Toronto 2012 T&T Waterfront Night Market, Jul 20-Jul 22 [Archive]

appleb

Jul 18th, 2012, 01:00 PM

Just a heads up for the T&T Waterfront Night Market starting this Friday and into the weekend.

http://www.waterfrontnightmarket.com/info.html

T&T Supermarket, 222 Cherry St, Downtown Toronto Port Lands
Friday July 20 - 6pm to midnight
Saturday July 21 - 1pm to midnight
Sunday July 22 - 1pm to 10pm

I may drive and I've never been there before... I'm wondering what time I should go before the parking situation becomes hopeless?

iridium001

Jul 18th, 2012, 07:14 PM

Here's hoping for good weather this weekend for this event!

ktan09

Jul 19th, 2012, 11:30 AM

+1, interested in checking it out. Anyone know what the parking situation looks like?

PCDawg

Jul 19th, 2012, 03:30 PM

Parking and traffic will be bad there. Even though parking is not free and will deter some asians from going, there will be alot of people going trying to pick up LGs.

X820

Jul 19th, 2012, 08:13 PM

Lg?

mrdc

Jul 20th, 2012, 12:17 AM

How much is parking and will there be space? :/

Talamasca

Jul 20th, 2012, 12:25 AM

The Odysseo horse circus is going on at the same time and they charge $20 for parking. Not sure if both events are using the same parking lot.

It says if you spend $30 at T&T, you get free parking. Might as well do that and get some groceries if they're charging $20 to park.

IMWHFMPC

Jul 20th, 2012, 12:28 AM

lol, seriously who here pick up LGs in night market and have success? I went to NIU, there was A LOT of cuties i was amazed. I went to T&T one last year and there wasn't a lot of cuties, mostly 7 guys and families. I think NIU is definitely better.

back to the topic, i remember last year in T&T night market, they charge $5 or $10 for parking in an empty lot full of gravel, just opposite of the night market. It is a dicidated parking lot exlcusive for the night market. There will be a lot of spaces, i went 2 times last year in different days, never have trouble getting parking.

LG = little girl

flashy_mcflash

Jul 20th, 2012, 09:44 AM

Lg?

It means little girls, because they are pedos.

Talamasca

Jul 20th, 2012, 10:19 AM

back to the topic, i remember last year in T&T night market, they charge $5 or $10 for parking in an empty lot full of gravel, just opposite of the night market. It is a dicidated parking lot exlcusive for the night market. There will be a lot of spaces, i went 2 times last year in different days, never have trouble getting parking.

Thanks for the info.

ji2o0k

Jul 20th, 2012, 12:08 PM

went a few years ago.....

Unfortunately I find it too crowded.....wait lines wayyyyy too long for the food and food mediocre and overpriced....

It would be a fun thing to check out if not for the traffic and parking as well.....

elty

Jul 20th, 2012, 05:14 PM

How does it compared to the Nights Up!?

iridium001

Jul 20th, 2012, 07:56 PM

How does it compared to the Nights Up!?

What? Nights Up? Where is that?!

YLSF

Jul 20th, 2012, 08:05 PM

If anyone goes tonight or tomorrow please post food highlights. Planning to go on Sunday at the opening

appleb

Jul 20th, 2012, 09:49 PM

For TTC, is it faster to take 72B from Union or 72B from Pape?

Spiderpal93

Jul 21st, 2012, 01:10 AM

First time I went to this event. Parking across from the event is $5(which I think is really cheap). I was there at 9pm and there were TONS of parking there so finding a parking spot shouldn't be much of a problem.

I have been to Night it up(Markham Civic Centre) and Taste of Asia(Pacific Mall) numerous times. The food is bascially the same ie. lamb skewers(3 for $5), stinky tofu($5), oyster omlettes($6), takoyaki($3.50-$5 depending on booth), fruit drinks, shaved ice etc.

It's not as crowded as Night it Up and Taste of Asia. Lineups weren't that long. Longest is probably stinky tofu, oyster omlettes, and tornado shrimp. About 20 minute wait. But all the others had less than 5 minute wait.

Some cheap/freebies:

-Fresh Watermelon juice from T & T booth is $1/each (almost no lineup)
-Free Rooster brand products(NOT samples) you get to choose from soy sauce, vermicelli, oyster sauce, coconut milk. I saw one person took all 4 products at once. Only 4-5 minute wait max
-Free bag, fan, beach ball from Attraction Ontario Booth
-Free Canada Dry sample

Very nice event. I like the fact that it's not as crowded compared to Night it Up and Taste of Asia.

mrdc

Jul 21st, 2012, 10:08 AM

^ Did you find any of the food reviewed in this blog post? http://www.cookiesandtomatoes.com/2010/08/food-festivals-t-waterfront-night_08.html

AAA

Jul 21st, 2012, 10:50 AM

The food is bascially the same ie. lamb skewers(3 for $5), stinky tofu($5), oyster omlettes($6), takoyaki($3.50-$5 depending on booth), fruit drinks, shaved ice etc.

