Barbeque Short Rib with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi (South Korea)
South Korea is a new addition to the Food and Wine Festival this year and it is home to one of my favorite dishes that I have sampled thus far. The most distinguishing feature of this selection is the portion size, which may be the largest of any at the festival and for $4.25 is an excellent value. The short rib was literally hanging over the sides of the plate. The meat was a little fatty, but very tender and was topped with a spicy sauce that gave it a lot of flavor. I actually wish there had been more sauce because it added a real kick to the dish. The short rib came accompanied with steamed rice, which was a little dry and plain, as well as a cucumber kimchi. This was something the likes of which I have never had before. The cucumbers actually tasted more like pickles and offered a light and mild contrast to the more spicy short rib.
Seared Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Puree and Mango Barbeque Sauce (South Africa)
While the portion size may seem small for the $4.75 price, what you are not getting in size you get in quality. I was greatly impressed by the tremendous flavor of this dish, which may be one of the best-tasting offerings at the festival, and despite its small size it is actually very filling. The beef tenderloin is very tender and, although served well done, was not overcooked. I was expecting the mango barbeque sauce to be very sweet, but it was actually much more spicy in flavor. Likewise, the sweet potato puree was not overly sweet and had a more natural flavor. The barbeque sauce and sweet potato provided two contrasting flavors, but they paired together very well with each other and with the beef.
Shrimp Cake with Singapore Noodle Salad (Singapore)
Singapore is another new addition this year and its shrimp cake may be one of the festival’s spiciest offerings. The spiciest part of the dish is actually the noodles, which are served cold and have a very strong flavor. The shrimp cake itself also has a definite kick, but it is not nearly as spicy as the noodles. This is definitely not a dish for the faint of heart. The shrimp is nice and most and was very light in flavor and texture. Although fried golden brown on the outside, the cake was actually soft rather than crispy. While the shrimp cake itself may not be very big in size, when paired with the noodles it is a good-sized portion that makes it a fairly good value for $3.50.
Apple Strudel featuring Werther’s Original Karamell Sauce (Germany)
This dessert was extremely sweet, especially the Werther’s caramel drizzled over the top. What I really enjoyed about the dish was how it blended together the flavors of apples, caramel, and cinnamon so that no one flavor dominated the others. The apples were just the right texture, not mushy but not too hard. The pastry itself was soft and light, but I think the dessert would have been even better if it had been more crispy and flaky. Nonetheless, this was a very tasty dessert and a really good value, in terms of both quality and quantity, for $3.25.
Bakes Cheese Ravioli, Creamy Bolognese Sauce, Melted Mozzarella (Italy)
Through all the different food offerings at the festival I have been trying to sample dishes that I would not normally have, but the ravioli in Italy looked so good that I could not resist giving them a try. This is a very cheesy dish, not only the ravioli themselves but also a layer of melted mozzarella on top that provides extra flavor. The ravioli are cooked al dente, but I found them to be a little dry. The dish could have definitely used more of the Bolognese sauce, which is all on the bottom beneath the ravioli. That being said, this is still a very good dish. While $4.50 may seem a little expensive, it is actually very filling dish and a good-sized portion that makes it a good item to share.
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