Heritage Festival 2014

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.

Latin Fest 2011: Beef Empanada

Latin Fest 2011, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I was writing a preview of the second annual Edmonton Latin Festival for a local magazine, when the organizer I was speaking with told me that her mother owned Roma Bistro and that her empanadas always steal the show, whether it is ast Latin Fest or Taste of Edmonton. I attended the second day of the weekend festival and decided to try it out for myself.

The fact there was a huge lineup at the Roma Bistro food stand indicated a good sign. That, and there was not much else in the way of food other than ice cream and treats. However, when the lineup thinned out later in the afternoon I grabbed the opportunity to try a beef empanada.

The crust was corn-based and much lighter and crispier than other empanadas I have had. Inside was a huge amount of pulled beef mixed with seasonings like onions and a hint of cilantro. I was left wanting more, but it looks like I am going to have to head to Roma Bistro to have my cravings satisfied!