Is the oyster omelette the Singapore style or Taiwanese style?

Spiderpal93

Jul 21st, 2012, 11:35 AM

^ Did you find any of the food reviewed in this blog post? http://www.cookiesandtomatoes.com/2010/08/food-festivals-t-waterfront-night_08.html

Probably the lamb skewers?

Is the oyster omelette the Singapore style or Taiwanese style?

There are 2 places with oyster omelettes. One is taiwanese the other is I think thai oyster omelette.

Jimboski

Jul 21st, 2012, 01:55 PM

Friend said It sucked.

congeetime

Jul 21st, 2012, 02:06 PM

Friend said It sucked.

Went last year and they only had like 5-8 booths. The rest of it was just a huge line up of ricer cars and the main stage. Nothing really stood out to me last year except for the tornado potato which looked pretty cool. Spent maybe 30 minutes there.
Then again, last year was the first year they hosted it I think so I hope they change it this year cause the concept of having a night market by the waterfront is pretty good.

shutterbug

Jul 21st, 2012, 05:49 PM

Anyone seen the Raptors cheerleaders there?

Mulder and Scully

Jul 21st, 2012, 09:54 PM

Went last year and they only had like 5-8 booths. The rest of it was just a huge line up of ricer cars and the main stage. Nothing really stood out to me last year except for the tornado potato which looked pretty cool. Spent maybe 30 minutes there.

Umm, I went last year and there were 20-30 food and drink booths.

congeetime

Jul 21st, 2012, 11:42 PM

Umm, I went last year and there were 20-30 food and drink booths.

dont remember it being that big. I remember it being like 1/4 the size of night it up.

Anyone end up going today??? Might check it out tomorrow night since I missed night it up this year

mrdc

Jul 22nd, 2012, 12:05 AM

Went tonight and the crowd was ridiculous. Had to push past people in order to get around. Didn't even bother timing the queues for food, but they were pretty long...

appleb

Jul 22nd, 2012, 12:35 AM

I went on Saturday and I thought it was great.

There were definitely more than 5 food booths there, I'd say 20-30 sounds right.

The free stuff was great as mentioned by Spiderpal. I lined up twice at the Rooster booth and got a 500ml bottle of Soya Sauce and 430ml bottle of Oyster Sauce. My first attempt in line I only had to wait 5 minutes, but my second attempt I had to wait 30 minutes. There was free ice cream at the PC truck too, and the free Ginger Ale helped quench some of the food.

This event is a lot more spacious than last years Night it Up, although I can't compare to this years NIU since I didn't go this year.

As for transportation I ended up taking the TTC. Judging by the lineup of cars stuck trying to get out of the parking lot around 10pm, I'm actually glad I took the bus.

I ended up buying some lamb skewers, beef skewers, deep fried shrimp, and Churros.

Here are some random pics...

Seafood (lobsters $10! ouch):
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/pj117/20120721_1188.jpg

Asian Toast:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/pj117/20120721_1190.jpg

Lamb skewers (3 for $5):
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/pj117/20120721_1199.jpg

Churros ($2.50 each):
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/pj117/20120721_1205.jpg

Shrimp tempura thing ($4):
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/pj117/20120721_1194.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/pj117/20120721_1211.jpg

Entrance at night:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/pj117/20120721_1220.jpg

IMWHFMPC

Jul 22nd, 2012, 12:35 AM

it is right, about 1/4 size of NIU. They should take over more empty lot to expand the ngiht market

shutterbug

Jul 22nd, 2012, 12:38 AM

Complete downgrade from last year. Half the amount of food booths. The rest is stupid crap. A yoga booth??? This is supposed to be an asian night market and it looked the CNE.
Who's stupid idea was to cut half the space for a midway?? The crowds were insane! Wall to wall people crammed around the food booths. The food booths are what people want.
Not Toronto Star subscriptions or the Liberal party!!

ItechJester

Jul 22nd, 2012, 01:33 AM

congeetime

Jul 22nd, 2012, 02:07 AM

That tempura thingy looks so good. Anyone know if they still have that tornado potatoe? Wanted to get one last year but line up was ridiculous so I didn't even bother.

CSAgent

Jul 22nd, 2012, 02:46 AM

Went on Friday.

What a change it was being able to walk around and not get groped like you do at Night It Up. Parking is free on Commissioner's street if you don't mind walking 5 minutes to get to T&T. That's what the gf and I did. It was nice there was police directing traffic in and around the area.

I like the fact that I could get any food items I wanted within 5-10 mins waiting in line, and not 20-30 minutes. Managed to try mostly everything. I could never do that at NIU as I'm in and out of there within 30 minutes due to lack of crowd control at that event that I didn't even bother going to NIU this year.

They need to ban baby strollers at these events though.

At one point, on the stage the band was singing about stinky tofu which was pretty funny!

IMWHFMPC

Jul 22nd, 2012, 03:38 AM

appleb

Jul 22nd, 2012, 11:25 AM

That tempura thingy looks so good. Anyone know if they still have that tornado potatoe? Wanted to get one last year but line up was ridiculous so I didn't even bother.

