The most frequent question I get about the night market is: “So what’s there to eat? Bubble tea and curry fish balls?”
Contrary to what most people think, there’s much more to eat at Night It Up! than what is deemed to be your average “Asian food” (basically what’s at pmall). In this post, I’ll be highlighting a few of which I’m most looking forward to buying this coming weekend.
Malaysian Murtabak – Warm layers of crispy, soft crepes with your choice of meat tucked inside. Vegetarian is also available. You’ll find yourself irresistibly attracted to its aroma.
Malaysian Murtabak - Photo credit to Todd Tyrtle
Fresh Oysters – Supplied and served by Diana Seafood themselves, these raw bivalve mollusks are chucked freshly right in front of you.
Fresh Oysters - Photo credit to Simen Leung
Takoyaki – A Japanese snack also known as octopus balls. A small portion of octopus is dropped into a batter, and then watched over carefully so that the outside skin is crispy hot, while the inside is cooked into soft fluffiness. Lastly, add on a layer of Japanese mayo, bonito flakes and okonomiyaki sauce and serve hot!
Cooking some Takoyaki - Photo credit to Jane Man
Okonomiyaki – Another Japanese dish that is next to rare in Toronto. The simplest form is the egg batter with okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo drizzled on top. Other regions in Japan have variations of this savoury dish by adding lettuce, fried noodles and even another layer of okonomiyaki on top.
Okonomiyaki - Photo credit to vegasandfood
Coffin Board Cake – Don’t let the name scare you as it did for me. Imagine fried thick toast embedded with your favourite sweet or savoury fillings. Mmm…
Coffin Board Cake - Photo credit to Little fox-cat
Asian waffle cakes/“Car wheel pastries” aka 車輪餅 - Freshly made to order, these scrumptious pastries usually carry red bean or custard filling between two layers of soft, fluffy egg batter. Watch out though, the waiting line for these may be long as there is only 1 cart making 2 dozen at a time! Definitely worth the wait.
Asian waffle cake with custard filling aka 車輪餅 - Photo credit to miniQQ
Asian waffle with red bean filling - Photo credit to QQsuger
Smelly Tofu aka Stinky Tofu – If you’ve been to our night market, you’ll recognize the smell the second you step out of your car or bus. Distinguished by its notorious stink, these Taiwanese style deep-fried fermented tofu with cabbage on the side are a must-try—only if you can stand the smell that close to you, of course.
People lining up for some Stinky Tofu - Photo credit to Simen Leung
Taiwanese style Stinky Tofu - Photo credit to Simen Leung
Stir Fry Ice Cream – Upon hearing the name, I pictured Chinese savoury stir fry with a plop of ice cream in the middle. How wrong I was. This is a new fusion dish, from Marbolicious that combines marble stone ice cream with flavours such as green tea, vanilla, chocolate and mango with creative toppings including wasabi beans, toffee nuts , marshmallows, gummy bears, frozen fruit and much more! The “fry” part comes from the crispy base this dessert sits on.
Stir Fry Ice Cream - Teppan Ice Cream - Photo credit to Marbolicious
Stir Fry Ice Cream - Fruit Frenzy - Photo credit to Marbolicious
Fibre Basil Seed Drinks – A popular favourite among our members. Made up of little edible seeds, they give a chewy edge to your average drink. I call them the healthy alternative to tapioca balls/jelly.
Fibre Basil Seed Drinks - Photo credit to Simen Leung
Of course, there’s much more to eat at Night It Up! than the ones listed above. Later on this week, we will post up an interactive map layout of the event, so you can pick out those must-go booths before the crowd hits. As well, we will also blog about the stage schedule for Night It Up! performances. So be sure to keep checking back at our website for updates!
Start saving those loonies and toonies because there are only 5 days left until Night It Up! 2009.