DesiFest 2011 @ dundas square

So this weekend, i was checking out what was going on, since coming back from NYC last monday, legs get kinda antsy to walk around and wander.  In checking out what was going in and around in Toronto, i found out there was a WINGS AND WHEELS festival going on at Downsview Park. and i was like, AWESOME. downview is so close to me, i mean i dont really care about cars, but its a Wings festival! Who doesnt like wings!

Taiwanese Wings from the BBT place i love on Yonge... need to update it so i can link it!!!! WINGS WINGS WINGS!!!!  

So imagine my disappointment when i went to the website and this is what i saw:

What. The. Hell. 

my face + heart dropped :(

here's the link if you care about stupid aviation and cars

Anyway, so i wandered down to downtown anyway, figured something should be going on (no i didnt, i just was gonna wander), and just my luck! DesiFest 2011 was going down @ Dundas Square!

Guess what. I LOVE FESTIVALS! especially cultural ones. i mean. i LOVE food vendors! and i totally b-lined to find them... which wasnt hard cause like, its a small square.  Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of vendors, i could count them with my hand. 5. and i'm not counting the corn on the cob one.

Mughal Muhal

7071 Airport Road, (905) 678-6666

so the first stand i see, is Mughal Muhal, i see all these people walking around with this giant puffed thing on plate, and i see the pic as Chata Bhutara, and wanted to check it out.  So i ask the guy what's good, and he says the Kathi Kabab is the popular people's choice.  He said its a meat, mostly chicken, and stir fried onions wrapped in this egg dipped and fried... i dunno. thing. i just looked it up. its a Paratha (Indian Flat Bread)..... oh. why did i go through all that trouble when the description is written below...

The Original Chicken Kathi Kabab.  Crunchy layers of maan bread coated with egg and rolled up with spiced chicken, onions and corriander.

This was my wrap. That dipping sauce they gave me, was SO GOOD. i can only guess that it's some sort of chutney? but it was SO tasty. I wish i kept it for my next dish...

Oh yeah, i also got a Mango Lassi from them. $3.50. Man. i love mango lassi. 

I kinda wish i got some of that Gulab Jamun, which is: A warm Indian dessert, made of milk and cheese and served in a light sugar syrup.  I've had them before, and its like a cheese cake ball dipped in syrup... soo good... 

here's some food i didnt eat. 

chicken looked good! but was not meant for me.

So here's the 2nd place i tried, I'm pretty sure i've had this before at the Taste of Lawrence festival last year.  This sign confused me. Until now, that i actually look at it, ohhhhh those are the ingredients in each Murthabak. i thought there were like 30 options.... haha.

Here is the breakdown in live and living colour (that was a shout out to you Aaron Tveit of Catch Me if you Can now on Broadway... who am i talking to..)

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3. 

have the dude nearly burn his hand off ever time, flipping the thing. scary watching it go down.

Step 4. eat eat eat. here's mine read to be consumed. I ended up later pouring on some of the coconut chutney they had left out on it. i love the spice that's in all the south asian cooking.

Walked down the the next vendor, White Gold Sweets, and i had 2 more dollars out of my $20.00 that i started the day with, and thought those samosas looked might good for $1.00 each.  I was also curious about all the other stuff i was looking at. OK on top of the samosas are Pakoras, which are like veggie fritters, which i like, and then those cow looking testicles that remind me of chinese deep fried "HAM SUI GOK"s that I LOVE LOVE LOVE. and i dont know why i assumed it would be similar. ... cause it wasnt.

:( did not like it. it was like filled with beans and anise seeds.

Well, here's my plate. the samosas were great!

They also had sweets which i didnt have. I wonder what they are!?

And if i see a dog. i will take a picture of it. So cute!

And that was my experience at DesiFest 2011!  I wish there were more food vendors, cause i basically posted about every one of them (again, except for the Corn on the Cob... cause they're not south asian). I love cultural fests! Bring it on Summer!