Snapshots from the National Multicultural Festival 2013 - Canberra

I loooove the Multicultural Festival (one of the best things about Canberra!) and basically spend my whole weekend there every time it comes around. This year was no different...

Friday night

A friend introduced me to 'Otai' (a refreshing Tongan drink with coconut cream/milk, pineapple pieces, watermelon pieces, sugar and water) ($5 per cup) at last year's Multicultural Festival. It was so good that I had to have it again this year!!

We had never tried Yemen food before so decided to give it a go! (despite the massive queues)

After much deliberation, I settled on the 'Yaman Style' ($10) - Mellawach rolled with puree tomato (it was actually more like a tomato salsa), boiled free range egg, fetta and ricotta cheese, olive oil, zatar (mixed herbs and sesame seeds), zhug (mix of coriander, chilli, garlic, olive oil, spices).

The crunchy and flaky roti-like pastry went so well with the delicious fillings. It was a match made in heaven.

We also decided to share a 'Yaman Super Sweet' ($12) - Mellawach rolled with banana, caramel, chocolate and coconut flakes...

 

It was finger-lickingly good. Napkins highly recommended!

Being allergic to coriander, my friend got a 'Mellawach Plate' ($13) - Mellawach stuffed with spinach, fetta and ricotta cheese, olive oil and zatar. Served with puree tomato, zhug and boiled free range egg on the side.

Below is a snap taken while we were enjoying some live music. I didn't blink an eyelid when the mother hoisted her son up onto her shoulders (so he could watch the band playing). But I was amazed when the dad swiftly did the same thing!

Saturday afternoon

Incredibly flavoursome German sausage ($7) from the WunderBar stand...

And from the stand next door, we sampled the Turkish Gozleme ($10) (hand-rolled pastry filled with mince meat, spinach and feta cheese, cooked over a griddle)...

Sunday afternoon

Couldn't go past the Kransky on a stick ($5). I didn't manage to get a photo of it, but the Vienna sausage with mustard ($5) was fantastic too.

I had a bit of a sweet craving and had been scouring the whole festival for the Polish stand to get a paczki. But alas, they must have sold out and packed off.

But then I came across a Turkish dessert stand and locked eyes on these...

Very similar to the Greek 'loukoumades', the Turkish 'lokma' are also balls of deep fried dough soaked in honey syrup. When you bite into these bite-sized morsels, honey syrup will explode in your mouth!

Who else is already counting down the days for next year's festival?!