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Queens Night Market pop-up at Rockefeller Center extended through October

Queens International Night Market's Joey Bats Cafe is selling pastéis de nata at the Rockefeller Center offshoot.
Queens International Night Market’s Joey Bats Cafe is selling pastéis de nata at the Rockefeller Center offshoot. Photo Credit: Julia Larsen Maher

The Queens Night Market‘s three-week-long pop-up at Rockefeller Center is being extended through October after a “successful” run.

Nine of the market’s most popular vendors have sold their dishes at an “outpost” at Rockefeller Center from Monday to Thursday for the past three weeks, and had expected to close shop on Thursday. But organizers say the market will now run through “at least” October.

“By all accounts, the outpost has been a huge success — not only from my perspective, but from that of visitors, the local workforce and the vendors,” said its founder John Wang. 

The market will rotate in new vendors over the next month, introducing Cambodiannow (with Cambodian fish amok, beef skewers, jackfruit with sticky rice, and mung bean soy milk) and Jhal (serving Bengali puffed rice, stuffed semolina shells, black chickpeas and saffron-infused lemonade with basil seeds), in addition to the existing vendors:

  • Burmese Bites (Burmese keema palatas and ohno kaukswe)
  • Em (Vietnamese Thịt kho and chả giò)
  • La’Maoli (Antiguan salt fish balls and island subs)
  • Joey Bats Café (Portuguese pastéis de nata)
  • Brooklyn Dumpling (Polish pierogies and kopytka)
  • Treat Yourself Jerk Chicken
  • Hong Kong Street Food (soy sauce noodles)
  • Primos Variedades (Mexican fresh-carved al pastor tacos)
  • Lion City Coffee (Singaporean chai tow kway and kaya toast).

Wang said in July that they “jumped at the opportunity” when Rockefeller Center asked if they wanted to introduce their hallmark vendors to the Rock Center community.

“It’s a chance to test out the area’s appetite for unique global offerings, and also a chance for some of our dedicated vendors to profit from all the passion and hard work they bring to the Queens Night Market,” he said.

The vendors “are a perfect fit” for the area’s “diverse and hungry” crowd, according to Michaella Solar-March, the center’s managing director of marketing and experience.

Prices vary, but the dishes will be affordable and meal-sized, Wang said.

Prices at Queens Night Market, which is on every Saturday night at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, are usually capped at $5. 

Wang also announced that the Queens Night Market is working on a cookbook anthology with its immigrant food vendors and an accompanying video series that comes out in the spring of 2020. More details on that will be released in the fall.

The Queens Night Market will continue at the New York Hall of Science this Saturday and return two weeks earlier than usual on Sept. 14, and finish out the season on Oct. 26.

If you go: The outpost eateries are set up on Rockefeller Center’s south plaza, between 48th and 49th streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues, and serve food noon to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.