Great street food at World's Fare in New York
NYC World's Fare, held in the Big Apple, had more than 100 pop-up stalls
The World Street Food Congress. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The NYC World's Fare is one of the most diverse street food festivals in the world, with 102 pop-up stalls from US-based vendors hawking dishes from Malaysia, the Philippines, China, India, Ethiopia, Italy, Portugal, Spain, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, and many other countries.
The World's Fare was a revival of its famed namesake festival held in the 1960s, and organiser Joshua Schneps decided to focus only on food "because these street vendors need a voice".
It was held last weekend at the Citi Field stadium grounds in New York and was attended by 11,000 foodies.
It featured kaya toast and chicken rice sushi, risotto balls, grasshopper sisig, empanadas, German sausages, jian bao (fried dumplings)... the list goes on.
I was on the fair's Culinary Committee and had a bird's eye view of the food.
Here are some of the most fascinating, curious, fancy yet traditional offerings.
SHARK SANDWICH
CARIBBEAN STREET EATS
This dish is made from a few chunky shark tempura pieces in a pita bread stuffed with chopped greens laced with chillis, spices and a pineapple chutney. This Trinidadian snack was unforgettable for me because it reflected a humble food culture. Shark meat is commonly eaten in many countries worldwide as a form of cheap seafood for the masses. There's no fixed stall but you can follow its locations on Facebook at Caribbean Street Eats.
PUPUSAS
EL OLOMEGA
The bite-sized El Salvadorian snack is essentially pan-fried savoury masa dough pancakes stuffed with cheese. There are also pork, chicken and spinach versions. Slather on sour cream, chilli and pink cabbage pickles and it can give our cheese prata a run for its money anytime. Someone bring it to our shores please. You can follow the travelling stall location on Facebook.
LAMB SKEWERS
D'ABRUZZO
Abruzzo is a southern Italian region known for its lamb and this is echoed in this simple satay. The lamb skewers were not marinated and only had a sprinkle of salt when grilled over charcoal.
They were served with focaccia rubbed with spiced olive oil. It reminded me of the satay kambing I enjoyed in Indonesia. D'Abruzzo has a regular spot with the popular Smorgasburg market in New York. These folks won an award for best savoury food at the event. Follow them on Facebook (D'Abruzzo NYC) or email at abruzzonyc@gmail.com.
CUSTARD EGG TARTS
JOEY BATS CAFE
These were somewhat similar to the Macanese egg tarts that have roots in Portugal. The tarts were not as eggy as they were custardy, and there was some burnt cinnamon powder on them for a finish. The cafe won the sweets section award at the event. Creator Joseph Batista, who is of Portuguese descent, runs a pop-up stall at various food markets. You can follow him on Facebook.
K.F. Seetoh, the founder of Makansutra, dabbles in street food businesses like Food Markets and has his own TV shows on cable. He publishes food guides and online content. He is also the creator of
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