There are lots of reasons to love a food festival. Whenever there’s one happening in Melbourne, I think about going.
A few weeks ago I went down to the Night Noodle Markets after work with my colleagues. An outdoor food festival at Birrarung Marr, a grassy patch at the edge of the city, serving up all kinds of Asian street food you can think of. When the eight of us twenty-somethings arrived at a quarter to six, a sea of people greeted our eyes. Tables packed. Queues in front of food stalls where chefs dished up food right before our eyes.
Takoyaki. Some foods we will never forget eating | Weekly Photo Challenge: Gone, Not Forgotten.
We go to food festivals because it’s a chance for us to give in to our love for food. A time to indulge our food cravings. We go to food festivals for the food, for our old favourite foods and the foods we’ve always wanted to try. As my colleagues and I made our way past the entrance, a dozen different gastronomic aromas hit us in the face left, right and centre. Vietnamese pho. Korean fried chicken. Chinese baos. Japanese ramen. Mouthwatering Asian street food. What shall I eat? Everything.
We visit food festivals for a one of a kind dining experience that doesn’t come by all the time. Not often do some of us get to choose from a dozen or more cuisines for a meal or eat outdoors under the sky.
We love food festivals because they touch us deep down inside. They are emotional experiences. They take us to another place, maybe on a trip down memory lane and stirring feelings of the past. Sauntering past the Monkey Lane line of stalls, I heard whispered tsk tsk bickering at the back of long queues. The dull thump of a butcher’s blade slicing a coconut open. Just like the going to pasar-malam-night-markets in Malaysia.
We love going to food festivals because it’s a time to unwind and soak up the spirit of love. An occasion to go out with those we know and enjoy each other’s company over food. After 20 minutes of walking around the Noodle Market, I made my way back to my colleagues. Just before I sat down on the grass, the ever boisterous colleague Julien waved a paper plate of two greasy chicken wings in the air: “We saved some for you! Take it! Take it!”
Of course, there are sour and stressful moments at food festivals too. Long queues for food. Packed crowds. Expensive, small servings of foods. The endless hunt for a place to sit. The narrow patch of grass that my colleagues and I ended up sitting on was wedged in between the VIP Mercedes Benz marquee and the massive dark green wheelie trash bins.
We get mixed emotions when we go to a food festival. We have expectations: we expect the food to taste delicious, expect a big feed, a seat, get food in a jiffy. After all, there’s always some word-of-mouth hype around each food festival. And sometimes we get let down. Somehow we always walk away from them with something positive to say, and keep going back again and again.
Four days after this post-work outing, I found myself back at the Night Markets to try more food, getting my fingers sticky with takoyaki sauce this time. And I found myself there again on the second last night of the festival for year to take photos. Standing on top of the highest point of the Night Markets, I had a bird’s eyes view of it all (gallery below): kids, grown ups in suits, faces of different colours, Cookie Monster. Most of Melbourne had turned out. The warm evening spring sun fell upon us, blanketing us as one. I smiled.
Food festivals: sensory experiences of all the senses, making us feel alive. It’s not just about the food. Going to food festivals, we see a bit more about our culture, and a bit more of the world too.
Do you like going to food festivals?
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Mabel Kwong 
As you can probably tell from my blog that I love going to festivals – Lantern Festivals, Jazz Festivals, Flower Festivals, etc. and usually every festival in Taiwan has a large section dedicated to food. The food is usually priced quite reasonably and more often than not, tastes out of this world. Basically, it is all the famous Taiwanese cuisine within a short walking distance.
However, I have never attended a festival solely dedicated to food like the one you have talked about in this post. Your words paint the perfect description of what it would be like to attend, how it would feel, and the overall vibe of the festival. It must have been awesome to see so many types of food from so many different countries showcased in one area.
BTW, love the lantern and umbrella photos. So pretty!
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Yes! I always got the impression you liked going to cultural festivals (as opposed to music festivals etc. but maybe you do…). I am not surprised Taiwan has sections of festivals dedicated to food as it’s renowned for its street food like Malaysia. Since it’s all within walking distance, it must be hard for you to resist the good food sometimes 🙂
It was great to see Asian chefs manning the hawkers at the food festival I went to. Many of them run high-class so we were being fed five-star cuisine there. Each dish cost $8-$15. Very pricey. But I’ve never seen so many Melburnians turn out for a cultural festival, not even for Lunar New Year celebrations in the city.
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I don’t mind paying a little extra for great quality street food. We enjoyed street food offered from a pretty famous hotel during the Jazz Festival in October. It was the pricier option but it was soooo delicious. Ribs falling off the bone and chicken drumsticks cooked to perfection. And they even offered a plastic glove so you could dig right in and not have to worry about getting dirty!! 🙂
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Ribs falling off the bone…now, I actually won’t mind paying for this kind of food 😀 It’s so generous of the Jazz Festival to offer gloves so your hands won’t get as dirty. The food festival I went too were very skimpy on the paper napkins and tissues. There were taps around but you could tell the handles looked very greasy. I also remember seeing portable toilets side-by-side these taps, and about a couple of metres from some stalls 😀
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Metro Vancouver does have 2 different weekend night markets which include food stalls and other goods that tend to be Asian based. I believe Toronto has 1-2 but I would have to ask my family about what they thought of them.
I haven’t been to Asia yet to try equivalent night food markets. I just find the ones in Vancouver not totally exciting and abit narrow in range of food dishes compared going to a restaurant. You have to realize that Metro Vancouver has a ton of Asian restaurants ranging from fast food/junk to high class. So night markets are more suited for light sampling of certain dishes. http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/Douglas+Todd+Metro+Vancouver+most+Asian+city+outside/9674092/story.html I do plan to write this one day. Because when I went to Hawai’i, to me it felt like Vancouver with palm trees and no snowy mountains… more locals of Asian descent, etc.
I actually think you would really like Vancouver, BC.
However I’ve enjoyed ethnic food festivals where there are some big annual ones in Vancouver and Toronto.
Calgary has only 1 annual food festival –that are food truck based. It’s ok..again the food is not that dynamic. Every summer weekend there are neighbourhood street festivals with food, music, etc. Calgary is less ethnically diverse in huge proportions compared to Vancouver and Toronto.
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Interesting to hear of the night markets in Vancouver on the weekends, and that you don’t find them particularly appetising. It could be because of the few choice of dishes there as you mentioned. It could also be the overall taste, ambience or attitude of the street-food chefs behind the woks. This might be a bit of a naive thought, but I am presuming these night markets are on during the warmer months. I don’t think many would like standing in the cold and snow savouring street food. Maybe I am entirely wrong, I don’t know.
Thanks for sharing that link. I did not know Vancouver is the most Asian city outside of Asia. I might actually share that link on my Twitter, it is a very eye-opening article.
The food festival I talked about in this post actually was a rather high class one: most of the stalls had chefs who run expensive five star gastronomic establishments where you have to queue to get a table on a weeknight. The minimum cost for a dish or small box of food there was $8. Which explains why I didn’t buy that much food there and the lack of food photos.
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Mabel it looks as though you had a marvelous time. Lovely photo gallery and I especially like the one of the umbrellas.
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Yes, I had a great time at the food festival. However the sun was very strong even at 5pm in the evening and I turned a considerable shade darker. I don’t know about you, but I burn easily.
Thank you for looking at my photos. They aren’t as stunning as yours, I have a lot to learn 🙂
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Mabel they were great photos! I too have lots to learn but that is the fun.
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Thank you for the compliment on the photos. It IS hard juggling food and taking photos. I am sure you understand…trying to take photos while you are cycling or rock climbing 😉
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I do enjoy food festivals. But, boy, they sure are different depending on where you live. In Thailand, I feel like they aren’t anything special because we have food stalls at the markets and a lot of places have a weekly “walking street” market where you can find good noshes. So I guess I’m thinking food festival = street food. I take it for granted.
But I do remember at the beginning of Buddhist Lent, there was a vegetarian festival at the mall. And I wished they had that everyday because we found a nice stall with freshly made-to-order food that was healthy.
By the way, how do you eat takoyaki? I always just stuff the whole thing in my mouth because trying to cut it seems impossible with a wooded skewer or tiny plastic fork!
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That is such a good observation about food festivals and where you are living. In Asia street food is literally everywhere. as you mentioned, step outside of your house and the market or hawker centre selling so many varieties of food is a short walk away. When I was in Malaysia, we had this old uncle peddling the ice-cream cones/sandwiches outside – street food to the door step!
I’ve never heard of a vegetarian food festival before like the one you mentioned. It could be a good way to champion healthy eating.
I usually let the takoyaki sit for a while – or else if I pop it straight into my mouth at once, it will burn my tongue. I do try to cut it apart with the paltry utensils I have, though… Maybe you should ask Ray below too.
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I just love food festivals! It is not so much about eating there for me as I somehow never feel too hungry on these events but I love to go around, see how the food is prepared and perhaps try a little samples.
