I've always known Auckland is a cultural melting pot and today this was further confirmed in the best possible way - through food. Dozens of cultures gathered to celebrate the city's diversity at The Auckland Cultural Festival which turned out to be far more exciting than its name. Side by side stalls from Eritrea, Congo, Ethiopia, Serbia, Finland, Malaysia to name just a few, had prepared their traditional dishes for us to try. Many were community and cultural groups who had joined forces for the day, others were restaurants and cafe's but all were proud to be showing others such an important and vital part of the culture they had left behind.
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left to right: Malaysian dosa, Ethiopian coffee and Indian jelebi.
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One of the loveliest things was that many of the stalls were raising funds for Christchurch. These people, themselves victims of war, famine or other adversities were giving in this truely wonderful way.
I would have liked to have tried each and every dish on offer. Impossible as this was I tried my best and enjoyed freshly made jelebi, that crisp, sticky saffron soaked confection that I fell in love with on a recent trip to India, handmade borek (including the pastry) filled with cheese (Serbia), little donuts flavoured with anise and stuffed with a single raisin (Bulgaria), a crisp and light dosa filled with potato curry and served with a fresh coconut chutney (Malaysia). Next came a tiny cup of exceptionally good Ethiopian coffee served by the most beautiful, smiling woman. Then there were the satay, Spanish paella, French crepes, Chinese dumplings, Hungarian fried bread, Italian pizza and Eritrean flat breads piled up in colouful baskets to be piled with chicken curry, rice and beans.
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| Eritrean stall |
I enjoyed trying foods that I hadn't had before and asking how they were made. Next time I will go extra early before the crowds which will make this easier. The experience certainly made me feel part of the real Auckland - it was a pleasure to witness and be part of this gathering of peoples from all around the globe who somehow have found their way to our small country and made lives for themselves that still centre on their own traditions.
