SEEN IN VANCOUVER #434: On Making The Neon For The New Chinatown Night Market
March 21, 2013
As we’ve noted before, the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market is bringing a heady mix of time-honoured tradition and new school flavour to the summer festivities on Keefer Street. Check out the teaser video (attaboy Ken, great job!) and read more after the jump… Read more
Chinatown Night Market To Be Reborn This Year With New Food, Programs, & Vendors
January 29, 2013
Tannis Ling, owner of Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, and Ken Tsui, a well known pop-up organizer responsible for popular events like Black Lodge Diner, Eat Together and The Hawker Stand, have joined with the Vancouver Chinatown Merchant’s Association (VCMA) to reinvent the 18 year tradition we know as the Chinatown Night Market.
It’s no secret that the Night Market has struggled in recent years, but with the neighbourhood in the midst of an exciting renewal period and an influx of new businesses wanting to participate, the VCMA, Ling and Tsui see the summer of 2013 as the perfect opportunity to update it. They aim to harness Chinatown’s resurgent spirit while helping to preserve its cultural DNA. The goal is to create a dynamic cultural hub and social space that will appeal to all ages and all cultures.
In such an effort, collaboration is everything. Local design firm Glasfurd & Walker is working with Bao Bei to rebrand the Night Market, and the Street Food Vancouver Society is on board to help diversify and complement the range of food already offered by bringing in a selection of trucks to the market’s western border on Columbia Street. There will be an area for dining set up with picnic tables and chairs, and there’s a rumour going around of new restaurant patios opening for the occasion.
New programming will include outdoor Chinese movie screenings, ping-pong tournaments, cooking competitions, storytelling nights and mahjong lessons. Workshops available for kids could include kite making, calligraphy, circus arts, and more.
Of course, one of the integral aspects of revitalizing the night market is the incorporation of inspired and original vendors. To this end, Ling and Tsui are – starting today – looking for artisans, craftspeople, and food makers with excellent products and accessible price points.
They are making a call out to vendors for expressions of interest. To be clear, this is not a request for commitment. Just acquiring vendor interest will help them move forward and into the next stages of planning.
Booth rate rentals start at $42/night and comes with a 10′ x 10′ tent and 6′ table. Vendor rentals are available for a full season (32 nights), half season (16 nights) or a quarter season (8 nights).
If you are interested in becoming a vendor or a sponsor, please contact Tannis Ling or Ken Tsui at contact@vancouverchinatownnightmarket.com.
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Andrew Morrison is the editor-in-chief of Scout and BC’s Senior Judge at the Canadian Culinary Championships. He contributes regularly to a wide range of publications, radio programs, and TV shows on local food, culture and travel. He live and works in the vibrant Strathcona neighbourhood, where he also collects inexpensive things and enjoys birds, skateboards, whisky, shoes, many songs, and the smell of wood fires.
SEEN IN VANCOUVER #348: Main Street’s Gene Cafe Transformed Into Hawker Stand
March 17, 2012
Culinary enthusiasts Alex Dadzis and Ken Tsui took over Gene Cafe (2404 Main) last night and turned it into a hawker stand. They were flogging steamed Fei Bing pancakes stuffed with ethically-sourced ingredients like Paradise Valley pork belly with house-made apple jelly (also sesame shiitake & smoked tofu with hoisin and sriracha; five spice yam chips; and “ice queen sweethearts” – almond cookie ice cream sandwiches). Awesome grub guys. Keep up the good work!
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