Table: Richmond Nightmarket
Anata and I went to the River Rock location Nightmarket with the goal of trying food stalls that we haven't had before. We were mostly pleased with the results, but there were some flops along the way! Usually we get lamb skewers from Chef James (tried and true and always reliable), and we've had a lot of things like the ramen, soba, and many others over the years, but there are some token favourites that my group of friends always likes. I have one friend who always gets the siu mai dumplings from the dim sum stall in the middle, and at one point we always went to Mango Yummy for their Mango Sago drinks until I tried the Mango Pineapple slush from Fruit Addiction. I'm probably the most adventurous and try out lots of stalls, haha. My favourites are probably the red bean and grass jelly dessert from Judy's Desserts, and I only like the lamb skewers from Chef James. I think we tried Beijinger's once and whilst tasty, Chef James's had a bit more spice.
Today, I WAS SO HUNGRY I just walked straight to the back to try the foie gras ($7) and beef ribs ($6), since I'd read about them from another blog post, and I'd never had foie gras before (iknowrightpleasedon'tjudgeme). The portions were small, but the flavours were all right. The foie gras was panfried and tasted strongly like.. duck. Anata didn't like it because it was too mushy for him, but it was okay, if a little on the salty side. The small piece was served on a crisp piece of toast that had a nice crunch. The ribs were glazed with a sweet bbq sauce, and while the meat wasn't quite falling off the bone, it didn't take too much effort to get it off. The ribs are boiled first before being set on the hot plate and glazed with their bbq sauce. Not bad, but a little on the $$ side.
Next up, we went to Fruit Addiction for their Mango and Pineapple Slush (large size $6), which is made of frozen cubes of mango and pineapple, sugar, and ice blended together. It's not too sweet and pretty refreshing. It's become my group's go-to stall for drinks after we noticed the decline in quality from Mango Yummy's mango drinks (they started serving up overripe mangoes in their drinks, which is a total no-no!).
We then meandered down the middle lane and picked out some Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken ($5.50) to try. The chicken was crisp without being too oily, and a little bit on the salty side, but tasty. My only complaint is that they were really missing out on the fried basil it's supposed to come with. We had maybe 3 leaves in the serving.
Our next stop was the Japan Yam Fries and Corn Dog combo ($8), since we've never had it before. This stall was a total flop and waste of time -__-. Their corn dog is a cheap sausage dog that they slather in pancake mix batter and put the No Name brand hashbrowns all over as their "fries". It's then deep fried and served up. I don't think the guys working there are really into making their food or caring that much about quality, because their fries and corn dogs are fried for too long and the ends tend to get a bit burned. Anata was really disappointed with this one. The taste had a tiny bit of sweetness from the pancake batter mix, but overall it was pretty bland. The yam fries were only marginally saved from the sauce (we picked the hot&spicy mayo sauce), but the yams were kind of substandard and I had quite a few burned pieces in my cup. Total fail here, will never buy again!
Next to these guys is Virgin Cocktail, a drinks stall that sells some pretty interesting sounding drinks. I noticed a passionfruit beer on their drinks list, and when inquired the woman at the stall said that it was a non-alcoholic beer with passionfruit purée. Maybe I'll try it another night... I'm not that fond of beer, but I do love passionfruit! What we ordered instead was their Mango Slush ($4.50), which was pretty yummy. They mix it with something that I'm not too sure of, but I suspect is some kind of peach syrup. Anata really liked this one, and said it ranked better than Fruit Addiction's Mango&Pineapple slush. This one is sweeter, probably because of the syrup, but I think I still like Fruit Addiction better.
Our last stop for the night (well, for Anata, I was pretty full at this point) was the Habanero Taco Grill. They advertise 3 tacos for $9, but we only bought 2 since I wasn't too interested in eating more. I just had a tasting bite of each to get an idea of the flavours. Anata ordered one beef and one empanada fish taco for $6.50. The tacos were fresh tasting and the servings were pretty generous, considering it was a nightmarket stall. The tacos were too big for a mouthful :P We both agreed that they were lacking in some acid (needed a drizzle of lime) in other to make the flavours pop a bit, but the overall execution was well done. The beef was a little on the dry side, and I felt that the fish, though generously sized, was also a teeny tiny bit on the dry side as well. If there had been a lime wedge to seal the deal the flavours would have been outstanding, but as it was it was still pretty tasty.
