13 nations take part in food, craft bazaar

Displaying a variety of different foods and tastes, 13 countries came together to take part in the Asia-Pacific food and crafts bazaar in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, as each country showcased its unique and cultural delicacies.

Organised by the Asian Group of Spouses of Ambassadors, the event was hosted at the South Korean ambassador’s residence, and featured countries including Pakistan, Japan, Fiji and Malaysia, among many others.

“This was a good opportunity for us to show people a small part of our culture, it’s always good to be able to share with others, and there was a lot of interest from the people who visited our stall,” said Solo Momoivalu, who was representing Fiji at the event.

“The main foods that we are serving are traditional ones from our country, and this includes raw fish that is cooked with coconut milk, as well as raw fish cooked with coconut cream. These are popular dishes from our country and something new for the people here to try,” he added.

“As well as the food, we have traditional Fijian jewellery that is handmade from things like seashells, corals, and wood carvings. These handicrafts are an important part of our tradition, with each one of them telling a story, so they’re more than just a piece of jewellery to wear,” he said.

Farida Hussain Bargis, representing Indonesia, was also happy to share popular Indonesian dishes.

“We have many different types of traditional and authentic Indonesian food, with the ingredients all brought from Jakarta, so we are giving the people the original taste like how it would be back in Indonesia.

“More than 80 per cent of our food has been sold, we hope we can sell all of it by the end of the day, but we’re happy our food has proven to be so popular among visitors,” she added.

Park Kang-ho, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the UAE, said the event reflected the UAE’s vibrant multicultural society.

“I believe events like these help contribute towards more openness and tolerance in the UAE. It’s always good when people from different countries get involved in cultural exchanges; it creates an environment of mutual understanding which is always important to have,” he said.

“We are very happy with the participation, we had 13 countries taking part with all of them doing so voluntarily, so I’d say it’s been a very good success,” he added.