It is just so interesting place to be at and see in few food festivals stands from several different countries and thus get a little glimpse at their culture 🙂
ThenHelsinki Food festivals was a good example of a melting pot of different cultures. I don’t know anymore how many different nations were represented there but it was a lot.
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I can feel your enthusiasm about food festivals! It really isn’t all about eating the food, and there really is only so much we can eat. And it’s not all that healthy for us. Trying little samples is a good way to watch the wallet too. And always fun trying to work out what the chefs are saying in another language.
The Helsinki Food festival sounds like a massive festival, like it serves Italian food to Chinese food to Greek food. I wish Australia had a festival like that.
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I actually meant Restaurant Day in Helsinki. It is a concept which started few years ago there and spread around the world. I do know it is also happening in Australia but I don’t know where and how big it is.
In Helsinki it is a pretty big happening as the main location are filled with people and to find a parking lot in the city is impossible on those days
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I remember you writing about Restaurant Day and they had paella there. I don’t think it’s as big in Australia because I don’t remember hearing too much about it. I don’t know, but I get the feeling food festivals are more popular in Western countries. In Asia, street food is everywhere.
I would imagine it’s hard to find a parking lot in the city during a food festival. People who work there tend to grab those spots first.
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I would just like to add… I LOVE TAKOYAKI.
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Finally. Finally I found a fellow takoyaki lover. Don’t know if this is the case where you live, but it’s hard to find takoyaki in Australia. Especially the kind where the outside skin is not entirely crispy.
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Also I forgot to add, perfect post for this week’s phot challenge.
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Thank you for your nice words. I do try to align my topics with the challenges each week. Its harder than it all looks 🙂
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My original comment seems to have vanished 😦 I’ll try again. I don’t often get to food festivals but I went to the night markets in Melbourne when I was there in July and loved it. The only downside is that there is not enough room to fit in all the yummy morsels.
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I didn’t know there were night markets in Melbourne in winter. I really must have missed it earlier this year. Melbourne has great food so I am sure you enjoyed the food festival here when you went. The food at night markets here aren’t exactly cheap…so maybe your tummy was doing you a favour 🙂
I don’t know what happened to your previous comment, I am so sorry. It isn’t in the spam folder so WordPress must have eaten it up. It happened to me yesterday too as I was commenting on another blog.
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I think the lost comment is just related to posting it while on a train, & I think the night markets were just a special event during the AIDS 2014 conference – very special, but no, not cheap.
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WordPress does funny things sometimes to comments…oh well. Yes, the Night Market was on during the AIDS 2014 conference – I saw the big banner/words beside the Yarra River when I was leaving the Market one night. Sometimes I do think money could be better spent elsewhere than on lavish food.
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It was combined with an HIV awareness raising concert for young people at the markets, so I think it was a good idea to do it. Our overseas visitors loved it.
It’s true people can go over the top with food, and so much is wasted too.
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Oh yes. We really waste a lot of food as a nation. I also think that sometimes we unnecessarily indulge in “good food” a bit too much.
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It looks awesome Mabel. I seldom go to any food festivals, first..too crowded and if there’s any free foods, most Indonesians can hardly keep control (including myself). But surely I won’t eat pork and anything mixed with it (even the chicken or beef if it’s cooked in the same wok after cooking pork) because of my belief.
But the rest, I like it…but once more if I found this festival when I am going abroad, maybe I have to control myself…finding out the vegetarian version. Hahahaha..
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Thanks, Nono. You are so right – too crowded up until the point you can’t move. It seems that people will do almost anything to eat a good dish of food. I am sure Indonesians aren’t that violent. When I visited Jakarta and went to packed shopping districts, people didn’t push too much and lucky no one tried to rob me.
I do think quite a few chefs don’t wash their woks and pans that well after cooking each dish. So as you mentioned, they can get contaminated with foods that you don’t eat, or even worse allergic too. There should be vegetarian options at food festivals, quite commonsense since many of us choose not to eat meat. Something for everyone.
I haven’t heard of any famous food festivals in Indonesia before.
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Actually there are some food festivals here, such as Bango food festival which is held in various cities and sponsored by a famous soysauce trademark.
Despite of hygienic concerns, we have been resistant of all contamining stuffs..hehehe
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I just googled Bango food festival. Wow, it is big. This festival definitely showcases many cuisines to Indonesian culture. And now I know Bango is a famous soy sauce. It seems to sell all the delicious food like satay (or sate in Indonesian) and lontong. And nasi goreng gila – I’ve never heard of that, what’s that 😀
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Nasi goreng gila means crazy fried rice. I’ll tell you later in my next article.
