626 Night Market in Orange County

At the annual 626 Night Market in Orange County, CA

It's official! I'm back to my roots in sunny California. This blog started off as a way to document my travels and fun in Japan, but that doesn't mean I have to put down the pen just because I'm back in the states. Hence, here I am at an annual event held on certain weekends throughout the summer: the 626 Night Market, basically a collection of all things Asian from art vendors to food! I went for the first time last year and loved it so much I ended up going twice (in part because they had okonomiyaki, one of my favorite Japanese foods!). The event itself costs $5 to get in, and prices vary by vendor inside. "Dishes" typically run around $7-8 dollars per item, which makes going in a group the best strategy to try as many things as you like.


Sadly I ended up going by myself this year, which limited how much food I ate, but that didn't stop me from taking as many pictures as possible! I would say most people visit for the food, but you can't ignore the collection of amazing artists! Last year I went to the Santa Anita racetrack location in Arcadia, which offered free parking, as opposed to the OC location in Costa Mesa which cost $8 (I think simply because it was held at the fairgrounds). Needless to say I'll stick with the Arcadia location next year.

Entrance to the Night Market

I entered into this building which led straight through the artist area (they obviously did that on purpose).

Enter into the artist gallery

Don't get too distracted by all the eye-popping artwork if you're on a budget. However, you'll still find small items like pins or stickers for $5 or less, or pick up a business card to purchase artwork later.

This was my favorite artist for two years in a row (they seem to be the same featured artists), The Art of Leanne Huynh. Obviously I"m a sucker for her Disney-inspired artwork.

The art of Leanne Huynh

Disney Princess, Poison Ivy, Winnie the Pooh, and more!

I loved this piece so much last year I decided to buy it this year. It was only $12 for a medium size. Score!

Gorgeous painting of Ariel by Leanne Huynh.

This artist, Parakid, specializes in anime. I love the Studio Ghibli artwork!

Parakid at 626 Night Market

Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, My Hero Academia, and Sailor Moon

I love Howl's Moving Castle.

Howl, Sophie, Calicifer, and Turnip Head

Check out all the other artists below!

Aj Touch

AJ Touch at 626 Night market

Alex Cabal

The art of Alex Cabal

There's some interesting artwork of heads being split apart!

Sailor Moon, BB8, Goku, and more

I love the Princess Mononoke.

More artwork from Alex Cabal

This artist did not seem to have a specific name I could find.

More art at the 626 Night Market

Stickers only $3 each!

Geoff Pascual

Another of my favorite anime-loving artists!

Popular anime artwork from Naruto, Final Fantasy, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more

I'm a big fan of Naruto.

Naruto characters by Geoff Pascual

This giant Pikachu is adorable!

Adorable Pokemon characters, chibi style!

More from Geoff Pascual

I'm a HUGE fan of Avatar the Last Airbender!

Avatar the Last Airbender by Geoff Pascual

Emii Creations

Adorable doggie artwork

Spooksieboo

Gothic style art

Danny Silva

Zombified collection of art!

Artwork by Danny Silva

Squeaky & Alya

Squeaky & Alya at 626 Night market

Audrey Miller Art

Audrey Miller at 626 Night market

More Disney characters!

So many cute stickers!

Kieutie Pie

Kieutie Pie at 626 Night Market

As you can see, stickers are a popular and inexpensive item.

I love the adorable pair of foxes!

So many pins to choose from! I like the cupcakes and boba teas.

Dan Fajardo

Very striking artwork!

Danny Fajardo at 626 Night Market

Visual You

More adorable doggies and pandas!

Visual You at 626 Night Market

Agh, they're all so adorable!

One final artist.

More art at the 626 Night Market

Finally made it to the food! Let's head straight to my favorite, Gaja Okonomiyaki! They used to have a location somewhere in Los Angeles and now are apparently located at 2362 W. Lomita Blvd. #2 Lomita, CA 90717.

"Japanese healthy pancakes", shrimp tempura, fried squid, and more at Gaja.

Okonomiyaki is basically a savory pancake of cabbage and pork topped with sweet and salty sauce, mayonnaise, and salty fish flakes and seaweed, but as you can see there are many different varieties as you can choose whatever toppings you like. Granted, I've never seen these combinations outside of Japan!

