We have not been to an Asian food night market since the before times, and have very fond memories of the humongous 626 Night Market at Santa Anita and the huge FoodieLand festival in Del Mar.
Then this weekends San Diego 626 Night Market was inexplicably cancelled today 1 hour before opening, so we hopped up to the one at the OC Fairgrounds instead.
We are pleased to say Night Market is back! We had a great time. The food is pretty good, but very expensive. I mean really expensive. And not quite as much vendor variety as in the past – mostly grilled meats, lobster, fried squid, Boba. Several dessert vendors. 6-7 baby bottle drink vendors. Some noodles/dumplings/buns. One poke nachos place. 2 kabob places. One Thai, but only bbq and green mango salad. Not a great place for vegetarians unless you like fried potatoes. No Jian Bing (sob).
Another bonus is lots of merch sellers with quality asian/anime shirts, patches, art. And about a dozen midway games. Great for kids.
3 chicken skewers and one order of lumpia was $40.50 paid by cc. It was a lot of chicken, and they give one scoop rice, but still. Kanto Filipino Street Food.
Best item was the “spicy” chili wontons from Zindrew Wonton Shop. Super delicious with their signature Chili oil mixed with vinegar. Don’t be afraid, get the spicy! About 1/4 of the way down the right hand side of the food booths. Long line, no surprise!
The non dairy whipped topping in the “Waffle Dream” Korean Street Waffle was surprisingly delicious and not too Cool Whip-py tasting. Just be prepared, it’s an entire thick Belgian Waffle. Mr A’s mustache got so coated in whipped cream that a passing guest took one look at him and handed him a mercy napkin and kept going.
Entry ticket $5 each. Parking $12. Chicken Skewers and lumpia $40. Spicy Pork Wontons (6) $16. Strawberry Waffle Dream $12. Angels Envy bourbon & pineapple juice $12. Diet Coke $3.50. 2 anime T shirts $55. Entry + food = $105.50
626 Night Market is very well known in OC and LA and is always mobbed. Plan to be leaving the grounds by 7 to avoid the worst crowds; we arrived at 5. You will jockey a bit for table space. Seating is on the left side only. Plenty of bathrooms inside plus a facility outside before you enter.
Consider bringing extra napkins and wipes. There are one or two satellite hand washing stations.
Some places seem to be charging for credit card usage regardless of total, so cash is king.
WearyTravelers.net 