Richmond Night Market Bows Out after 26 Years

Richmond Night Market is closing this September

The Richmond Night Market is ending its 26-year run in September.

Every summer people of all ages come here to sample snacks from dumplings to sushi tacos, fried rice and bubble tea, purchase T-shirts, phone accessories and toys, and play some carnival games in the hopes of winning prizes.

There are some 250 vendors and attracts one million visitors annually, according to the City of Richmond.

Many people come to sample the food 

But the 20-acre site was a temporary space, and was recently listed for sale under a court order. The lease was up, and there is no word yet if the night market will move to another location.

Raymond Cheung, organiser of the Richmond Night Market, made the announcement this afternoon in a press release, describing the experience of running the events for over two decades as one of the "most rewarding and enjoyable" journeys in his life.

"Watching a single local event grow into one of Canada's best-known summer attractions has been an incredible honour," he said.

"Although it is heartbreaking to say goodbye, I am filled with gratitude rather than regret. The memories we have created together over the past 26 years will continue to live on in the hearts of our visitors, vendors, performers and everyone who has been part of this amazing journey."

In 2000, the night market was first held at Continental Centre on Cambie Road, and grew every year, moving to the current property next to River Rock Casino Resort and Bridgeport Canada Line Station in 2012.

Lots of snacks like shaved ice with fruit

Richmond Tourism CEO Nancy Small was not surprised by the news of the night market's impending closure.

"I know how challenging it is for entrepreneurs right now to actually make a go of it," she said.

Small said the closure will impact the local economy.

"Previous vendors have gone on to open restaurants in Richmond," she said.

"Hundreds of thousands of people will not be coming to our destination starting next year. It will be a hit for sure."

Meanwhile Cheung said in his announcement there are six more weeks the Richmond Night Market is open and encouraged people to come one last time before it ends September 20. 

Relatively Easy to Make Snowflake Crisps

Our first attempt at snowflake crisps!

My mom heard about a recipe to make snowflake crisps, though they aren't related to Christmas per se. She learned about this sweet Taiwanese snack from a friend and I Googled it to find the recipe, which is very similar to Rice Krispies squares. The snowflake part of the name refers to milk powder that is sprinkled in it and on top at the end.

A very basic recipe uses five ingredients: unsalted butter, mini marshmallows (to melt faster), Ritz Crackers, milk powder, and dried cranberries. When we attempted ours today, we added chopped pecans.

Several recipes warned not to crush the Ritz Crackers too small, so I just broke them in half, or at most thirds. They give the snack some structure, and a hint of savoury flavour. If Rice Krispies were used, I would imagine it would taste sweeter and less complex.

Once the butter melted and the marshmallows too, the addition of the milk powder immediately made the gooey mixture more solid which in turn made it harder to combine the rest of the ingredients -- the crackers, cranberries and nuts.

We had a heck of a time trying to integrate them all together and tried to mix them by hand even, but not much luck. In the end we put the giant clump in a parchment paper-lined baking tray and tried to pack it together as densely as possible. It did not look as easy as the one in the YouTube video!

Nevertheless, it really did taste different from Rice Krispies, which are more chewy, while this snowflake crisp is more solid thanks to the crackers and pecans. Hopefully we can nail down the mixing better next time, probably need to work a bit faster incorporating all the ingredients while the melted marshmallow mixture is still warm!

Snack Shop Kwan Kee to Close

Kwan Kee will be shutting its doors for good later this year

It's sad to hear the news that the snack shop Kwan Kee in Sham Shui Po is closing after over 60 years, as the owner is looking to retire.

The open-air shop is right next to the MTR station (Exit B2), and while the shop sold magazines, bottled water and candies, people went there to buy freshly-made puddings, like put chai goh (a caramel-coloured pudding with red beans solidified in a small bowl and then was eaten on wooden skewers.

Another that I liked was the black sesame pudding cut up in giant cubes, the same could be said for red bean pudding, and coconut jellies that are placed in thin plastic bags.

Its best seller is put chai goh pudding

Not only is this place patronised by locals, it was also given Michelin approval in 2015, in a list promoting Hong Kong's street foods. That designation led to even more people flocking to the shop to try their treats.

The owner, Fu Wing-cheung, told the media in 2018 that if it wasn't for the puddings which bring in the revenue, the shop would have closed ages ago if it just relied on groceries.

"[Puddings] are our main selling point now. The money we make from groceries is only a supplement that can barely cover the electricity bill, Fu explained.

Kwan Kee is a see-dor, or a shop, which were very common in the 1960s and 1970s before supermarket chains sprouted all over the city. 

"We are pretty much the only see-dor left in this district," he said almost five years ago.

His father started Kwan Kee in the 1960s, steaming the puddings in their shack in Sham Shui Po, and then they were sold on the streets by his wife. Fu took over the business in the early1980s and setting up the shop on Fuk Wah Street since 1984.

Black sesame is popular and coconut puddings

Fu's younger brother starts making the puddings at 2.30am, as they need several hours to cool in order to sell, while Fu himself shuttles between the kitchen and shop until 11pm at night. 

He says making the puddings is not complicated, but time consuming.

In 2018 Fu, then 63, said his children were not keen to take over the business "because they are too educated to do this kind of toiling work".

"If the day comes when I reach a certain age, and my children have all grown up then I will simply retire," Fu said. "Don't say I'm shutting this place down; I'm just letting it retire too."

Word on the street is that Kwan Kee will retire in May... 

Kwan Kee

115-117 Fuk Wah Street

Sham Shui Po

(next to Sham Shui Po MTR Exit B2)