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So I am right. It does mean crazy fried rice. But, I don’t think you become crazy when you eat it. Maybe it’s called that because there are many, many ingredients in it. I don’t see it in your next article?
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I haven’t written it yet anyway. I have just shared two articles for the day. I hope…tomorrow or…day afterwards
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Great. I look forward to your crazy fried rice post. I am sure it will be soon. Can hardly wait!
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Just wait then 🙂
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Let me know when it’s up. You should do more food posts!
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I think so mabel 🙂
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I love any food, but…not the one prohibited in my beliefs. I’d rather go to vegetarian or kosher ones, hehehe.
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I totally get you. Food is entwined with cultural beliefs, and growing up I had a lot of friends who couldn’t eat certain foods because of their beliefs.
I am not surprised you like eating food, Bambang. After all, you are from Indonesia and I remember seeing a lot of street food there and the locals love this. I wish I had tried martabak manis. Missed out!
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And I am sure you’ve found many chinese food stalls as well. But my Chinese colleagues said Indonesian Chinese food has been very different and diverse in taste even they don’t know Nanking Chicken….it’s only found in Semarang. Hehe….
Martabak manis? i love it much. In my hometown we call it Terang Bulan as its moon shaped. Malaysian calls it Apam Balik. But we have more various filling than Malaysians.
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Nanking Chicken, yummy. Indo Chinese food very diverse? I always thought Bakmi mee was Indo Chinese food and it was THE dish they ate, like the national dish…
Really? Martabak manis is called Apam Balik? This name I’ve never heard of in Malaysia but googling it I see “peanut pancake”. And I remember eating and loving that when I lived in Malaysia! Always served piping hot
But I’m sure this tastes different from the Indo martabak manis.
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Yes mabel, and the fillings are also diverse. It ranges from choco, peanut, cheese to shredded coconut and black glutinuous rice.
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Oh no. Now you’ve got me wanting to eat Apam Balik-Murtabak Manis. I used to eat this peanut pancake in Malaysia and Singapore all the time. Only $5 per piece. Never heard of the cheese one, though 😀
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The cheapest one is with cooked mungbean you see. Hehehehehe…
Sometimes with jam, depends on the preference. But on the foodstalls, the favourites are chocolate+peanuts or sesame+peanuts or cheese+milk, and more.
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There seems to be so many choices for murtabak manis in Indonesia. I am so jealous. I would love to try the sesame-peanuts one, but maybe not the jelly one as I find a lot of jellies tend to be overly sweet.
Now speaking of jellies, I’m now thinking of agar-agar.
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Hahaha…I prefer agar2 to jelly. It’s flavourless and we can add anything we want.
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I love agar-agar too…but I like the flavoured and coloured ones! So easy to make from packet mix and always a favourite at food festivals.
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Slurpy….let me have some
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They are enjoyable if authentic – the Australian one are often touch-and-go. Nice photos.
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Australian food festivals not that authentic? There tends to be a lot of crispy food and sweet and sour sauces at food festivals – probably to suit Western palates. Maybe there aren’t that many food festivals up in Sydney. Thank you for the nice words on my photos, really appreciate it, BB.
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Ohh I am a foodie, so I would love to go to a food festival!!! I have never been to one, and I dont think there is one here in Germany, at least not that I know of. But I guess the Christmas Markets are a big of a food and drink festival.. there are soooo many things you can try there, I looove it!!
I love trying new food too, so probably that would be my main reason for loving a food festival!!
Very yummy post… now I have to cook lunch for me because I am really hungry 😀
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Allane is a foodie! I knew that from your burger posts on your blog 😀 But I can’t believe you haven’t been to many food festivals! That Christmas Market sounds exciting…I’m thinking they have chocolates, biscuits, sausages, all the yummy junk foods you can think of.
I am lucky I don’t have allergies, so I love trying new food too, but I draw the line at eating insects. It’s something I don’t think I’ll stomach too well. Is there anything you will not eat?
Yummy post? You really looove it!!! 😀 I hope you had a good lunch ❤
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hhahaha yes I am a foodie 😀 😀
Ohh yes, Christmas Markets are paradise!! There are so many things to try… sweets, sour, salty!! From potatoes to apples with chocolate!!
No having food allergy is greaaat! I do have only against pineapple, but I dont like it anwyays so I dont mind 😀
And I definitely don’t want to eat insects either… ewww!!!
Yes I looooved your post!! 😀 But my lunch wasn’t as good as your food from te pictures! 😀
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Out of curiosity, which is your favourite flavour? Sweet, sour, salty or bitter? I am thinking: at Christmas markets there are a lot of sweets as you mentioned. At the food festival I went too, there were many sweet and savoury foods, something for everyone 😀
Oh no, you can’t eat pineapple and you don’t mind. I am the kind who likes pineapple on pizza…you must hate me now 😉 By the way, I love mushroom pizza.
