Location: Various locations in Mississauga
Website: http://www.carassauga.com/
I sort of figured that Carassauga — a weekend-long cultural festival held in Mississauga every year — would provide ample fodder for this blog. Though food clearly isn’t the focus here, it’s fairly abundant.
And it’s a fun enough event, though you’re probably not going to learn anything particularly new about any of the cultures on offer (they were dancing to “Gangnam Style” in the Korea pavilion, if that tells you anything).
But yes, the food: the first (and best) item I tried was a veggie dumpling from the Malaysia pavilion. Closer to a fritter than any kind of dumpling I’ve ever tried, it was delightfully greasy, with a crispy exterior and a soft, chewy interior. It was filled with cabbage and carrots, and had a sprinkling of onions on the outside that were super crispy and tasty from the fryer.
It wasn’t hot at all (it was actually bordering on cold), but even still, it was surprisingly delicious. I was very tempted to immediately order another one, but I figured I should probably save room for other stuff.
We hit the Pakistan pavilion next, where I tried dali bhalle, a cold dish consisting of a cornbread-esque pastry doused in a fragrant yogurty sauce. There were also chunks of potato, chickpeas, and little fried bits of pastry.
It was a unique dish, that’s for sure. Typically, when you try a new food, there’s some point of reference to be had — but I really can’t think of anything else to compare this to.
I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit one-note. There wasn’t a whole lot of depth of flavour to the sauce, and the pastry, potatoes, and chick-peas were all similarly soft and crumbly. Some contrast in flavour or texture would have been welcome. As it stood, I got about half-way through and then dumped the rest in the trash. Not that it was bad; I was just getting a bit bored.
I tried a few other things — dumplings and rice cakes from Korea, a coconut-infused pastry from Jamaica, a Timbit-esque doughnut from Africa — but those two were probably the most noteworthy.
Around the World in 196 Plates 