Frugal foodies rejoice! Queens Night Market is returning to Corona on Apr. 27 for its ninth season.
Despite everything from groceries to eating out going up in price recently, all bites at the night market will remain affordably capped at $5 or $6. And in an effort to ease crowds, the market will start an hour earlier at 4 p.m. this year at the same location – the lot by New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park – but with additional space to accommodate more vendors.
Throughout its eight seasons, the Queens Night Market has hosted nearly 3 million visitors, offering them the opportunity to savor dishes from over 95 countries.
Vendors themselves who got their start at the market went on to launch 400 food businesses over the years. But despite many opening physical storefronts, some vendors still return to the Queens Night Market every year to have thousands of people try their food in one night.
“As a love letter to NYC, the Queens Night Market celebrates and aspires to represent the remarkable diversity that gives such vibrancy to this city. But it also pushes back against the skyrocketing cost-of-living here, which is why we’ve clung so desperately to the unique $5/$6 price cap at the event,” said John Wang, founder of the Queens Night Market.
Wang expressed gratitude to their corporate sponsor Citizens Financial Group, which is subsidizing vendor fees by approximately half to help maintain the price cap. He added that plans are underway for community events, including a Kids Entrepreneur Day on May 4 and a Queens Pride Kickoff on June 1.
To alleviate the crowds and capacity issues that emerged during opening nights in previous years, there will be two sneak preview nights on Apr. 13 and Apr. 20, with tickets priced at $5. But entrance to the Queens Night Market for the rest of the season will remain free and open to the public as always.
A portion of the proceeds raised from the preview events will be donated to charity. Last year, Queens Night Market raised over $30,000 that went directly to three nonprofits: Queens Rising, the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
This year the market is welcoming dozens of new vendors to represent more countries than ever, bringing traditional dishes from countries such as Peru, Bangladesh and El Salvador. Here are four new vendors, and one longtimer with a new offering you can expect to see this year.
Naztas
As the only Bengali vendor at the market this year, Naztas is putting a twist on street style comfort food from Bangladesh. One of their three offerings on the menu is a heavenly fried sandwich, topped with a spicy sauce, that resembles a grilled cheese but with more flavor.
“Most people know about Indian food but haven’t tried Bangladeshi food,” said Nazifa Taznim, one of the vendors. “It’s really different.”
For something more spicy they’ll also have bowls of Chola Bhuna – sautéed chickpeas mixed with chilies and vegetables. The first time vendor will also have Dim Chop, a deep fried egg and potato street food snack.
Joey Bats Café
Returning for a seventh season, Joey Bats Café is bringing a savory option to attract more than the sweet-toothed crowd. The shop’s popular Portuguese egg custard tart pastry, which goes for $4 each, was the sole offering for years.
“It all started with Queens Night Market,” said owner Joey Batista, who now has four locations in Manhattan, and ships egg tarts nationwide.
But the menu this year will include a Bifana, a Portuguese sandwich made of very tender strips of pork marinated in beer and wine sauce on a toasted Portuguese roll for $6.
“Even with the lines we get, there are still new people trying the pastry so now hopefully it’ll be new people trying the pastry and the sandwich,” said Batista.
Laksa Shop
After making a food market debut at Bryant Park Winter Village, Laksa Shop is bringing its cozy Malaysian noodle curry soup to Queens.
Vendors Cassandra and Lizzy met in a shared commissary kitchen and bonded over their shared love of the dish popular in Malaysia and Australia. Since then, the duo has been bring laksa to venues as a pop-up shop across the city.
A bowl of Laksa features two types of noodles (egg and rice), fish balls, tofu puffs and a hard boiled egg, floating in a coconut curry broth and topped with bean sprouts, cilantro and fried shallots.
Yubu Lab
Four friends got together earlier this year to bring the Korean version of Japanese inari sushi to Queens Night Market under the name Yubu Lab.
The tofu pouches are deep-fried, then softened, before being filled with rice and various toppings. Tuna mayo, spicy shrimp, kani salad and tamagoyaki are among the eight options that will be going $3.75 a piece at the market.
They will also be selling an iced matcha latte that was inspired by the Netflix show “Squid Game.” It iss topped with crumbled Dalgona, the Korean sugar cookie featured in one episode.
Bolonito
This year, two versions of Ecuador’s national dish, bolones, will be coming to the Queens Night Market. In a traditional way, mashed green plantains and cheese are formed into a hefty ball and topped with a verde sauce, bacon bits and fresh green onions.
But Bolonito is putting their own twist on the national dish with a vegan option that’s sweeter and topped with zesty pineapple sauce. Their stand will also offer a fresh coconut juice to complement to bolones, which they refer to as bolonitos.
Queens Night Market will run until midnight every Saturday until the season ends on Halloween. In breaks between food and drinks, attendees can browse the art and merchandise vendors that will be selling including vintage apparel, gourmet dog treats and handmade crafts.
Live performers will also take the stage every Saturday. Over the years, Queens Night Market has featured over 450 musicians, bands and performance groups.