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For me it really depends… I love sweets, but not too sweet. I loove salty food too, and sometimes sour things like anything with lemon for example 😀 but I dont like bitter or spicy food.
Here at the Christmas Markets there a lot of sweets, but there are also salty things, potatoes in every way (of course haha), burgers, pizza, salsages, bread with cheese ham and so on, like a bruschetta and even soup 😀 so there are lots of options!
hhaha nooo I dont hate you, I understand people have different taste hahaa… my hubby loves pineapple and he even buys sometimes.
Ohhhh I also love mushroom pizza, especially when the mushroom is fresh 😀
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You looove sweet and salty food. You are a true foodie then! You are like me, don’t like spicy food. To me, the spiciness takes away the taste of the food, and I need to drink water to cool my tongue down – which means I will get full faster and can’t eat a lot 😀
Mushroom pizza. We can be best friends 😀
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Same here!!! I totally agree with you that spiciness takes away the taste of the food… and when I eat I always drink a lots of water so it goes away hahah I dont like that.
Yesss best friends, this is my favorite pizza 😀
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I don’t mind mild spicy but a lot of the food festivals I’ve been to, the chilli is very spicy! Just my luck, perhaps. One of the few spicy foods I like is pepperoni…on pizza. We have so much in common 😀
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Ohh thats ok, I wish I liked a little, because here in Germany many people love spicy food… my husband is one of them, he loves it!
Pepperoni on pizza sounds delicious 😀
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Pepperoni is awesome. But so expensive 😀
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Ohh really? I didnt know it was that expensive there. He its ok, and in Brazil its even cheaper 😀
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I don’t think I’ve ever been to a food festival with foods from different parts of the world! I would love to go… but I would just eat a little bit of each thing so I could try everything 😀
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It is interesting to hear you haven’t been to such a diverse food festival. From the other comments, it seems that food festivals like these are more common in Western countries. I am sure China has plenty of food festivals, though, just that I’ve never heard of them.
You might want to go with a big group of friends to a group festival. That way you don’t have to spend too much on food and get to try more dishes on offer 🙂
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I don’t think we have food festivals in the U.S. We do have fairs were there is sure to be a variety of food but it isn’t centered around one culture. This would be a wonderful experience to have. Maybe we’ll get with the program here eventually.
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Fairs is something we don’t have too many of in Australia. There is a fair called the Royal Melbourne Show every year here but the food is disappointing – sausages and cheeses, very Western Australian food.
From what I’ve read about and seen in movies, there are things like fried donuts, fried chocolate and even kebabs at the fairs in America. It’s something I’d like to experience someday, though I am guessing the food there at the fairs isn’t cheap.
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Yum! Those chicken and pork skewers look really tasty. I haven’t been to a food festival in a very long time, but we’ve been out for dinner with friends a lot lately, and each meal was like a celebration of food. 🙂
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Those chicken and pork skewers were very saucy, I think that was what gave them taste. That is great to hear you are enjoying food of late with good company. The more people you eat with, the more dishes you can order and share and try new dishes.
“each meal…a celebration of food”. Love how you say that 🙂
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This is such a fun, delicious, celebrating post, Mabel! I really like these photos. I agree with all the reasons of loving food festivals that you mentioned here, but I have never given a thought about why we want to go; this explains 🙂
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“…fun delicious, celebrating post”. You give the best compliments, Amy. I am sure you love food festivals too. Always good to slow down and think about eating and meals – you never know if you’ll get to eat that dish again. I am sure the States has good food too (I haven’t eaten American food much).
Thank you for the nice words on my photo too. I am very humbled to receive that comment from you 🙂
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Looks like it wonderful food festival! I love food festival too – especially the international one – it is a chance to try out different food from many regions! Great photos Mabel!
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It was a wonderful food festival, Indah. Come to think of it, I don’t think I saw any Indonesian food, what a pity. I really love bakmi and martabak manis but I couldn’t find them 😀 I am sure you’ve been to many food festivals before, coming from Indonesia and all!
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Mmm that takoyaki looks delish! I love food festivals too. This was the first one I’ve ever been to:
http://itsjpei.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/brooklyn-smorgasburg/
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Thanks for sharing your first food festival you’ve been to. Opened aired with lots of ventilation, just like the one I went too. Ramen burger! We had that too at this festival I went too. Maybe it’s very popular with Asians and Westerners like. I’ve never tried it, I wonder if the ramen is crunchy or soft. I wish it was crunchy 😉
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It’s actually kind of soft
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Oh. Soft ramen cake on ramen burger. Makes sense, though, since if it’s hard and crunchy that would be a messier meal than it already is 😀 Gosh, I really want to try it now!
