Located in the heart of Downtown LA, on Figueroa Street and directly across from LA Live and Staples Center on June 21st was the annual DTLA Night Market Festival. This festival is not new to many. Various Asian cuisine restaurants and merchants throughout San Gabriel Valley and San Fernando Valley join together and offer the Angelino an area to feast on their well-known bites such as Ramen Burger, Rice Balls, Crasians, and many more. DTLA Night Market not only offered every sort of Asian Bite you could think of from dumplings, to fried pork on skewers, onion pancakes, fried squid legs, tofu curry bowls, to your everyday sushi platters- one could enjoy street art, performances, and dabble in some shopping from local vendors.
There was even a fun zone, similar to a carnival with games and prizes. Tickets were $8.00 a person for entry. I recommend purchasing online prior to the event, for the line onsite is about two hours long, and unbearable having to smell all that BBQ while waiting to enter. After security check- in and passing entry, it is like entering a candy store when you were a child. You just do not know where to begin, everything smells and looks wonderful. Thankfully- DTLA Night Market offers an application for all smart phones for download. The 626 Night Market app is genius. It allows you to track where you are once you are in the festival, and find each food vendor. One can map out exactly all that they want to eat. I will say that when I return next year- it is wise to take a lap around the entire festival and see what exactly suits your level of appetite. Tents, stages, lights, and decor fill the atmosphere- gobo lights radiate off the structures of the downtown buildings, sounds of excitement from bites of food fill the air, a screaming audience of supporters surround the main stage where DJ’s and bands grace the stage. In front of the stage lays the Asahi beer garden which also had its own selection of food; nachos, tacos, pizza and more- Asahi lanterns hung throughout, but the annoying part here is one could not leave the garden to roam DTLA Night with a beer.
Our favorite bite of the night was the waffle shrimp sanwhich made with a waffle batter that had cilantro and pineapple in it. We also loved the Mama Musubi hand rice rolls, which were filled with pulled pork, minced chicken, or spicy tuna.
Lastly, the ramen burger by Keizo Shimamoto is delicious, but I have to say that among all this hype- the burger is messy and very fattening. There is something to eat for everyone- salty, sweet, and sour. DTLA Night Market Festival will surely show anyone a great time.
http://www.626nightmarket.com/DTLAnightmarket/home.php