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If an outing includes food, cheap food, yummy food, and a bit of the outdoors, I’m usually all in. That’s why I was pretty excited to visit the Queens international night market. My friend described it as “an outdoor international food market, kind of like the Smorgasburg but cheaper, yummier, and with more exotic food.” I was sold.

To be honest, I’ve not yet seen the Brooklyn Smorgasburg, but I definitely want to! Its on my bucket list and I’m surprised and disappointed that I haven’t made a visit yet in my year of living here. For now though, I’ll have my memories of the Queens night market.

We took the LIRR from Manhattan to Queens and walked a short bit through the Flushing Meadows Corona Park, getting quite lost before finding our hidden treasure. It felt so nice to walk leisurely in the fresh air surrounded by huge trees- we were blessed with great weather that evening!

Upon arrival, I’ll be honest in saying that it did look a little…what’s the word? Homemade? Run down? Maybe I was expecting a more glamorous sign or front entrance, but I shouldn’t have judged the book by its cover.

Walking in, you enter the first of two large outdoor walkways flanked on either side by tables and booths. The booths closer to the entrance sell more merchandise- think a crafts fair vibe. Further inside, the food smells start wafting toward you, tempting you to bypass the cute hand stamped bags and luxe candles and head on in to why you really came to the Queens night market: the food.

Small side track: I grew up visiting family in Taiwan pretty regularly, so when someone calls an event a “night market” I have pretty high expectations. There must be delicious, cheap, and intensely fresh food. The atmosphere must be bustling, crowded- and your senses must be nearly overwhelmed by the onslaught of torches roaring, meat smoking, snacks frying, and people clamoring about stuffing their faces. The Queens night market was honestly an Americanized (and much calmer) version of the night market I’ve come to expect from my experiences in Taiwan, but all the same a welcome encounter unique in New York City.

 

The Queens night market has up to 100 stalls offering food from across the world, from Latin American to European to African to Asian. You can find desserts or savory options galore. Here are some of the foods we tried!

Final Thoughts On Queens International Night Market

The Queens International Night Market didn’t disappoint- it’s a fun night out with friends on a good weather day. New York City’s other food fairs tend to be very heavy on trendy expensive versions of normal foods, where a large part of the draw for a particular dish stems from the length of the line you have to wait in, rather than the taste or uniqueness of the food itself. I appreciate that the Queens Night Market highlighted unique global foods that people seemed to be trying out of genuine intrigue and curiosity. I would recommend a visit!

Have you been to the Queens Night Market? What foods do you seek out at these food events?