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Mabel! How come I haven’t been following you??? You have such a lovely blog. Your pictures are so wonderful. I love the lantern one especially. 🙂
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I don’t know, I always thought you did 😀 Thank you for the nice words. I’m glad you like the photos. Hope you enjoyed the food festival I brought to you – the food, the decorations, colours and sounds 🙂
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I thought I was too! Well glad I figured it out. 🙂
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Hope to see you around soon. And I will pop by your blog soon. You really should do more food posts 😀
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i really liked the photos and content. regards http://YourWellWisherProgram.wordpress.com
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Thanks for the nice words. You have a cool blog. I’ll pop over and have a look!
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One thing I like about living in New York is that you can find a whole host of different restaurants and festivals in neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little Italy or Harlem that serve food of different cultures like Chinese, Caribbean, Italian, Greek, Indian, African, Polish and more, so there are always a lot of different choices you can make.
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Sounds like there’s a lot of places to choose from for breakfast, lunch and dinner in New York. Very multicultural city, and I’m guessing when there’s a (food) festival on, it will draw a crowd. We do have lots of cuisine in Melbourne too and all the dishes are competitively priced, around $10-$15 per meal.
Always lovely to see you stop by, Domenico. I just realised you wrote your comment in one long sentence punctuated very well with commas. It reads very well too. Well done 😀
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Oops. It was early in the morning so I didn’t realize I typed it as one sentence.
New York has long had a history of different ethicities who have left their impression on the city. Places like the ones I mentioned are historic neighborhoods.
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I was very impressed with that one long sentence 😀 Sounds like New York has been a diverse city for a long time, hence all the different cuisines everywhere as you mentioned.
Maybe New York has food festivals more often than in Australia. In Melbourne there are cultural festivals (with food) in the city around once a month. But the large scale ones like I mentioned in this post, rarely.
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Food festivals is always the most cherished activities we can share with each other without considering about religions, regions or nations. People are happy when their stomachs are full of delicious food. I must say the world will be a better place if we could all sit down by a round table with all the magnificent dishes around the globe on top of it.
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That is such a beautiful comment. A very quotable one too
You are right. We feel more positive after eating; food is indeed fuel for the body physical, and soul emotionally. I hope there are food festivals in Vietnam. Then again, street food is everywhere there like other Asian cities, so maybe you feel like you’re going to a food festival every day 🙂
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We do have several food festivals here but not as large as the one you shared. However, people in HCM city always find themself between many choices of street food and food shops along their ways ❤
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I see. It seems that HCM doesn’t need a food festival since food is everywhere. But nevertheless I’m sure the food festivals there do bring back long-lost, forgotten childhood foods. Although small, they should bring good friendly vibes too 🙂
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Actually, I’m often come to food websites in Vietnam. They have a long list of what are delicious and where to find them ❤
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You sound like a foodie. One day when I come to Vietnam you have to take me around to the best food spots and food festivals there. Sure, I want to taste pho, but of course other Vietnamese cuisine too 🙂
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We have a group of foodies here 🙂 Welcome to Ho Chi Minh city, we’d like you to join us in a street food tour ❤
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Thank you, that is so kind of your foodie group. Always pays to go to food festivals in a group – we can pinch each other’s foods 😀
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❤ That's the point 🙂
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Thank you. Such a generous group of foodies 🙂 ❤
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I turned green reading this post. Why? Out of JEALOUSY! You are so lucky to have this opportunity for a wonderful variety of food right in your city! Takoyaki! Fried chicken (from any nation, doesn’t matter, all great). Noodles of any and every kind. Also all great! I especially love Asian food, and that is very hard to come by here, in a small town, away from any big metropolitan city. So I live on memories mostly, the few things I can make myself, and — on blog reports like yours, with wonderful photos and wonderful prose to whet my already keen appetite. Thanks!
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Oh no, I am so sorry to hear you turned green with envy reading my food festival post. It’s so hard not to try what each other is eating 😉 But I am glad that you find this post eye-opening.
I do hope you get to eat your favourite Asian food when you make a trip to a different town. And when you do I am sure you won’t forget the dining experience. We do have many kinds of food in Melbourne, but it is not cheap at all (think $9-$10 a plate is the average price). Which is why I mostly eat at home.
