Written by: Aiman Javed
Posted on: February 13, 2019 | 
| 中文
(L-R) Lebanese Platter with Falafel, Fatayer, Kibbeh and Safiha Baalbaki
The two-day long Asian Food Festival organized by One World – One Food, kicked off at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Islamabad on Saturday, 9th February, 2019. The festival intended to celebrate the cuisine of 9 different countries including India, Kazakhastan, Lebanon, China, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. On Sunday afternoon, after purchasing the ticket for Rs. 250, we entered the PNCA grounds to find out what was on the menu. At 1 pm, there were barely any visitors, though families did begin streaming in around 3 pm.
We started off our culinary adventures with the Lebanese cuisine at the Arz Lebanon stall. Their platter of four snacks for PKR 300 was on the pricey side, but delivered on taste. The Falafel, shaped like a little doughnut, was perfectly crisp on the outside, with the right balance of the seven spices inside. The Fatayer, a triangular pie with a filling of spinach and onions, was surprisingly delicious despite a very light seasoning of salt. The Safiha Baalbaki was a square meat pie, with a filling similar to our local Kofta, though only mildly spicy. My favourite out of the four, however, was the Kibbeh, which had a texture similar to a Kebab. It consisted of bulghur (a wheat cereal), lamb meat, pine nuts and onions minced together and deep fried. The pine nuts gave it a kick that made it truly delicious.
Next, we headed to the Chinese stall, where freshly fried Baouzi and Dumplings were being served. The China Cultural Centre had taken the opportunity to also display quite a few creative cultural products, such as paper crafts, vases and key chains. For a mere Rs. 200, we tried out three different snacks. The Baouzi, a bread dumpling with a beef and chicken filling, quickly melted in the mouth. The rice filled traditional dumpling, was a little too bland for our South Asian taste buds. The biscuits with dried grapes had a crumbly texture, and a very well balanced sweetness, so they were our favourite item from the Chinese stall.
The Tajikistan stall, set up by the embassy, was being managed by some young Tajik children and their mothers. Though the pilaf they had looked quite tempting, we decided to try more items by buying three snacks for Rs. 200. Of these, the Belyashi was a deep fried pastry pocket filled with mincemeat and onions, while the Pirozhki had a filling of mashed potatoes, cheese and green onions. The Belyashi could have been spicier, but the Pirozhki gave us a warm homely feeling. The third snack was a biscuit, topped with a mild sauce made of dates.
After a little rest and a walk around the venue, we decided that our next stop would be Turkish food. The Istanbul Restaurant was managing the stall, and with little space left in our stomachs, we only tried the desserts. For Rs. 100, we tried the Cypriot Coconut Cake, which consisted of a sickly sweet sponge, with the pleasing topping of coconut flakes. In contrast, the Kunefe had a well-balanced sweetness, with the semolina cake cooked right in front of us. With crushed pistachios sprinkled on top, the warm dessert was crispy at the top and bottom, while the soft middle pulling away in strings when sliced.
Since we really wanted to try the Iranian food, we got the Jujeh Kabab and Zereshk Pulou packed for later. The Irani stall was also being managed by their embassy representatives. The Jujeh Kabab consisted of grilled chicken chunks, with a side of grilled tomato. The Pulou consisted of long white rice infused with saffron, and peppered with pomegranate seeds. The chicken was tender and made for a wholesome traditional meal when paired with the rice, but unfortunately the quantity wasn’t enough for the price of Rs. 500.
A significant issue seemed to be that most of the snacks had been pre-prepared, with no facilities for warming up the food. Another problem was that two of the nine countries were nowhere to be found i.e. India and Kazakhastan. Moreover, the Afghan Embassy also did not have food on their stall. Instead, they had set up a long display of traditional jewellery, brass and metal work, clothing, carpets and dry fruits. Furthermore, the Sri Lankan managers turned up a little too late, and had only begun setting up their stall when we were leaving. Despite these hitches, the experience of having five different cuisines in less than three hours is one that I won’t easily forget. The idea behind the Asian Food Festival is simply brilliant, but it requires better execution as well as marketing to gain as much popularity as the Eat Festivals or the Coke Fest.
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