Market Friday | Filipino Food Fest at the Madinat Zayed Carnival

Carnivals and Festivals Season

It's the cold season in the UAE and with the significant drop in temperature come different kinds of outdoor activities such as picnics and camping, group get-togethers, and yes, festivals and carnivals by big organizers.

The other day, I shared about the Al Fursan Air Show which we watched, as one of the highlights of the just concluded Al Hosn Festival. It was a really enjoyable experience for the kids. Before that, however, the husband and I had the chance to walk around the Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre and found some yummy interesting stalls.

Rides and Carnival Games

There were some kiddie rides and bouncy castles as we approached from the back rear entrance. There wasn't much action here yet because it was still early. I started to take some photos to show to the kids when we get home, to ask if they'd be interested in those. However, one of the event security told me that "photography was not allowed", so I had to keep my phone in my back pocket. :D

Food Stalls!

Now, for the exciting part!

As we walked on through, not very far from the rides, we got to the food stalls. Majority were Filipino food stalls, but we also saw a few Indian food stalls. While I was tempted to try some of those Indian fritters they were selling, I opted to stick with the familiar Filipino food because we were going to bring them home for the kids to try.

Almost all of the stalls offer similar food like barbecues - chicken breast, isaw (chicken intestines), chicken feet, wings, hotdog, even grilled fish. I am not a fan of innards, so I settled for chicken breast instead. We also ordered kwek-kwek (deep-fried battered eggs) and crab balls which were served with sweet and sour sauce.

The air was smokey from all the grilling, but we did not mind. It was mouth-watering! It felt like we were transported back to the Philippines for a moment.

What should we order?🤔

Apart from the barbeques and grills, there were also other Filipino food like the kakanin (rice-based desserts) like bibingka and puto bumbong. We bought bibingka (rice cakes) which were sold for AED 2.50 ($0.70) each if I remember correctly. The puto bumbong, I thought was not worth the price because it's so thin and would just make up for a very small portion, for the same price.

Anyway, one of the vendors convinced me to try this mango-tapioca jelly. It said "karak" (black tea with milk) on the board, but there was no karak and he said it was one of their best sellers so I gave in.

I brought it home for the kids to try. They weren't too amused by it. Neither was I. I mean, it was okay... but not as good as I expected it to be given the sales talk by the vendor. It was ripe mango with jelly and tapioca pearls, in cream. Hmmm...

Apart from the barbecues and kakanin we were also not able to resist the green mango. Well, it was not from Philippines, and yep, overpriced for AED 10 ($2.73) a piece, but I was like compelled to buy. What is it with these carnivals and stalls that make you buy regardless? LOL

Other Stalls

Apart from food there were also clothes stalls which we did not explore anymore. We came for the food anyway. 😉

It was a nice walk around the Madinat Zayed, with the familiar aroma of Filipino food, and the jovial, festive ambiance. How I wish the cool weather would persist whole year round but we know that's not possible. No matter, it was a true feast to the senses that we got to indulge in from time to time.

There aren't a lot of details about this carnival that I could find online and I am not sure if it is still up until now. I need to pass by and check again so we could return with the kids.

_{All photos are owned by the author.}