East Meets West: The Belt & Road Food Fest Vendors Pt.1

We already took a look at all the banging entertainment we have lined up for the Belt & Road Food Fest, which will be taking place over the Mid-Autumn holiday (Sep 15-17), but now it’s time to turn our attention to the most important part of all: the food! 

We’ve got a stellar array of vendors from numerous Belt & Road countries, so let’s take a look at the first amazing batch.

TRIBE GARDEN 部落花园非洲餐吧

Tribe Garden will be serving up a famous West African dish at the Belt and Road Food Fest: Jollof Rice with Crispy Chicken. Spiced chicken is served on a bed of rice mixed with tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, bay leaves and assorted vegetables. They’ll also have other classic dishes like Goat Meat Suya and, of course, their famous Fried Plantains. Beautifully golden and crispy, they’ll just melt in your mouth. To wash it all down they’ve got a range of cocktails such as a Mango Mojito as well as non-alcoholic drinks perfect for the end of summer. 

FOUND

European restaurant FOUND will be showcasing Austrian food at the fest. They’ll have Vienna Goulash which features beef ribs that are slow-cooked in a red wine sauce. Or, for those with a sweet tooth, there's Kaiserschmarrn, a classic Austrian dessert that’s a type of fluffy, torn pancake paired with fruit, jam and sprinkled with icing sugar. They’ll also have a range of snacks plus carefully crafted cocktails like their signature Thirsty, which is made from dried apricot wine and sour plum drink.

WhyNot Taproom WhyNot精酿酒馆

For the Belt & Road Food Fest, WhyNot Taproom has specially created a range of Polish Pierogi. They’ve got two savory fillings to choose from: Classic Potato Cheese and Super Juicy Wagyu Beef plus a sweet Blueberry option. They all come served with a side of homemade sour cream for dipping. Along with pierogi, they’ll have a few snacks like Beetroot Hummus and drinks such as draft beer from Polish craft brewery FUNKY FLUID, which will be the first time this beer will be available on draft in China. For those looking for something a little stronger, they’ll have Polish Biala Vodka as well.

La Platea 兰蒂

Mediterranean restaurant La Platea has decided to focus on Portuguese cuisine at the fest. They’ll be using tuna caught in the unspoiled waters of the Azores Islands for two of their dishes: the Tuna Open Sandwich and Cold Pasta with Tuna and Olives. They’ll also have a Crab Meat Open Sandwich, Portuguese Egg Tarts and a selection of craft beers from all over the world.

HAMARKHAN•Silk Road Foods 哈马尔罕丝路美食

Specializing in food from countries across the Silk Road, HAMARKHAN will have a plethora of delicious dishes from Belt and Road countries at the fest. They will showcase delights like Hamalhan's Roasted Meat with Pita Bread, a product that has been served in small, old shops in the streets of Istanbul, Turkey, for over a century. The meat is made from minced beef mixed with secret spices before roasting. 

Other highlights include Slow-Cooked Filet Mignon with Parmesan Cheese, served with Italian balsamic vinegar and a special sauce made from 30-year-aged Xinhui tangerine peel. Additionally, there will be Lamb and Eight-Treasure Rice, Turkish Handmade Bread with Xinjiang Spicy Sauce; European Bread with Xinjiang-Style Chili Sauce, Yogurt, and specialty drinks like Dunhuang Li Guang Apricot Tea.

Rak Thai•Thai Home Cuisine 爱泰风•泰式家常菜

Injecting some Thai flavor into the festival we have Rak Thai, who will be serving some meaty dishes like Thai Grilled Pork Neck (Kor Moo Yang) – a classic Thai street food where the pork is charred on the outside but tender on the inside and Sai Ua, aka Northern Thai sausage, which blends pork with fresh ingredients including lemongrass, galangal, garlic and makrut lime leaf. 

