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13 Countries Participate in Asian Food Fair

Over a thousand people from different Asian, European and Arab countries visited the unique Asian Food Fair at the Indonesian embassy in the capital on Saturday to savour the delicious Asian cuisines.

Spouses of ambassadors of 13 Asian countries too attended the event, where each country showcased its 
special dishes, working up a mouth-watering fare. The envoys too were present to help their spouses put up a successful show.

The ambience was filled with energy and a feeling of togetherness, as the diplomats shared food, culture and festivities with people from various countries. Cultural dance performances from Indonesians, Chinese, Bangladeshis, Philippines and Thais added additional verve to the food fair.

People were strolling from one 
stall to another to taste the cuisines 
on offer, at nominal prices too. The 
idea behind the food fair was to showcase the taste of various Asian cuisines, under one roof. Talking to Khaleej Times, Malaysian ambassador’s wife, Saeedah Yahaya, coordinator of the Asian Ladies Association (ALA), said, “On registering such a huge response from people we have decided to hold this event next year at a bigger place. In two hours, our food was over and we had to say sorry to a number of people.”

The ALA has 24 Asian countries as members. It was set up in Abu Dhabi around 15 years ago to bridge traditional and cultural gaps and cement cooperation among them, Yahaya said.

“I was delighted to offer the people Malay cuisine here in Abu Dhabi. 
There are around 6,000 Malays in the UAE, in which 3,000 are in Abu Dhabi,” Yahaya said.

The participating countries were Australia, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippine, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Vietnamese ambassador, Nguyen Quang Khai, Thai ambassador Somchai Charanasomboon, Indonesian ambassador, M. Wahid Suriyadi and Nepali envoy, Arjun Bahadur Thapa, said they were happy with the success of the event and discussed greater support and sound cooperation in all spheres for one another’s countries.

Reiner Kreplin from Germany 
came to enjoy food festivities here 
from Dubai, lauded Vietnamese 
chicken rolls.

Eman Umar and Ashwaq Abdul Wahid, both from Yemen, tasted cuisines of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand. They came with their kids.

anwar@khaleejtimes.com