2012-09-16 Munchies @ Summer Night Market 夏日夜市

12631 Vulcan Way, Richmond, BC

604-278-8000

It's the last day of vegetarian for Octopus and I, which landed on the last day of Summer Night Market 夏日夜市.  Me, being the generous and the sneaky one, comfortably reasoned with myself (and dragged down Octopus as my partner-in-crime) to break the rule and enjoy the food.  Hey, rules are meant to be broken right?

We arrive right at opening.  With less people around, Octopus, Buddha Boy and I all went our separate ways to do some treasure hunting.  Those big fat chubby whole squids on the grill caught my attention.  Yes, not some stupid hot-plate pan-fried texture-less crap that's usually blanched before cooking.  This BBQ Squid 燒魷魚 was the real deal.  The QQ meaty parts had the crunch while the tentacle ends were crispy.  I originally bought one order to share, but Buddha Boy went off hunting for more food after a few bites and Octopus was no where to be seen.  So, the poor me had to finish this pretty much all by myself...wahahaha!  This was so good that I returned and picked up one more to-go...but we ended up finishing it before leaving the market.  :p

Buddha Boy went straight for something that he wanted to try on our last visit (see post 2012-09-08 Snacks @ Summer Night Market 夏日夜市) but held back because he thought he wouldn't be able to finish it by himself (I was still on my vegetarian diet).  While the cheese was not proper and the stated "fresh green onions" were not present, this KBBQ Pork Poutine was pretty delicious.  The fries were crispy.  The pork and the opted chicken gravy were flavorful.  The grilled onions added a nice sweetness.  Buddha Boy wanted another one, but controlled himself because of carbs.

Octopus caught up with us with skewers from the popular stall, Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ 新疆佬.  This year, they have two locations, one at the Summer Night Market 夏日夜市 and the other at Richmond Night Market.  The Chicken Skewer 雞肉串 was tender.  The Honey Garlic Prawn Skewer 蜜汁蒜香蝦 maintained its crunch.  The Crispy Bun 香煎蔥花卷 was stale. 

One of my favorite snacks at local night markets is Toppoki 韓式炒年糕.  I don't know what's considered classic or authentic, but $3/order (the size of a small square take-out box commonly seen at Chinese restaurants), this satisfied my craving.

Yup, more skewers, this time, it was Buddha Boy's turn.  The AAA Ribeeye Steak 肉眼牛柳 was overdone.   The Garlic Chicken 蒜香雞柳 was tender but bland.  The Bacon Sausage 煙肉香腸 was, well...it had bacon.

Octopus needed more food.  She wandered off and came back with a bag of Taiwanese Chicken Nugget 台灣鹽酥雞.  Okay, honestly, each piece was chunky, flavor was not bad, texture was tender...but the oil...ewww...the bad oil just killed everything...yuck!

Lastly, just thought I would share something with readers from/in Taiwan.
(From Tung Bao Elementary School 東寶國小 in Taichung City 台中市.)