October 5, 2017 TnH Global 0

India’s biggest Pan-Asian Food Fest is back

The Asian Hawkers Market (AHM) is back for its fifth season on what promises to be an action-packed pre-Diwali weekend (October 13-15, 2017) at Select Citywalk, Saket. There’s never an AHM season without its share of novelties. The season too, India’s first and only pan-Asian food festival has lined up:

A cocktails-centered bar managed by Gurgaon’s busiest micro-brewery, Molecule, and a sneak peek into its new franchise, The Drunken Botanist also make their way to create a truly exciting weekend for one and all. Plus, a reloaded entertainment offering featuring a daily dragon dance, in addition to live acts by up-and-coming artists and music from the celebrated deejay, Daniel Rajan.

“The vibe will definitely be different this year,” promises Tanveer Kwatra, celebrated chef and one of the four co-founders of the Asian Hawkers Market. “It will be a pre-Diwali party that you’ll remember for a long time,” Kwatra adds. Well-known food journalist and blogger Sourish Bhattacharyya shares the sentiment and predicts that the AHM-5 turnout will exceed last season’s 80,000-plus in February 2017.

The venue is unchanged: Select Citywalk, Saket. Veeba which continues to be the sponsor for the fourth successive season. The entertainment curator, Divij Kaul of Limn, who was recently honoured at the India Nightlife Awards, is also back, as he has been since the beginning. And so are many of the restaurants — Asia 7, Asia Alive, Big Fat Sandwich, Bombaykery, Burma Burma, Chai Point, Dao Dimcha, Fatty Bao, Joy Luck Moon, Live Wok, Neung Roi, Tuk Tuk, Wai Wai City, Wok Me and Wow Momo.

“Each season, we keep our promise of bringing the best of Asian cuisine at one venue in the city, and we make sure there’s an element of newness about the Asian Hawkers Market, despite the presence of familiar names,” says Atul Sikand, another co-founder, who also leads Facebook’s largest and fastest-growing community dedicated to sharing Indian recipes.

A host of new restaurants: Enoki (Greater Kailash-I); Imperfecto, making its debut in the pan-Asian space; Kofuku (Ansal Plaza); Just Wok It (Green Park Extension); Mamagoto’s brand-new upscale avatar Mr Mamagoto; Tibetan street food specialist Popo Lafing (Satya Niketan); Spectra from The Leela Ambience Gurugram; Sushi Junction at Malviya Nagar and Sikandarpur, Gurgaon; W.D. (Whistling Duck) House in Greater Kailash-II; and the famous Yum Yum Cha, which returns to AHM with sizzling stone rice and noodle bowls.

Some things won’t ever change, promise the co-founders. “The participating restaurants, for instance, are committed to offering small plates at reasonable prices so that each visitor can sample the fare of more than one vendor. That’s our show’s USP,” says co-founder Sid Mathur, well-known restaurant consultant, Food and Beverage Head, and Director, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality.