I was interested in some of the wares being sold, I also enjoyed watching the people who came: families with young children, courting teenagers, older couples.
At the end of our browsing, we met under this majestic (10-12 foot tall?) action figure, one of a pair.
We bought a big sack of delicious fresh lychees to take home.