Taste of Asia

Came here around 7:30 pm and boy was it packed!!! It was so packed, that we were literally brushing shoulders with other people. With so many vendors, cramped altogether in one tight space, it was hard to move around as the lines were extremely long. People’s skewer sticks were poking around, and people shouting and screaming everywhere. Oh and a TON of strollers. It was pretty chaotic this year, compared to the past. We got the Stinky Tofu ($ 10 for 7 pcs), which were pretty good, but certainly not worth the price, nor the long lineup! There was also a food truck, that sold Bloomin Onions ($ 8), which was super greasy and still raw in the center. Maybe my experience wasn’t the greatest, as I went at the wrong time, but it was cool to see different vendors this year including teppan ice cream.

The 2016 edition of Taste of Asia is fully underway and I’m quite ambivalent about it. I’ve been to Night it Up several times so I pretty much have an idea of what to expect here: the air will be befouled by the smell of stinky tofu, it’ll be hot, and about a dozen different grilling stations and bubble tea stores will open shop here.
ALL of those predictions came true, by the way.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s still good fun, and some of them have interesting twists. I definitely can recommend stopping by AAA Grill and trying out their crazy good chicken bacon ranch fries (you heard that right). And then there’s Formocha, with their new concoction of Taiwanese wheel cakes. And then there’s Chick-In’s massively greasily great Taiwanese fried chicken.
I just feel that, in my inevitable comparing it to Night It Up, the space is too cramped. This leads to massive overcrowding and it became uncomfortably full. I can’t help but think how bad this would be if there was an evacuation situation. It was so full I was bumping shoulders every other step. It was OK around 5 pm, unbearably by 7 pm.
Still worth a visit! But I find that it was overall… just OK. More vendors that actually spoke English and knew a thing or two about their food (and what the bloody name of their restaurant is) would’ve helped: these are small but irritating issues that I didn’t encounter at, you guessed it, Night it Up.

Came here today and ate only one thing, takoyaki balls. I forgot which booth it was but they were absolutely delicious even though it was a whopping $ 7 for 6 balls.
I feel like they have somewhat up-​ed their food booths game this year. For example they have this liquid nitrogen ice cream or candy? I JUST SAW PEOPLE EATING SOMETHING WITH SMOKE COMING OUT AND THAT IS WHAT I ASSUMED IT WOULD BE. I think they also had Teppan-​Ice Cream too?! But yeah… other then a few new places, not much is different. Just your typical; skewers and bbt. ;D
There is something to keep in mind, you WILL walk into the event smelling like a bunch of daisies and come out smelling like smelly tofu. Your nose holes will be BURDENED by the pungent smell that radiates off of these seemingly harmless Chinese delicacies. THERE IS NO ESCAPE MY FRIENDS (that is unless you enter from the back of the event and NEVER go near the front of the event. YOU CAN SAVE YOURSELF FROM THE SMELLY TOFUVIRIS)

Once a year event! 2016 Why not? So we dropped by, some new vendors. like TFC Pro Chi Ck-​in Big Face Taiwanese Fried Chicken. tried it. didn’t like it much… wasn’t crispy enough. but it was moist and seasoned well.
Tried both Wei & Mama Bear’s Stinky Tofu. I think Mama Bear wins, their cubes are thicker and fuller and we get to put as much sauce as we want.
Mongolian Lamb Skewers are always good! $ 10 whole squid wasn’t worth it, it was quite small.
Got a Free Watermelon Drink from Friends Hot Pot, if you scan their QR Code.
Wanted to try Teppan Ice Cream… but the line up was really long and I saw by the time the ppl got their ice cream it pretty much melted on this hot summer day! So opt out, will try it at the actual ice cream parlor downtown.
Tried 2 Egg Waffle Ice Cream Stalls. One was better than the other.
Wow!ffles (Knock off of Wooffles, found out after I bought it)$ 8 Their egg waffles weren’t so good. Was not crispy and kind of dense. Ordered the Mango Wow, which came with Vanilla Ice Cream with very little Mango pieces.
HK Bubble Waffles $ 8 Their egg waffles were crisp and spongy. You can even get 2 flavours of ice cream, and 1 Free Topping!!! Got Green Tea and Red Bean IC, with More Syrup Red Bean on top! Yum!
Twist Potato Honey Bear had some crispy and tasty Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken. I would definitely recommend trying it out!

Came to Taste of Asia again this year. Seems prices have steadily been going up and line ups getting longer. This year was exceptionally crowded.
These events are always fun because for about $ 1-​$ 5 you get to try a small snack that is not sold at local Asian restaurants/​snack shops.
There were also promotional stands for example prizes for
spin the wheel, Galleria instant noodle/​bibimbap eating contest, Clorox challenge, etc.
Also if you’re looking for a new cell phone, Rogers Wireless has a promotion where you get the Samsung Galaxy S4 for $ 129 after $ 100 credit, and that’s in addition to an extra $ 300 instant credit from Rogers (3 year contract applies, though the new CRTC ruling allows for cancellation after 2 years).
This year we only had the marinated tea leaf eggs for $ 1 and waffles on a stick 2 flavours for $ 5. Everything else either had a long line up or we just weren’t interested.
Out of the 3 annual Asian ‘night market’ events, this event is comparable to Night It Up in terms of food quality/​quantity, but definitely not on par with the much larger T&T Night Market downtown.

I live very close to Pacific Mall, so I decided to drop by the 2012 Taste of Asia festival Saturday night.
It was really cool, kind of reminded me of a mini CNE with all asian people.
They had a few game booths with prizes to be won, a few rides for young children, numerous food stalls and free live music performances.
The lineups for food were reasonable with the exception of the food stalls selling stinky tofu. The prices were reasonable and in line with what the local businesses charge on a regular basis. It was also crowded in some places and sometimes shoulder to shoulder but not unexpected for any asian festival.
A fair comparison would be that there are not as many food vendors as the bigger Night It Up, Night Market festival but it’s nowhere near as crowded and as a result you don’t have to deal with the aggravation of people rudely pushing and bumping into each other without apologizing.
The 2012 festival hours were:
Saturday 12pm — 12am
Sunday 12pm — 6pm

Unfortunately, my husband & I stopped by on a rainy Sat when all the vendors were covered in plastic drape.
It didn’t stop us from sampling the diverse food of Asia. Each dish ranges from $ 6+. We tried the Malaysian rotti which is similiar to the Indian crepes filled with potatoes, choice of meat (lamb, beef or chicken), carrots and vegetables. The portions were huge. We passed by the stinky tofu booth swarmed with long lines. The odors was just disgusting. The stench of the tofu is a complete turn-​off! We tried the Hawaiian shaved ice topped with condensed milk and syrups. It was pretty good. We also had the Gyozas (dumplings) and ramen.
There was a scheduled Noodle Competition, Live music performance, Car Expo, Pet show, Basketball tournament, and service booths ranging from insurance to electronic gadgets. Overall, it’s pretty cool for a street fair. According to the locals, it’s held every year in Markham where families can bring their kids out to eat and enjoy the festivities.