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.

Heritage Festival 2012: Non-Alcohol Beer at Germany

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I was down to my last six tickets, it was getting hot (again), and I wanted something to drink. As the oompah band was getting ready on the stage at Germany, I got myself a non-alcoholic beer. Krombacher is a popular German brand. It was quite smooth, with a slightly sweet finish. I particularly enjoyed the looks I got when I wandered away from the German pavilion, drinking my "beer." Oh, Heritage Festival, how I love you.

Heritage Festival 2012: Chulent (Cholent) at Israel

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

For the first time in living memory, Israel had a meat dish on its menu. Cholent (or, "chulent" as it was spelled in the festival menu) is a slowly simmered stew of meat, beans, barley, carrots, and potatoes that is traditionally eaten on the Sabbath (in a pot left on the stove that is turned on before the Sabbath begins, as cooking on the Sabbath is verboten if you are an observant Jew).

Anyways, this was the biggest surprise of the weekend for me. The cholent was beyond excellent. It was rich and full of all of its ingredients (although it could have used a bit more meat - which, by the way, was kosher, thus satisfying my Orthodox Jewish baggage), with a slice of ciabatta bun to catch those last few, tomato-based drops of the stew.

A vegetarian version was also available.

Heritage Festival 2012: Beef Kebab and Plantain

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I was intrigued by the delicious smells of grilled meat coming from the Afrika OYI pavilion, and saw the skewers being cooked on open grills. I also saw a lineup that was long, but manageable. I originally was only going to have a beef kebab, which featured seasoned chunks of meat for six tickets - a bit pricey for only one skewer, but very robust in flavour.

When I saw the caramelized plantain, I found myself craving some as well. So, for an additional six tickets I had a generous scoop of the banana-like fruit, which was cooked to a golden brown crust. The plantain was at once crispy, chewy, sweet, and savoury, depending on where I bit in. Definitely one of the highlights of the weekend's food.

Heritage Festival 2012: Langos at Hungary

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Oh, how sweet it is! It isn't the Heritage Festival for me until there is icing sugar all over my camera. I was able to get to the Hungary pavilion before the line up got too crazy to grab a coveted langos for four tickets. Think of a large elephant's ear, but thicker, with lots of icing sugar. I probably got my week's worth of fart and calories with this deep fried treat, but it was so worth it.

Heritage Festival 2012: Cornish Pastie

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

The Cornish Pastie, found at England's tent, was one of my favourites from last year. It reminded me of a beef pot pie, with lots of liquid, veggies, and bits of meat.

This year's version is radically different, and quite disappointing. The ground meat is almost absorbed by the amount of dough within, which is dry. There are a few vegetables here and there. The look and texture of the pastie was not very appetizing. It was grey, and, to put it in English terms, quite stodgy.

Heritage Festival 2012: Beef Kebabs at Afghanistan

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

My favourite meat dish at the Heritage Festival is still the kebabs at Afghanistan. I love the grilled veggies, and the meat is cooked well and still juicy, with just enough kick. It is not cheap at eight tickets, but you do get two skewers.

Heritage Festival 2012: Lime Slush at Indonesia

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Indonesia's selection of fruit slushes saved the day. As the temperature went up, so did our thirst. At only four tickets, these slushes really hit the spot. My "Liplock Lime" was just tart enough. Other flavours included Strawberry Daquiri, Pina Colada, and Orange Mango.

Heritage Festival 2012: Poffertjes

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

They are small, buttery pancakes covered in icing sugar served at the Dutch pavilion. Can't really go wrong here.

Heritage Festival 2012: Bolani

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Afghanistan's Bolani is still my favourite non-meat dish at the Heritage Festival. If a green onion cake married a potato pancake, this would be the result. It's a chewy, flavourful adventure and the creamy dip is so refreshing.

Heritage Festival 2012: Sweet and Sour Chicken

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I don't usually go for food at the Chinese pavilion at the Heritage Festival, because I eat so much of it in my day to day life. However, my companion was absolutely hungry for the sweet and sour chicken.

Fried, dry bits of chicken with some generic sweet and sour sauce poured over it. He was not impressed with the flavour or texture. At seven tickets, the portion was along the lines of Asian chicken dishes we had at Taste of Edmonton. We considered this dish a fail.

Heritage Festival 2012: Apple Strudel at Germany

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Small, but incredibly sweet and full of apple flavour. This is four tickets' worth of apple heaven. The pastry is flaky and covered in hard icing, while the apple filling is quite rich.

Heritage Festival 2012: Beef Kebab at Bangladesh

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Bangladesh's beef kebab is a long strip of spicy, ground beef on top of a pita with some vegetables. It is quite hot, and also dry. My friend mentioned that some kind of a sauce would have made a difference. Also, at eight tickets, it is rather pricey. Tasty, but pricey.

Heritage Festival 2012: Mango on a Stick

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I have always coveted the mango on a stick, seeing people walking around the Heritage Festival devouring the juicy goodness. So, while on line to get a beef kebab at the Bangladesh tent, I decided to get a mango as well.

Unfortunately, it was hard and inedible. The consistency and colour was like an apple. It was not the deep yellow, sweet, juicy goodness I was expecting. Total waste of four tickets.

Heritage Festival 2011 #11 - Caucara Con Papas

Heritage Festival 2011, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

This is another Heritage Festival staple for me. Available at Ecuador for seven tickets, it is a huge, deep platter of strips of spiced beef, cilantro/onion salad, and sliced potatoes. The potatoes are in an oily dressing and could have been a bit crisper, but this is still one of the best values in the park. Two people can easily share.

Heritage Festival 2011 #10 - Sno Cone

Heritage Festival 2011, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I don't know what is Irish about a sno cone, but I am glad it was available and only two tickets. It was a perfect, sweet, cold soother on a very hot afternoon. Cherry is my favourite flavour.

Heritage Festival 2011 #9 - Papa Rellena

Heritage Festival 2011, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Although it cost more tickets than advertised in the Heritage Festival program, I decided to head to Peru and try Papa Rellena. A large ball of mashed potatoes was lightly fried and filled with (besides the potato) ground beef, hard boiled egg, and a black olive. It was almost like an empanada, but in potato rather than dough. I loved the texture of the potato, and the flavours mixed well.

Heritage Festival 2011 #8 - Poffertjes

Heritage Festival 2011, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

It is pronounced "pofferties" and is as fun to eat as to say. They are small, pancake-like pastries with a hint of butter, covered in icing sugar. These poffertjes were light and fluffy and available at the Dutch pavilion. I love pancakes, so there was really nothing not to like about these.

Heritage Festival 2011 #7 - More Kebabs

Heritage Festival 2011, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Sometimes the Heritage Festival is referred to as the "Meat on a Stick Festival" because of all the grilled choices at many of the pavilions. These kebabs were from Iraq. The meat was nicely marinated and quite juicy. I could have taken or left the salad - the meat was the star of this stick.

Heritage Festival 2011 #6 - Bolani

Heritage Festival 2011, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Bolani was one of the first things I ate when I started attending the Heritage Festival some years back. It is from Afghanistan and is a crispy, pan-friend dough filled with mashed potatoes and green onions. The creamy cucumber dip adds a just the right coolness. The different tastes and textures, plus the ample size, makes this a Heritage Festival favourite.