Out & About #117 | Sweetery + Waterfront Night Market vs. Night It Up!

Commuting has never been much of an issue to me. Though, I suppose quite a substantial amount of Torontonians deem the "liveliness" of the area worthy enough to invest in housing.

Personally, there's just something a little too unsettling about returning home to an area where crime is common after the sun sets, where food purchases are unnecessarily marked up and sold in the smallest portions possible (even when customer service and the option of dining-in are nonexistent), and where the sole form of public transportation is a complicated, selective-transfer-based system that experiences extensive delays, cancellations, and service changes without notice. And as for the unquestionably poorly-organized Pan Am / Para Pan Am games, as well as other weekly street festivals, inhabitants would additionally have to make plans to avoid road closures, which regularly span half-days to entire weekends.

Living in TO is not for everyone, especially not time-conscious citizens. Had I not accessed and attended both Sweetery and the Waterfront Night Market on the same day via the admirably reliable TTC system, the sarcastic elements of this post would likely have decreased significantly.

The GO train ride to Union was a smooth one, but upon embarking on a route utilizing the TTC streetcar system, I was less than thrilled at having to wait nearly HALF AN HOUR for a vehicle that was supposed to make an appearance within SEVEN MINUTES. At least six 509 streetcars had pulled into and out of the terminal, some arriving at the same time due to their own individual delays. When the 510 finally arrived, and the entire batch of weekend riders took to occupying every millimeter of space within the rusty, ancient cart. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a pleasant ride; with so many people pressed up against the windows, standing, the originally peaceful and scenic route had turned mildly irksome.

The walk did not exceed ten minutes, which was a good thing considering that the glare of the sun had become quite strong by early afternoon. As we approached the red, blue, and white tents that had been set up for Sweetery vendors, I observed that the event was much smaller than anticipated. There weren't too many vendors, and it didn't take too long before we had given the entire space a walkthrough. Presented by local vendors and several food trucks was a good variety of food, mainly sweet but some also savoury; among the available choices were shaved ice, vegan baked goods, intricately-decorated pastries, mille crepe cakes, and egg waffles.

The full album can be found HERE !

The event also had a passport-style stamp card for guests to bring around the event and earn stamps, in addition to a "Sweetery" pinata that event-goers could take attempts at breaking with wooden spoons. It was a small, engaging event, with thankfully much shorter lineups than other food festivals; while the number of vendors probably didn't exceed forty, each stall offered up unique products. Considering this is the first year the event has been held, it would be great to see it expand into a more grand (and more publicly-accessible) food festival in the years to come. My only recommendation would be to refrain from using coloured vendor tents under the glare of the sun ever again; the emerging blue-green and pink tints in my photos were not appreciated in the slightest.

It was later decided that we would also attend the T&T Waterfront Night Market. While I've heard that shuttle buses had been organized for the event in past years, that was not the case this time around. We boarded Route 172, which would deliver commuters right to the entrance of the night market, from the King subway station.

Many of the vendors that had been present at Night It Up! also made an appearance at WFN; once again, stinky tofu and grilled seafood the stole the show, while egg waffles and bubble tea provided a great alternative for the less adventurous sweet tooths.

The full album can be found HERE !

Now having been to Night It Up! and the T&T Waterfront Night Market (both sponsored by TD, by the way), I can confirm that both events are similar enough that one needs not attend both to experience an Asian-style night market in the GTA.

To avoid a lengthy, hard-to-follow discussion contrasting the merits of each, I have created a comparison chart to clearly display my observations:

Disclaimer: The above points were concluded solely based on personal experiences of attending both events on their second day of operation (Saturday) between mid- to late-afternoon.

Given that the 172 buses were packed going both ways, that the wait for the 172 exceeded 25 minutes, and that the road closures for Para Pan Am delayed our arrival time at Union by at least ten minutes, it is extremely unlikely that I will be re-visiting any event near Cherry Beach via public transportation, specifically TTC. It was also much more humid than expected, and given the lack of space between vendors, the environment of the WFN rapidly became increasingly chaotic as people filed in.
After experiencing the Richmond Night Market more than once, I had high expectations for the arrangement of vendors to compliment the view of the waterfront. But not only did the stage and vendors block the lake in its entirety, the fences that surrounded the area made it even more difficult to catch a good view. Take some notes from B.C., WFN.

The verdict of this excursion: Night It Up! is worth re-visiting, as it is anticipated that they will gain more vendors; the T&T Waterfront Festival is simply not worth the fuss.


As I had just missed my train, I suggested killing a bit of time at momofuku before returning. The noodle bar on the first floor is considerably spacious, and promotes dining in large groups. A few tables even spanned to the second floor, where the momo milk bar was located.

From numerous reviews, it seemed as if the momofuku had been seriously over-hyped by many, and attached to a price tag too high to digest for a small portion of "mediocre" ramen. The baked goods in the refrigerated glass compartment were equally ridiculously priced, yet it was astounding how so many diners were buzzing about within and scooping up the products into their baskets like it was the finest deal seen in history.
The third level, Momofuku Daisho, is apparently an area reserved for fine dining. I had not had the luxury of climbing that last flight of stairs, though I'm not entirely certain whether there is even reason to do so. In the same aforementioned reviews, customer service had been another factor that was discussed unfavourably.

I was almost tempted to try a cup of their Instagram-popular cereal milk soft serve. Either a hit-or-miss, I had had the urge to request for one, until I saw the lineup the cashier was tending to. It wasn't until I Yelp-ed the restaurant again that I discovered a small cup had been priced at $6.00... I think I'll settle for Pinkberry instead.
In other news, did you know that Pinkberry has now finally made its way to Square One?! But that's news for another post.