Other dishes include the always popular and super refreshing Thai Papaya Salad (Som Tum), Thai Shrimp Crackers and for those looking for something sweet Mango Sticky Rice which sees mango layered on top of glutinous rice and coconut milk. They’ll also have a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, like Thai Milk Tea, Thai Lemon Iced Tea and Singha Beer.

Hi-Town Bistro 海塘Bistro

Hi-Town Bistro is all about “no boundaries,” which is clearly reflected in their eclectic menu of dishes from a whole range of different countries. To the fest they’ll bring Tunisian Lamb Sausages and Azerbaijan Style Barbecue – beef, lamb or chicken – grilled with onions, chili peppers, bell peppers and tomatoes all seasoned with a special mix of Azerbaijan spices. Plus they’ll also be bringing their signature dish: Smoked Lamb Kidney, a traditional Chinese barbecue dish in which they smoke the lamb with rosemary and other seasonings, lending it a woody, smokey aroma.

Q MEX Bar & Grill 库迈墨西哥餐吧

Q MEX has created an exclusive dish just for the fest: Adobo Chicken Tacos with Cheese Dip, which features pulled chicken tossed in their adobo sauce topped with cilantro and diced onions and served on a corn tortilla with a cheese dipping sauce on the side. They’ll also have their signature Crispy Shrimp Tacos, which see shrimp topped with chipotle mayo, pico de gallo and sliced jalapeño peppers stuffed in a hard-shell tortilla. 

Aside from tacos they’ll also have Chipotle Chicken, skewered marinated chicken thighs are char-grilled and then topped with sour cream and chimichurri sauce and served with a chipotle mayo dip.

BERLIN BITES DÖNER 柏林百特

Although a German restaurant, BERLIN BITES can also be seen to represent Turkish food as it was Turkish immigrants that originally brought döner to Germany. At the fest, they’ll have both Döner – the classic Berlin style kebab, and Dürüm – kebabs wrapped in a thin turkish yufka flatbread. Both are filled with plenty of fresh vegetables, either crispy chicken thigh or spit grilled beef and your choice of sauce. 

They’ll also have Döner Popcorn Chicken, popcorn chicken dusted with their homemade Döner spice blend; their own take on Greek Tzatziki; and, of course, their famous Currywurst. Aside from food, they’ll be serving Berliner Luft, a type of German peppermint schnapps, and an array of cocktails and other drinks.

Las Musas Taqueria Las Musas 墨西哥餐吧

Also bringing Mexican food to the fest will be Las Musas, which will have a plethora of Mexican delights. Firstly, they’ve got three different quesadillas: Carnitas Quesadilla, the Say Cheese Quesadilla, and Be Cheesy Vegan Quesadilla as well as two tacos: Green Chili Beef Machaca Taco and Spicy Habanero Chicken Taco. Aside from food they’ll have some of their signature drinks including Frozen Classic Margaritas, Mango Mojitos and Classic Mojitos.

SUSU 苏苏越南菜

Vietnamese restaurant SUSU will be serving up their Classic Fried Rolls at the fest, a refreshing little dish consisting of shrimp and pork all rolled up and then deep fried and served with their homemade fish sauce on the side; as well as Banana Prawn Rolls, which combine both sweet and savory flavors for tasty snack that just melts in your mouth. Along with the rolls they’ll have Shaking Beef Skewers made from beef tenderloin accompanied by eggplant, okra and homemade sauce.

PandaBrew•River melody mountain scenery 熊猫精酿•湘声岳色

Serving up Hunan cuisine is PandaBrew, which will have some Changsha specialties at the fest. There will be Changsha Traditional Stinky Tofu, featuring black stinky tofu that’s crispy on the outside but tender in the middle; Beef Skewers; and Hunan Rice Noodles. To pair with the food they’ll also have a number of their signature brews like All Day Pilsner, Lucky Day, Xiaomei Strawberry Seasalt Gose and Outlaw Dried Tangerine Peel Witbier.

