Vancouver Christmas Market 2012: Mulled Wines, Brautwurst, and Schupfnoodle

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited to come have a tour of the Vancouver Christmas Market and write about my experience. No worries, I had KoreaGirl with me to keep it unbiased!

The Vancouver Christmas Market is back again for December! The market runs from November 24th to December 24th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza. It is for all ages and showcases German culture through crafts, food, and entertainment.

Since it is outdoors, remember to put on a thick jacket and mittens! Especially kids! You will probably spend about an hour here if you stroll around and have a few bites to eat. Try to plan your day around the weather since it’s not fun coming here in the rain.

On the opening weekend, there were lots of people lined up.

There are over 55 vendors with authentic German products and some other booths that are quite random, but you can keep reading below to see what I mean.

German Gluhwein

At the German Gluhwein booths, you can indulge in alcoholic mulled wines. If you’re not the boozy kind of people, they also have apple cinder.

Here is the menu at the booth and corresponding prices.

Traditional Gluhwein ($6+$2 deposit) is the traditional beverage of the holidays in German-speaking countries. It is prepared with red wine and spices. The drink packs a punch! It’s quite alcoholic and not for everyone.

Apple Gluhwein ($6 +$2 deposit) is another version and is seasoned with apples. It also alcoholic tasting too.

Black Forest Delicatessen

Black Forest Delicatessen is the most popular booth at the Christmas Market! They are best known for their German Bratwurst and Bavarian Weisswurst. The sauerkraut makes it so good.

Their menu and prices.

All those sausages!

Schnecken Brautwurst ($7.92) is a grilled spiral brautwurst with sauerkraut on a bun. It’s really good! Anything with brautwurst is good.

Das Deutsche Nudel Haus

Das Deutsche Nudel Haus serves up German Schupfnudeln (rolled noodle), as a savory dish with sauerkraut and bacon, or sweet with sugar and cinnamon.

Here’s their menu and prices.

Schupfnoodle with Double Smoked Prosciutto and Sourkraut ($8.48) is definitely filling but would have used more seasoning and filling to give it a better flavour.

Besides food, there are lots of cool items to look at. From ornaments to crafts.

Lots of German-made items.

Cheese! The items they serve are so good too!

Even though there are a lot of German booths, there was also a handful of booths that were not representative of the German culture. For example the cultural hut was promoting the sales to a Chinese performance.

Hurricane Potatoes was here too selling their delectable treats. It is in no way German, so I was very surprised they were here. Since there is no Richmond Night Market in the Winter, come to the Christmas Market for these addictive potato twirls.

There was also Canadian Kettle Korn Extreme giving out samples of yummy kettle corn.

If you want a taste of Canadian Maple Syrup, there is the Sugar Shack to fill up on that sugary goodness.

There is usually a long line up for this area. If you are wondering what they have in here, its a variety of ornate German decorations from clocks to tree ornaments.

At the center of the market is a bandstand.

There are various performances throughout the day and people can listen to holiday music or other forms of entertainment.

There are fun rides on the carousel for kids too! Me and KoreanGirl had fun even though we are not kids anymore. The best part is fighting over the most beautiful horse.

Overall, I’ve been to the Vancouver Christmas Market for the past 3 years and I felt it was strange that the original idea of the market has been a bit diluted this year by letting other types of booths to be part of the market. This is not to say the other booths are bad or anything. This is a strength of the Canadian culture to be inclusive of all.

Have you been to the Vancouver Christmas Market yet?

Dates: November 24 to December 24
Time: 11:00am – 9:00pm
Location: Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza
Website: http://www.vancouverchristmasmarket.com/

Admission:
Adults (13+ years): $5 General Admission ; $2 Monday to Friday 11am -4pm
Youth (7 -12 years): $2
Child (0-6 years): Free

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