626 Night Market Top 8 Wish List of 2020
The 626 Night Market may have over 250 food, merchandise, crafts, arts, games, music, and entertainment attractions, but we’re always looking for more unique vendors to join us. As foodies ourselves, we narrowed our list down to 8 food items we found and can’t wait for someone to sell at our events!
1. VEGAN AND VEGETARIAN FOOD
Everyone is trying to eat healthier nowadays and more people are switching over to a vegan or vegetarian diet. Finding more vegan and vegetarian vendors is on the top of our list! Our attendees are always asking us for vegan and vegetarian recommendations, but we’re looking for more to add to our directory. With companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, the possibilities are endless!
Just in the past year, KFC launched Beyond Fried Chicken and Carl’s Jr. launched the Beyond Famous Star with cheese.
More companies are joining in as they use Impossible meat in their burgers, tacos, and even dim sum! What can you create for our events? We’re excited to see the possibilities!
2. MOCHI DONUTS (or anything else mochi)
If you don’t know what mochi donuts are yet, are you even a foodie?! They’re cute, they’re chewy, and they’re oh so delicious! Think of an American donut combined with Japanese mochi, traditional rice cake made from sweet glutinous rice flour, add some glaze and toppings, and BAM you’ve got yourself an instagrammable treat!
Photo by @thedoughclub
Photo by @alimama.nyc
Besides mochi donuts, we’re also craving mochi bread and daifuku, mochi stuffed with sweet filling. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with mochi.
Photo by @iris.nihao
Photo by @travellinfoodie
3. PURPLE RICE YOGURT DRINKS
I don’t know if you’ve heard of it yet, but there’s a new trend growing! Shops selling purple rice yogurt drinks are popping up in Asia, New Zealand, and Australia, but it hasn’t caught on in the USA…yet. What are in these drinks you may ask? The signature drink consists of purple rice, yogurt, and milk. Stores like HEY! I AM YOGOST have lots of variations on their menu including Oats Cereal Yogurt, Straws and Berries, Rice Mango Romance, Mysterious Asian Red Date, and even Durian Delight! Can you believe there’s more combinations on their menu? Will you be the first one to brings these to the 626 Night Market?
4. YAKITORI
We’re looking for more than just beef and lamb skewers are our events. Yakitori, grilled chicken skewers cooked over charcoal, is simple and delicious! Each skewer is big enough for you to get a taste of the meat but small enough for you to taste everything else on the menu. Places like HATCH Yakitori + Bar have a wide selection to choose from including chicken breast, thigh, wing, gizzard, liver, and heart. Although traditionally just chicken, HATCH has expanded from just serving chicken yakitori and even have quail egg, shishito pepper, eggplant and miso, seared ahi belly, unagi, and more on their menu.
5. MALAYSIAN FOOD
If you haven’t been to Malaysia, you’re missing out! Malaysian cuisine is so unique (and delicious) because its food is a combination of different ethnic groups, mainly Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Some Malay dishes are also similar to food found in Indonesia and Singapore as well. Our mouths are drooling just thinking of nasi lemak which consists of coconut milk rice, sambal (a spicy sauce), ikan bilis (fried anchovies), cucumber slices, roasted peanuts, and a hard-boiled egg. It may also be served with an additional protein like chicken. Some other less known favorites are apam balik (a fluffy pancake usually with peanuts and cream corn filling, can be made crispy too), roti tisu (thin pan-fried dough drizzled with condensed milk and sugar on the inside and served in a cone shape, can be eaten by dipping pieces into curry), char kway teow (a stir-fried flat rice noodle dish), and many more!
6. BURMESE FOOD
Burmese food may not be the first thing you think about when you’re deciding what to eat for dinner, but it is a must-try! Have you ever tried laphet thoke (burmese pickled tea leaf salad) or mohinga (fish-based soup with rice noodles)? Don’t forget to try some Burmese curry with platha as well! Burmese cuisine comes from Myanmar and is inspired by surrounding countries such as China, India, and Thailand. The different regions in Myanmar also contribute to the rich taste that Burmese food has become.
7. CARBS
Let’s be real, who doesn’t love carbs?! When we say carbs, we really mean two things, pastries and everything else!
Pastries might sound basic and generic, but there’s a whole lot going on that you may not know about in the pastry world. Think outside the box! We searched around and found some pastries we want to try like cream puffs (did you know you can get ube and boba in them now?!), knafeh (a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with thin noodle-like pastry, soaked in syrup, and layered with other ingredients), and egg tarts (pastry crust filled with egg custard). Can you believe no one has sold egg tarts at the 626 Night Market yet? You could be the first!
When someone says the word carbs, two things come to mind…Porto’s and dim sum! If you haven’t heard of Porto’s yet, they are a Cuban bakery and cafe founded by a Cuban family. They only have locations is SoCal so far, so make sure to try some on your next trip to SoCal! We love everything on their menu and so does everyone else, people literally leave Porto’s with multiple boxes of food!
Dim sum has been revolutionized by modern restaurants like Harumama and Yum Cha. What’s really changed the most are the buns. Whoever had the idea of making the buns into different colors and shapes must have been a foodie, they’re so cute and colorful now! Could you imagine going to the 626 Night Market and getting some dim sum? That’s a dream come true!
8. CHARCUTERIE BOARDS
Many foods are making a comeback and charcuterie boards are one of them. They are usually filled with cured meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, crackers, and more depending on how extravagant you want to get. Besides your traditional charcuterie board, we’ve also been seeing a new development…unconventional charcuterie boards! People have gotten so creative and just started laying a bunch of different foods on boards, thus creating the unconventional charcuterie board trend. There’s breakfast inspired boards, dessert inspired boards, and everything in between!
Well, we’ve laid down 8 different, but foodie-approved, ideas for you. If you’re up to the challenge and have a new food concept that hasn’t been seen before at the 626 Night Market, you’ve still got a couple months until our first event! That’s enough time to polish up your game plan for our 2020 season. Don’t forget to fill out the vendor inquiry form if you want to be a part of our events, the sooner the better! Will you be the next trend-setter at the 626 Night Market?
