The HMS Vicky left the Port of Montreal quite a while ago and has docked for a stay in my hometown of Markham, Ont. The town of Markham isn’t on the water, so there no possibility of keeping a boat here. So I’ve docked her in the waters of the nearest body of water: Lake Ontario. While it’s not far, it’s not immediately accessible either. I don’t know where the ship is headed next or when she will sail again. However, I’ll admit I’ve been amiss with making regular trips to keep her shipshape. While I try to answer those questions, I will be bringing some reports from Toronto and its environs. While it’s not travel, I’m here.
A row of stalls at Night It Up! before it got really crowded
My first dispatch comes from my hometown of Markham. Night It Up! (formerly known as Asian Night Market and Toronto Night Market) is an annual festival inspired by the night markets of Asia. The event started in 2002 and has traditionally been held at Metro Square, or Markham’s the Little Taipei. This year it moved to a much bigger space at the Markham Civic Centre.
From the start, it was clear this year’s market was done on a much larger scale. This year organizers provided free shuttle buses to move people from the Markham-Toronto border up to the site. As I drove over to the Civic Centre around 10 p.m. on Saturday, I was shocked to see large groups of people waiting to cross the street in all directions at the intersection of Highway 7 and Town Centre Boulevard. It’s no surprise that Markham doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with events this big. Organizers obviously foresaw parking issues and tired to mitigate them with traffic-directing police and the shuttle bus. However as Markham grows closer to being a proper city and less of a bedroom community, the town needs to re-think its planning to facilitate more events like this.
Night It Up! captured the bustle and smell of night markets in Asia
Full disclosure: This was my first time at this event. I recall hearing about a night market in Markham years ago and have some vague memories of some white food tents in the Metro Square parking lot. I’m glad that this was my formal introduction to the event because the feeling left over from those vague recollections is not impressive. Also after a summer in Taiwan, arguably the home of the world’s best night markets, and living in Taipei’s Shida night market, I think I have pretty high standards for a good night market.
Taiwanese night markets basically comprise their own tiny neighbourhoods and are daily occurrence. During the day, it’s a collection of stores, restaurants and maybe a few food carts. Usually around late afternoon more carts roll in to set up shop and serve food to the afternoon snack/dinner crowd. The prime time for night markets is from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. By then clothing stalls have been set up on the street, half hour line-ups for the most popular stands are in full force and the streets are packed. Ironically, night markets don’t do late night business. If you want a drunken snack after the bar or club, you won’t find it at the night market. There might be one deep-fried seafood vendor left, but you’re probably stuck with eating at 7-11 or Family Mart.
Night It Up! is closer to a festival than it is a night market. I was there for Vybe Dance, a hip-hop dance group, and organizer’s in-house rock band’s performances. Power Unit Youth Organization put together the event and it was reflected in the attendees. While I’m probably not their demographic, but I actually enjoyed their performances. I was glad it wasn’t the fan-dancing or cheesy pageantry usually seen at ethnic-branded festivals. It felt like something that young Chinese people put together for themselves and their friends. The most Chinese it got on stage was the English-Cantonese emcee duo. I was curious as to why there was no Mandarin translation though.
Festival-goers "fishing"
The market atmosphere was captured pretty well–from the smells to the experience of trying to walk through a packed market. There were several midway-style games, which is more carnival than night markets. However I was surprised to see they had a two pools set up for people to catch goldfish. It reminded me of shrimping booths at Shilin market, where you catch shrimp in nets and then they’re barbequed. Except I’m pretty sure those fish become pets.
For me, and probably most people, the main draw at any night market is the food. I was immediately went for the Asian poutine, if only for the novelty value. There were several different types of poutine, with varying flavours and meats. Being a seafood fiend, I chose the lobster and shrimp poutine. The fries and gravy were there, but the cheese was substituted with something close to hollandaise sauce. I’m not really sure why they did away with the curds. Even in the ethnic-themed poutines that have become mainstream in Quebec (i.e.: Italian poutine) they keep the curds, even when they add meat. Personally, I think the basics of poutine must remain the same (fries, sauce, curds) even if you choose to play with them individually or just add more things on top.
The selection of Asian poutines at a food stall
The lobster and shrimp Asian poutine
The biggest lines of the night were the L&L barbeque stand and Diana’s Seafood Delight. L&L were cooking meat skewers on the biggest grill in the market. Diana’s western-style oysters (raw with a wedge of lemon on the side) had a much higher demand than the Asian oyster-pancake booths. People were leaving with several boxes of oysters each and presumably bringing them home.
A stinky tofu cook suited in full armour to protect from the sizzling oil
For those wondering what the the hot garbage-like smell wafting through the market was, it was stinky tofu. A night market isn’t a night market without stinky tofu. For those who wonder how Asians can eat this stuff, I’d like point out Asians people know it smells. Stinky tofu is actually a literal translation. No one is immune to the smell but maybe there are some people who are more accustomed to it. The dish itself is tofu deep-fried and covered in a variety of condiments. I’m not sure why but I never ate it while I was in Asia. I’m not a big fan of tofu in general. A little nostalgic and a little shame-faced about this admission, I snuck a few bites from a friend. Surprisingly it doesn’t smell too much when you have a serving in front of you. Other than the burn of the hot oil, it really didn’t bother me too much. That being said, I don’t understand the cult-like devotion to it either. On Cantonese television shows, people who like it eating it are portrayed as slightly obsessed with it.
I was genuinely impressed by the scale and execution of Night It Up!. I think it’s well on its way to become a signature Markham event that people will look forward to each year and travel for. While I’m hardly a grizzled night market expert, for a few hours I got a little taste of one of my former homes at, well, home.
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