[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto’s Asian Night Markets Helped Me Reconnect with my Culture"

[rfmcdonald]

At Torontoist, Erica Ngao writes about how Toronto's Asian night markets connected her to her Asian origins.

I smelled it before I saw it.

The air was hazy, filled with smoke coming off the many grills and deep-fryers. Pungent and sharp, the notorious odour of stinky tofu—the food I came here to taste—filtered through the humidity and hit me square in the face. I hovered at the edge of the Markham Civic Centre’s parking lot where Night It Up! was set up for the weekend. The stench was reminiscent of mouldy cheese and unwashed socks, and immediately overwhelmed my senses. I created a makeshift mask with my T-shirt but my eyes still watered.

The three stinky tofu stands were lumped together near the back—out of convenience or necessity, or both. My friend who didn’t mind the smell went to line up while I stayed a safe distance away. She returned with six cubes of deep-fried tofu, garnished with some pickled cabbage and chili sauce on the side of a paper tray. I pierced a smaller piece with a plastic fork, hesitant but curious about this all-star of street food. It tasted like how it smelled: not good. My friend loved it. I was more than happy to offer the rest of my half.

For the past decade, Asian night markets like these have flourished in the Greater Toronto Area’s food scene. Inspired by those on the streets of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and across Asia, these night markets are providing a taste of that experience within the city—the opportunity to experience Asian culture through food and entertainment in an atmosphere just like the kind you’d find on the other side of the world. It’s noisy, smelly, and crowded, and it makes no apologies for these faults. That’s part of what makes these markets special.

Since the inception of Markham’s Night It Up! in 2002, the event has become a staple of the GTA’s roster of summer food festivals. A few years after, the T&T Waterfront Night Market joined in to bring the concept to downtown Toronto. Now, both see thousands of patrons show up to get a taste of Asian culture.