Apparently the most popular is the corn and cheese, followed by curry cheese and spam cheese.

I'm an okonomiyaki purist, so I stuck with the vegetable version. Now, I have a record of good luck with this place ever since I went last year, getting free lemonade both times. Although the sign clearly says all okonomiyaki is $8 I was only expected to pay $6! Score!

Okonomiyaki from Gaja. Don't forget to top with plenty of savory sauce and mayonnaise!

My other favorite Japanese food is takoyaki, which is almost the same, just spherical balls with a small piece of octopus inside, and it's not as bad as you'd think. The octopus is so small you won't even notice it. This place also offered a variety of flavors to keep things interesting.

6 different styles of takoyaki to enjoy

The anatomy of a takoyaki.

Delicious takoyaki! Watch your tongue!

Be careful! They're meant to be eaten piping hot! Really good takoyaki will be crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. You can watch the takoyaki being made right before your eyes.

Tanota Takoyaki

The ramen burger was back.

Ramen burgers at 626 Night Market

Of course there's a lot more than just Japanese food. One trend I noticed was that there was a lot of lobster this year.

Lobster udon, grilled lobster, lobster garlic noodles, and crunchy lobster roll

Lobster nachos!

These potatoes are a popular choice, but not very Asian.

14 different flavors of potatoes on a stick

Same with the corn!

Flaming hot cheetos elote, anyone?

It's very colorful!

Giant squid! Now that's more like it!

Squid fans of the world, unite!

Apparently it is as big as your face.

Looks crunchy!

There's no shortage of sweets and drinks to quench your thirst.

Honey-comb shaped waffles.

Milk tea drinks with a sciency twist.

Some places offer free samples.

Foody Lab creations

Of course there will be some good Korean BBQ!

More squid and Korean BBQ

These look good! I definitely recommend bulgogi.

Skewers of pork belly, chicken, beef, and squid.

And more squid...Not a big fan...

Sample skewers.

Sushi burritos!

Sushi "burgers" and "burritos"

Sushi tacos! The nori acts as the taco shell.

Sushi tacos by Norigami

You can even get shawarma.

Beef shawarma.

Yakitori (grilled chicken) skewers

There are also food trucks.

Okamoto food truck.

Another trend is serving things in floaties or things like light bulbs.

Anyone up for a cotton candy burrito?

More of an Instagram trend, really. But you can always use them to have a drink in your pool.

Because every drink deserves its own floatie.

Slushies served in light bulbs.

Milk tea served in light bulbs.

The colors are pretty!

This year's trend was gigantic baby bottles! Which run pretty pricey.

Drinks in light up grenades and baby bottles.

Giant baby bottle costs $20.

Try these for a spicy twist on your favorite drink.

Baby bottles come in all shapes and sizes.

As always, I come prepared with a sweet tooth. I just love churro sundaes!

Nuttella churro sundae.

These are the pretties "waffles" I've ever seen! Very tempting! Pink waffle, oreo, ice cream, almonds and nuts, bulgogi (?!), strawberry, and banana.

Waffles on sticks, because why not?

Five varieties of waffles.

The prettiest waffles you've ever laid eyes on!

These are little fluffy pancakes including those shaped like Sanrio characters, Doraemon, and Luffy!

Pick your filling or choose ice cream.

Hello-kitty shaped pancake!

Of course no foodie festival would be complete without funnel cake.

Homemade funnel cakes.

Or ice cream. I've never seen a double cone before!

Double cones!

You can also find taiyaki, fish-shaped waffles with three different fillings.

Shave ice and fish waffles.

I'm a sucker for anything cutesy, so I loved these adorable macarons!

Colorful French macarons.

Flavors like pistachio, passion fruit, French vanilla, and strawberry.

Cotton candy rainbows!

Love these strawberry cheesecakes!

Another non food-related trend were these expensive light up balloons.

Light up LED balloons at 626 Night Market

More light up balloons

Probably not the best for little ones.

Lastly there were these adorable banners you could take pictures in front of. I love both taiyaki and takoyaki!

Taiyaki backdrop

Takoyaki backdrop

Can't wait to go next summer! Don't miss out in 2019!