Finger Ribs 3.5/5
Fruit Addiction 5/5
Chicken and Fried Tofu 3.5/5
Japan Yam Fries 1/5
Virgin Cocktail 4/5
Habanero Taco Grill 4/5
Today, I WAS SO HUNGRY I just walked straight to the back to try the foie gras ($7) and beef ribs ($6), since I'd read about them from another blog post, and I'd never had foie gras before (iknowrightpleasedon'tjudgeme). The portions were small, but the flavours were all right. The foie gras was panfried and tasted strongly like.. duck. Anata didn't like it because it was too mushy for him, but it was okay, if a little on the salty side. The small piece was served on a crisp piece of toast that had a nice crunch. The ribs were glazed with a sweet bbq sauce, and while the meat wasn't quite falling off the bone, it didn't take too much effort to get it off. The ribs are boiled first before being set on the hot plate and glazed with their bbq sauce. Not bad, but a little on the $$ side.
Next up, we went to Fruit Addiction for their Mango and Pineapple Slush (large size $6), which is made of frozen cubes of mango and pineapple, sugar, and ice blended together. It's not too sweet and pretty refreshing. It's become my group's go-to stall for drinks after we noticed the decline in quality from Mango Yummy's mango drinks (they started serving up overripe mangoes in their drinks, which is a total no-no!).
We then meandered down the middle lane and picked out some Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken ($5.50) to try. The chicken was crisp without being too oily, and a little bit on the salty side, but tasty. My only complaint is that they were really missing out on the fried basil it's supposed to come with. We had maybe 3 leaves in the serving.
Our next stop was the Japan Yam Fries and Corn Dog combo ($8), since we've never had it before. This stall was a total flop and waste of time -__-. Their corn dog is a cheap sausage dog that they slather in pancake mix batter and put the No Name brand hashbrowns all over as their "fries". It's then deep fried and served up. I don't think the guys working there are really into making their food or caring that much about quality, because their fries and corn dogs are fried for too long and the ends tend to get a bit burned. Anata was really disappointed with this one. The taste had a tiny bit of sweetness from the pancake batter mix, but overall it was pretty bland. The yam fries were only marginally saved from the sauce (we picked the hot&spicy mayo sauce), but the yams were kind of substandard and I had quite a few burned pieces in my cup. Total fail here, will never buy again!
Next to these guys is Virgin Cocktail, a drinks stall that sells some pretty interesting sounding drinks. I noticed a passionfruit beer on their drinks list, and when inquired the woman at the stall said that it was a non-alcoholic beer with passionfruit purée. Maybe I'll try it another night... I'm not that fond of beer, but I do love passionfruit! What we ordered instead was their Mango Slush ($4.50), which was pretty yummy. They mix it with something that I'm not too sure of, but I suspect is some kind of peach syrup. Anata really liked this one, and said it ranked better than Fruit Addiction's Mango&Pineapple slush. This one is sweeter, probably because of the syrup, but I think I still like Fruit Addiction better.
Our last stop for the night (well, for Anata, I was pretty full at this point) was the Habanero Taco Grill. They advertise 3 tacos for $9, but we only bought 2 since I wasn't too interested in eating more. I just had a tasting bite of each to get an idea of the flavours. Anata ordered one beef and one empanada fish taco for $6.50. The tacos were fresh tasting and the servings were pretty generous, considering it was a nightmarket stall. The tacos were too big for a mouthful :P We both agreed that they were lacking in some acid (needed a drizzle of lime) in other to make the flavours pop a bit, but the overall execution was well done. The beef was a little on the dry side, and I felt that the fish, though generously sized, was also a teeny tiny bit on the dry side as well. If there had been a lime wedge to seal the deal the flavours would have been outstanding, but as it was it was still pretty tasty.
Finger Ribs 3.5/5
Fruit Addiction 5/5
Chicken and Fried Tofu 3.5/5
Japan Yam Fries 1/5
Virgin Cocktail 4/5
Habanero Taco Grill 4/5