206 NIAN HUA 206-拈花

NIAN HUA will be serving up Portuguese dishes at the fest. The star of the show has to be their Portuguese Style Roasted Chicken. Think Nando’s but even better: NIAN HUA's chicken is roasted with a blend of Portuguese and African spices and served with an African chili sauce. They’ll also have a Portuguese Sausage and Cheese Platter and Iberian Ham which customers are invited to have a go at carving themselves under the guidance of their on site chefs.  

GUNG HO! 叫板比萨

New Zealand pizza purveyors GUNG HO! will have four of their delicious pizzas available at the fest. They’ll have three meaty pizzas: Lord of the Lambs which features roasted New Zealand lamb with tzatziki, grilled zucchini and fresh rocket; Bacon Four Cheese which is topped with four Italian cheeses and crispy bacon; and classic Pepperoni. For vegetarians, they’ll have the Black Truffle, which is topped with eight kinds of mixed mushrooms, a black truffle sauce and truffle oil.

Nashville 乡谣餐吧

Nashville will be showcasing some Russian delights at the fest. First up is the Shashlik Skewer, which dates back to the ancient Slavic period, their take sees large pieces of chicken skewered alongside onions and other vegetables. Second up is the Moscow Pie, beef tenderloin, sausage, bacon, chicken, onion and mushrooms are mixed with a creamy sauce and then layered on mashed potato and topped with creamy cheese.

Da Dong JUWANGFU •JUN YAN 大董郡王府•覠宴

Famous roast duck restaurant Da Dong will be offering, you guessed it, Dadong Roast Duck at the fest. Aside from their signature roast duck they’ll have Roast Duck and Cheese Rolls, Beijing Snacks, Egg Tarts, Rose Cakes, Sour Plum Drink and a refreshing Peppermint and Lemon Smoothie. If you want to get some roast duck to enjoy at home they’ll also have Dadong Roast Duck Black Gold Gift Boxes available. 

KANG KANG 康康

KANG KANG is a completely halal restaurant who will be serving a range of delicious snacks like Beef Skewers and Roasted Naan along with bigger dishes such as Fish and Chips and Fried Chicken and Chips. For the latter, they coat the chicken in a fine cheese powder and then fry it until it’s crispy on the outside but still perfectly tender on the inside, the addition of the cheese gives it a tangy, rich flavor.

Shiwase 志和势和牛

Shiwase specializes in high quality Wagyu Beef, and they’ll have a range of different beef dishes at the fest. All their beef comes from pure black hair Wagyu cattle, originally from Japan the cattle are now raised in New Zealand where they are fed on grass for 180 days and grain for over 420 days. Living in New Zealand's pristine natural environment, with oxygen-rich air and mineral-rich snowmelt from the Southern Alps gives the beef a rich, nutty and delicate flavor. They’ll also have Guobaorou a crispy, sweet and sour pork dish that sees marinated sliced pork strips coated in batter and then fried until golden brown.

Le Grenier à Pain 正本原

French bakery chain Le Grenier à Pain will have a range of baked delights at the fest including a Traditional Baguette as well as their Lotus Danish, an award winning product that combines Chinese and Western elements and has the delightful appearance of a lotus seed pod. Each day from noon until 1.30pm, they'll do a special Homemade Garlic Bread activity where customers who come to the booth during that time can try their freshly baked garlic bread.

We don't know about you but our mouths are watering seeing that run down of food! Don't forget though, that this is just the first part of our vendors, keep a look our for our second part coming next week!

The Belt & Road Food Fest will be taking place at Langyuan Station Riverside Cultural Plaza from Sep 15-17 from 11am to 8.30pm each day. Early bird tickets are RMB 19.9 and can be purchased by scanning the QR code in the poster above. 

Langyuan Station 郎园Station
53 Banjieta Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区半截塔路53号

READ: All the Banging Entertainment at the Belt & Road Food Fest 2024

Images: courtesy of the vendors