Last year’s AsiaFest was an overwhelming success with over 20,000 people attending the three day event. This year the organisers have made it bigger and better, and extended the event to ten days. People can go on a cultural journey through five Asian countries with free entertainment, cooking demonstrations and martial arts. There will be a beach area that will host the full moon party, various markets that imitate the backstreets of Hong Kong, a karaoke container, an Asian garden cinema, a comedy gala and even a family fun day.

For me, I’m here for the food. Unlike other festivals that use caterers, AsiaFest will bring together some of the best Asian restaurants in Adelaide. As a first, there will also be a fine dining Vietnamese restaurant. A select group of us were fortunate enough to sample some of the food on offer tonight.

The Fish Cakes were incredibly addictive. Inside the crunchy exterior was well seasoned fish that was minced to a paste. The texture was slightly chewy and worked well with the sweet dipping sauce.

The Takoyaki was freshly cooked in front of our eyes. Inside the light golden brown exterior was a soft delicate mashed potato and firm chewy piece of octopus. I can’t remember Takoyaki tasting so good.

I really love a good pan fried dumpling and these were certainly up there. The dumplings were lightly browned on one side, and the dumpling skin was firm and well cooked. The filling was soft, moist and well seasoned, and well cooked through.

The Cold Rolls we had were larger than I usually have. Packed full of ingredients, I thought the juicy slices of prawn were the highlight. Coming a close second were the fresh vegetables that were evenly distributed.

AsiaFest wouldn’t be right without the classic Vietnamese meat roll. Filled with well seasoned roast pork and loads of crunchy skin, this is something I can eat every single day. The pickled carrot was sweet and tangy, and was well complimented by the red onion. The coriander was fresh while the cucumber added a nice crunchy texture.

To finish things off, we had delicious fresh sushi from Sushi Planet. With so much variety in a decent sized box, I was taken to sushi heaven and back.

AsiaFest brings to Adelaide experiences that you will only find in Asia. If the food is anything to go by, festival goers will be treated to authentic dishes created by some of the best Asian restaurants in Adelaide. With so many things to see and do over 10 days, this year’s AsiaFest will be bigger and better.

WHERE: Rymill Park, Adelaide