Ramen Burger Craze at Hawkers Market

Hawkers Market is a once-a-month food/beer/music event. It’s like a craft fair except with food. Plus loud music and booze. I love everything Hawkers Market stands for.

Had to wait a while outside until Coastal Health were done with their inspection.

Is this guy behind Hawkers Market? He cooked up the ramen burgers this night.

They sold out before the event and didn’t have any tickets at the door. Snooze you lose! You see how it says “Eat! Drink & Dance”? DANCE! DANCE!! I’ll talk more about the dancing part later…

Luckily we were near the front of the line. Once we got in, we headed straight for the ramen burger table.

Kinda crappy location for these guys. They were right at the entrance, away from most of the action.

Probably good but too filling for tonight. Gotta pace yourself at these kinds of events!

Pakistani crab cakes??

Chick pea stuff.

I just wished more people danced!

Hawkers Market is basically in a small warehouse space. Totally reminds me of raves/warehouse parties back in the early 90s (the spirit of which is currently being carried on by events like New Forms Festival). Very up my alley and I was hoping to see more people dancing but Vancouverites seem very reserved unless they’re really drunk or on E…and the time for taking E is looooong gone.

Didn’t get a chance to try any of Brown Paper Packages sundaes. But I took plenty of pics of their ingredients!

…and here’s the order form. Looking at this the day after, I wish I ate something from here. Even a beer float would’ve been awesome.

She sells stuffed cookies (@HappilyStuffed). Wendy had some big ‘n tasty samples here.

We tried the braised ribs from The Endless Meal.

Really tender rib. One rib.

Other people got crepes. They said they were good.

Guy cooking up the ramen burgers! One-person operation. The line for this snaked out the door. Totally nice guy but he should’ve had help.

The Wonton Girl logo looks like…

…her!

Probably good. Deep fried wontons were always a favourite treat growing up. I’d bring them for school potlucks and they’d be gone so fast that there’d be none left for me!

A friend said, “Andy couldn’t stop talking about the lamb ones! The spiced beef were pretty good as well :)”

The menu.

Some great music that night too. I was expecting lots of dubstep from this dj/musician collective (Chapel Sound) but they actually played a great mix of stuff from across the spectrum. They even played this favourite:

 

I love lava lamps. They’re the original winamp visualization.

One guy using Vestax Spin with Sony headphones, and the other guy using Serato or something with Ultrasone DJ1 headphones (same as me!).

Can’t get enough lava lamps.

Local, street-level food businesses.

Storm Brewing‘s whiskey vanilla stout. A bit too sweet for some. I liked it! Storm are the original steampunk brewery. Look at their tap handles!

I want my ramen burger now!

The infamous ramen burger. Hawkers Market remix edition.

Burger time! The ramen burger comes with ramen noodles as the bun, rocket/arugula, fried egg, processed cheese, bacon and a thick beef patty.

Finally, my burger is ready!

Worth the wait! Weird sensation biting through ramen noodles into a beef patty. The burger went great with the whiskey vanilla stout.

I think this ramen burger thing was just a one-time deal. AFAIK they’re not bringing it back for future events.

I don’t usually go for desserts but I’ll do popsicles! Nice little company called Nice Pops.

They have punch cards. I wonder what I get after filling it out?

The mocha fudgesicle was awesome. Plenty of flavour. The peach & brown butter one was a bit weak, especially after having that burger and stout.

I loved the experience and the atmosphere. I just wished more people danced! Are Vancouverites that uptight? It says it right on the poster! “DANCE!” You have permission to dance! It is socially acceptable in this situation on a freakin’ Saturday night and you’re out and having fun, why not?

You’ll see me at a future Hawkers Market events…I’ll be the only guy dancing. :/


Read about our follow-up visit here.

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