A field guide to the Dock Road night market
Forty stalls, three rules and the dumpling line that is worth every minute.
The Dock Road night market opens at six on Saturdays from April to October, and closes when the generator runs out. There are forty stalls, give or take. There are three rules. Here is everything else you need.
The three rules
Bring cash, because the card readers fight the generator and lose. Bring your own cup, because the tea stall will charge you for theirs. And do not, under any circumstances, ask the dumpling stall how long the line is.
Where to start
Start at the harbor end and walk inland. The stalls near the water sell the things people photograph: the oysters, the giant paella pan, the man who spins cotton candy in the shape of the harbor crane. The stalls further up sell the things people eat.
The dumpling line
The dumpling stall is run by the Lin family, and the line forms at a quarter to six. It moves slowly, because each batch is folded while you watch. It is worth every minute. Order the pork and chive, and one of whatever is written on the cardboard that week.
When to leave
Leave before the generator goes. When it does, the whole market goes dark at once, and forty vendors say the same word.