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Food festivals are more than food, yes you are right it presents and representation multiple facets of the culture and traditions of the region…I have gone to few street food festivals and it does goes beyond the food, it shares the history behind the dishes, how it originated and which place it belongs…
Also food is region and location specific, primary because the weather in terms of temperature it matters what food goes well the people of that place, in a cold region they prefer hot food and in a hot region they prefer less spicy stuff, but there are exception to choices of food…
It is not about the taste of food in such festivals, it is able enjoying and soaking the festive food and eating food is conatiguous…once we see others loving it we also start loving it, yes the long queue drives us to go there though it is painful process but there is no gain without pain…love the pictures you have managed to captured…we can try our hands in food photography it is wonderful experience…great post!!!
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That is a good point – that food is location specific. I’ll add that though I really enjoyed the food I ate at this food festival, what I ate (takoyaki/octopus balls, chicken skewers) did not taste the same as they do in Singapore. The texture of meat and other ingredients are different in different parts of the world, and maybe climate has something to do with this.
At this food festival I went to there weren’t any workshops or signs explaining the histories and origins of the dishes. A bit of a pity but everyone still seemed to enjoy themselves.
“…eating food is contagious”. Very good observation. Maybe it’s because love makes the world go round, as cheesy as it sounds. I hope you had a great time too at the food festivals you’ve been too. I don’t know if they have many food festivals in every country. In many Asian countries, food especially street food everywhere.
You wrote a very beautiful comment. So much warmth and excitement about cultures within it.
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simply because it’s cheap, big portion and mostly delicious and comforting food…
plus the tasting sample can stuffed your tummy well too
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Lol Dedy, you always say the most obvious things that so very true! The food is almost always yummy. But there were no samples at all at this food festival I went to. Either you paid $8-$15 for a small portion or eat nothing at all!
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Food festivals are the best…either you get introduced to new tastes/cultures or get to relive memories of the flavors forgotten 🙂 I’m with you, I think they are great and a perfect way to spend a day. It is never about the food, but about the experience and learning ~ great post Mabel.
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Agree with you that food festivals we get to enjoy the tastes of the past and the present. But I really wouldn’t want to spend an entire day at one – too many new faces and names to remember, not to mention a lot of damage to the wallet. Hope are are doing good, Randall 🙂
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I already loved food festivals! I haven’t visited any in my country, but when I was once in Italy I lived an unforgettable experience in one of them, and thanks to it I’ve learned all my delicious pasta dishes! (http://lazypenguins.com/10-award-winning-pasta-that-everyone-can-prepare/ )
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That is a great post on pastas, so many different varieties. Food festival in Italy? How lucky of you to try so many different kinds of pasta. And maybe even pizza, meatballs, lasagne… I am sure you’re an expert on Italian cuisine now 😀
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You definitely had my mouth watering on this one Mabel. How lucky you are to be nearby such wonderful options! We have nothing like this in my area – the closest we get is a farmers’ market on summer Saturdays. but whenever we travel we seek the food markets because they’re such a treat! Thanks for sharing.
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The farmers’ market actually sounds exciting. I bet there’s lots of fresh produce and cheese there – healthy food options. I don’t go to these too often, usually because they are a bit far from where I am and it’s expensive…well, everything in Australia is anyway. I hope you get to experience a food festival sometime. Thanks for dropping by, Tina 🙂
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Have a beautiful week. Greetings from Warsow
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Thank you, Marko. Always nice to see you pop by. I hope you’re enjoying the season, with good food and company 🙂
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Who doesn’t love going to food festivals?!?! I especially enjoyed the ones in Japan. And your picture of takoyaki has now made me hungry for Japanese fast food :). I miss it.
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I actually have never met anyone who doesn’t like going to food festivals! So you are probably right. Japanese fast food? That sounds interesting, and I’m sure you’re not referring to sushi 😀 Takoyaki must be everywhere there. Personally I like it soft-skinned, but many of them in Australia have a crispy skin!
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Japanese fast food like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, ramen and other street food. Yummy!
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You sure know your Japanese street food. And those are food that tend to be very saucy – a bit too much sometimes but still yummy!
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I’ve been to some food festivals, Mabel… for all the reasons you have highlighted. But for some reason, the crowds and the jostling and the average fare that gets sold due to the marketing hype, has mostly lead to disappointments.
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You are so right to admit that sometimes food festivals dish up average fare. I’ve been to food festivals where it is obvious that they cook in bulk, like when you see a big pot of noodles on sale at the front. Nevertheless, each food festival is different and has it’s own distinctive cultural atmosphere. Flavour 😉
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I love food festivals, but I dislike the crowds. I been permanently cured for crowds since visiting India.
