The August long weekend marks the annual
Heritage Festival, a time for cultures to come together to celebrate with music, dance, crafts, and - most of all - food! I got started at Hungary with langos, the famous fried dough treat that I am never able to finish. It is like an Elephant Ear, but thicker.
Afghanistan always has the best kebabs in the park, as far as I am concerned. Two long skewers of seasons ground beef with grilled tomatoes and peppers - I ended up going back for more later!
My other favourite festival dish also comes from Afghanistan: bolani. The crispy, spicy bolani reminds me of a cross between a crepe, potato pancake, and green onion cake. The side of yoghurt dip cools it down and elevates the flavour. Any suggestions on restaurants in Edmonton that serves Afghanistan cuisine?
From Egypt, I had a falafel wrap. It wasn't dry, or too spicy, and the sauce had a good flavour. It was a little small, but I had no regrets.
Cameroon is the newest addition to the countries featured at the Heritage Festival, and I tried their puff puff and fried plantain. The latter is a common item at many of the African pavilions. The plantain was cooked tender and caramelized, with a flavour that alternates between starchy and sweet. Puff puff is like a big doughnut hole, except chewier and with a sort of syrupy flavour. Very pleasant for my sweet tooth.
What can you get for one food ticket? A single doughnut from Kenya! The small triangle was crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and had a bit of a spice to it.
Chile won the honour of having the best food of the festival, according to the judges. The meat empanada is second to none, for sure: a huge dough-filled extravaganza of beef, spices, hard boiled egg, and black olive. It is unique and very filling.
I always bring water with me to festivals as I don't like to spend money on drinks, but the orange/pineapple/banana juice slush from Ecuador was a refreshing way to end my visit. It tasted tropical and it was cold. Enough said.
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