You'll find both India and China at the China pavilion for Food & Wine, though there were only a few items we'd recommend between the two of them. At the China booth, you'll find Chinese cuisine that is about on par with a middle of the road Chinese restaurant you might find back home (but a slight step up from the one in the middle of your local mall). At the India booth, you'll find some more interesting and tasty options.
😐 Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings with sweet-and-spicy sauce ($5.50)
These dumplings return year after year and they always make us think of the samples from the frozen section at Costco. They’re not terrible, but they aren’t any better than you’d find pretty much anywhere. The sweet soy sauce is very nice, but not enough to elevate the ho-hum dumplings.
👍 Crispy Duck Bao Bun with hoisin sauce ($8.25)
The duck on this bao bun is wonderfully smoky – it almost tastes like bacon. The bun itself is pillowy and soft and the simple addition of a fresh cucumber slice and sweet hoisin sauce provides the perfect balance to the smoky, salty and rich duck. Our only complaint is that this one is very small for the price.
👎 Shanghai Scallion Noodles with shrimp ($8.50)
This was one of the worst dishes we had at the festival. The noodles were bland and overcooked and the shrimp was soggy and chewy. If you decide you still want to give it a whirl, pack some sauce to jazz this one up.
Though we didn't try it yet this year, India offers one of our all-time favorite festival drinks: the Mango Lassi with Sōmrus Chai Cream Liqueur. It’s sweet, creamy and loaded with boozy spice flavors from the liqueur. Thankfully, there’s also a delightful vegan samosa to pair it with this year.
👍 Potato and Pea Samosa with coriander-lime cream ($5.50)
These samosas were fresh, crispy and filled with flavor. We especially loved the vegan coriander-lime cream that really brightened up the flavor of the spiced potato and pea filling. Each samosa is a very good size, so these are a perfect snack to share.
😐 Chicken Tikka Masala with fennel-spiced yogurt and naan ($6.25)
While we always enjoy the bold flavors of tikka masala, this was an altogether average rendition of the classic Indian entree. The chicken and heavily spiced sauce were fine, but the rice was basic and not nearly as good as the jasmine-scented version you’d likely find at your local Indian restaurant. The biggest disappointment was the naan. This did not taste freshly prepared, it wasn’t warm and it was pretty dry.
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