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Ah, the crowds in India. I’ve always wondered what it’s like to travel on a peak hour train in India. I would like to try it, but I hear it’s not safe for women to do so.
I tend to go early to food festivals to avoid the crowds. Always a more pleasant experience.
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I agree. I went on a farmers market last weekend and bought a piece of deer and a piece of reindeer that we’ll have for the holidays.
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I love deer. I ate that a lot while living in Singapore. They don’t serve deer meet that much in Australia. Reindeer? I don’t think we even have that here 🙂
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No, they only live in the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic areas of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. If it’s possible at all to get it somewhere in Australia, you can only get frozen meat and it’s not the same…
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Frozen deer kept for a while…I think I’ll pass.
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Mabel,
I am a foodie and just love trying different kinds of food 🙂
When in Bangalore, we had quite a number of options to try out food from across the globe.
There is a food street in Bangalore where we could try out different types of snacks from across India.
But, now in my native, options are limited but but our very own Kerala style is so diverse.
Being a coastal place, we have so many sea food dishes, meats of all kinds and of course veg. items.
Now, after seeing the photos and reading your post, I need to take a small break and have my evening snacks 🙂
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A foodie you are, Sreejith! I haven’t eaten much Indian food in my life. A lot of it here in Australia comes with chilli or is heavily spiced. But I am sure Indian food is more diverse than this 🙂
You must get a lot of friend prawns and squid in Kerala since you’re by the sea. I hope your usual evening snacks are more healthier than this 🙂
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you know what… I have been to a food festival only once in my life… last year in Serbia, it was a festival of their famous meat products… there were sooo many people, it was so busy and crowded, I didn’t enjoy it much… and I didn’t make any pictures too… but after reading your post here I may try to go again this year 🙂 🙂 thanks for the great pictures and wonderful motivation, Mabel… 🙂 xx
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That is so interesting to hear. I thought everybody went to food festivals (because food is everywhere), it’s not really the case. A meat festival, sounds delicious.
I don’t blame you for not taking photos. The crowd would have knocked the camera from you hands 😀 Let me know if you do go again ❤
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We do get food festivals here in the UK but, as yet, I’ve never been to one, Mabel. After reading your post, maybe I should go?
I’m not sure what has stopped me going in the past, maybe finding the time, or the thought of all those people and long queues at each stall? When the summer comes back to the UK and the food festivals are back, I’ll take a trip to one that is held here on the seafront in Brighton and Hove and take some photos and write a post about it. You’ve inspired me to do just that.
Your photos are very good and it certainly looked like you had a great time.
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I highly recommend you go to a food festival, Hugh! And I’m sure it will make for a marvelous blog post. Do take care if you go in the summer – chances are the sun might be shining down on you and it will be burning hot. Go early, and the queues might be less.
Thank you for the nice words on my photos. I was using one of my new cameras and yes, the atmosphere at the food festival was great and so fun 🙂
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Oh, I always, always, have a factor 50 sunscreen on in Spring, Summer and early Autumn, Mabel, even the sun is not out. Being fair skinned, I need it. And yes, I’ll go early to avoid the queues (I hate queues) and get back to write the post fresh in my mind. Thanks for the tip. 🙂
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Very wise of you to have sunscreen on all the time. Definitely slap a lot of it on when you go out to food festivals in the summer. Who knows, you may get stuck in a queue under the sun even if you go early. You never know 🙂
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Food festivals are the BEST! 😀
They have them weekly starting in spring up until autumn at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. I do feel a bit spoiled! One week there’s Brazilian food, the following week it’s Thai food… mmm. It’s great! ❤
Loved your pics as well! 🙂
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Thank you, Ri. I agree food festivals are the best! Spring is coming up in Tokyo, an I have a feeling you will be going out more to enjoy the food the city has to offer. You won’t be able to stop eating when you go out, and when you get home. You won’t have room for ramen 😀
I don’t know how I missed this comment. It’s late on a Friday night and I’m stuck writing a blog post, so I decided to look through my previous posts ❤
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How simple things in life can be so beautiful. Great pictures!
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Thank you!
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haha.. This was the same feeling I had every time when I visit the Night Markets in Taiwan. So many food to choose but only a limited space in my stomach. so how? haha…
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Only so much space in our stomachs and only so much monies we have in our pockets. So when we go to food festivals we usually have no choice but to be sensible. Healthy body, happy life.
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Very true!! Guess also when one gets older, one has to be careful too not to overeat or over indulge with too much food as the stomach may not be able handle the stress when it was ‘younger’ =P
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