Last weekend I spent my entire Sunday in Toronto going from one outdoor event to another. My favourite part about Toronto in the summer is being able to attend outdoor festivals and getting to eat my share of street food. It was super fun going to the second annual matsuri and having my first night market experience in Toronto!

We started off the afternoon by visiting the ROM. I finally had a chance to see the Forbidden City exhibit. It was pretty neat seeing all the artifacts and clothing from the Qing Dynasty. I think I appreciated it more after watching BBJX [repeatedly]. LOL

Later we took the subway over to Yonge Dundas Square and visited the matsuri. Matsuri was pretty much the same as last year, with the same vendors and food stalls. I didn’t bother wearing a yukata this time around, which was a good idea since it was boiling outside. The line ups for food seem to wrap around the centre of the square. I didn’t even bother figuring out what I wanted it eat. I just beelined for the shortest queue. =P

After getting our fill of yakitori, yakisoba, kakuni buns and kakigoori, we ended up heading over to King Station to wait for the bus that would take us to the Night Market at Port Lands. Waiting for the bus proved to be the biggest waste of time, since the bus never came. There was suppose to be two buses during that span, but neither of them came. At the end we took a taxi with two girls who were in line with us, so that at least saved us some money.

Finally we managed to get to Port Lands. The venue was actually a lot bigger than I anticipated, and there were definitely more food stalls than at matsuri. The best part was that there were hardly any line ups for the stalls. We took a walk around initially to check out the food we wanted to eat. There were also some freebies being handed out at the event, including Shin Ramen cup noodles and chopsticks, and free product samples. I even won a case of Canada Dry ginger ale. =P

After scoping out all the stalls, we ended up getting Xinjiang lamb skewers, karaage, tornado fries and grilled clams. There was so much food I wanted to eat, including a variety of seafood, but there was no way I could eat so much during that short span of time. I also had my second shaved ice that day just as we were leaving. It was definitely an overload of street food that day!

By the time we left, there was a flood of people who were already waiting for the bus. It was crazy the amount of traffic in the area and the road back to Front St was super congested. We didn’t manage to get onto the first bus, but luckily they sent a second bus. However, it was a slow crawl all the way to Front St. It would have probably been quicker to walk at that pace. LOL. Anyway, it was a great day out in Toronto. If the night market is a good indication of what’s to come, then I’m definitely looking forward towards Taiwan Fest later this month!