Yeah there was a booth with the tornado potato there. I forget the price.

They need to ban baby strollers at these events though.

Damn right, lol. I don't think people should bring their dogs to this event either... it's too crowded and dangerous for the dogs.

Canada_7

Jul 22nd, 2012, 03:34 PM

I'm tempted to go down today to try some of the food out. The shrimp tempura looking thing looks like it'd be greasy but it's still tempting. I remember in last year's thread that there was some stand that sold Taiwanese pork belly baos/buns that was decent.

ippon

Jul 22nd, 2012, 03:47 PM

They need to ban baby strollers at these events though.

how about fat people, who take up too much space on the road?
and don't forget people who walk slower.
and the people who walk too fast, because they throw off other people's group walking rhythm.
and old people as well, and the younge kids too.
oh, and people on wheel chairs. they all should definitely stay home.

Manatus

Jul 22nd, 2012, 03:59 PM

the event is free. there are sponsors that keep it free. be grateful to the sponsors.

or next year you will have to pay to get in, or there simply won't be an event

Why? It's not an "event" like a theatre show or concert, it's a market. Why would anyone pay to be allowed entrance into an area so that they have the privilege of buying food? If a food market can't make enough money from... selling food... to stay open, then something's wrong.

ItechJester

Jul 22nd, 2012, 07:46 PM

Why? It's not an "event" like a theatre show or concert, it's a market. Why would anyone pay to be allowed entrance into an area so that they have the privilege of buying food? If a food market can't make enough money from... selling food... to stay open, then something's wrong.

well, the common sense items, such as fencing, permits, security, trash removal, insurance, promotion, crowd control, police officers, port-a-potty, lighting, power, water, cleanup, organization/logistics.... that all costs money. Not to mention that it is private property, and in North America, a litigious society, T&T is liable for the safety of all idiotic patrons.

Either the organizers charge more for the vendors (and therefore the vendors must charge more for food), or they get sponsors to help with the costs of running the event. T&T already loses out on business during the weekend, as there are less shoppers. They also take on huge liability, by allowing to have the event on their private property.

so, either you decide to hold the next night market on your front lawn, out of the goodness of your heart, or we can all go to the free market, held by T&T and paid for in part by the sponsors.

i'd continue but then i'd have to charge you tuition fees for educating you.

yoshim

Jul 22nd, 2012, 08:45 PM

Much better than the Night it Up and Taste of Asia events. Way better food in my opinion.

Just wondering, did anyone see a booth selling Rogers Samsung Galaxy S III for $0 with new 3-year contract? It was at the Night it Up event last week and I'm quite disappointed I missed out. I know it's kind of late, but I would go back there in the next few minutes if it's there. Currently the best price for the phone is $130 at Futureshop/Bestbuy. :-(

flashy_mcflash

Jul 23rd, 2012, 11:24 AM

This was my first Night Market and we headed over for dinner before hitting Dark Knight at the drive-in next door. Tried the katsu pork/short rib/fried chicken combo (that's a lot of meat for $10!), some korean noodles, a few lamb skewers, a churro, and the shrimp on sugar cane. Everything was great - a little crowded but that's to be expected. And protip, they don't search the cars at that drive in :twisted:

iridium001

Jul 23rd, 2012, 04:19 PM

The wife and I also went on Friday also like some of you did.

If NIU is for Chinese or mostly Chinese, then Night Market is the multi-cultural market as there was actually non-Asians in the crowd!

I suppose it's the Toronto crowd as the people living downtown, and the beaches area all came out. Spoke to a lot of non-Asian people who had questions regarding the food that was being offered. Struck up a conversation with a Marketing Director at CIBC who recently moved to Toronto from Kingston. Him and his family wanted to get to know Toronto a little more. He was amazed at the diversity of people that was at Night Market as they don't have anything like this back in Kingston.

I thought it could use less stalls selling takoyaki though; it seems to be the "in" food right now just like stinky tofu has always been. The wife was disappointed there wasn't more stalls selling fish balls other than that one stall but it was curry fish balls and she cannot have spicy food.

We parked next door and I really like the fact that there was a heavy police presence directing traffic. They smiled and even crack a few jokes asking people to let them try the food people had in hand when they were walking across the street. I saw one of the cops must had ended his shift as he changed into civilian clothing and walked back to the event asking me if there is anything he must try! =P

Overall, I enjoyed this event and would go again next year!

klehrie

Jul 23rd, 2012, 08:31 PM

Went Sunday. First timer as well. Had the takoyaki, taiyaki, and oyster omlette. The oyster omlette was gross, like really gross. Like I just got a mouthful of some transparent chewy mystery ingredient (some kind of starch?). I'm not that picky when it comes to food, but I couldn't eat it beyond that one bite. The other stuff was good though. I can eat red bean paste by the spoonful!

Wanted to go just to say I've been and I don't think I'll go again just because I felt really greasy afterwards from all the smells and stuff. And the later it got the grosser the ground was from all the dropped food and garbage.