Cardiff bay food festival

Every year in the Roald Dhal plaza Cardiff council hold the food festival usually in the first weekend of July. The whole time I had lived here I had never actually visited the food festival so I had to get on it. We got the bus due to the heat, so hopped on the number 6. When the bus turned up I was in amazement at the vintage style bus, perfect journey down to the bay.

When you arrive there are tonnes of stalls to visit and where to start! Conveniently there was a map and listing of each stall so it gave you a good idea of where to start. There were Cakes, ice cream, cheeses, pastry, alcohol and much more. 

I had done some research beforehand on what food stalls were there in order to maximise the amount I could overeat by. As we approached the first stall we saw an old favourite that we had previously tried in the bath market. A company called Little Jack Horner which produces sausage rolls in an assortment of flavours. We chose a selection with them being £10 for 4. 

The savoury selection offer was high in demand and we soon came across an array of Indian food delights. Samosaco is a family run company that have Indian food with a twist. I had the onion bhajee scotch egg, that I later ate warmed up at home. The flavour is strong but not too heavy, just with the mixture of spices don't go kissing anyone right away. The Scotch egg cost £3.50, but this is just one item of many they have on offer. 

Having been to many other street food venues an old favourite of ours was Tukka Tuk. Their Kerala fried chicken and spice flavoured chips are amazing!!! This time when we had them there was an added extra of a chutney which paired so well with the dish. The cooling sauce and the spices make it a great combination and would highly recommend. 

There were several other food vendors but having done my research, Meat and Greek were top of the list. Having not tried their dishes but wanting to for so long I was so glad to have the opportunity. When I found the location the queue was long but I was willing to wait. It was about 10 minutes to get to the front and they were a popular choice for many. They had meat and veggie options but I fancied myself some pork. Each dish is around £7 included is a pitta, salad, hummus, tzatziki meat and garnish on top. If feeling adventurous you can always add halloumi for £1 extra as well. As soon as I got it I knew it was a sit-down job otherwise I would have sauce dripping everywhere. The meat is beautifully tender, with the sauce not too overpowering. Do be warned it can be a messy job to eat so a fork and napkins may be required. I can say the 10-minute wait was most definitely worth it and id happily purchase from them again. 

On selection, there were also several different types of alcohol to have. Most vendors were willing to give you a sample drink and not make you feel obliged to purchase. One cider company we found was a local Welsh brand called Ty Gwyn. Based near the black mountains in pontrilas and has run for several years. The cider was just to my taste sweet enough but not too powerful. The cider also was not too gassy which made it go down that much smoother. You can visit the farm its made on, try cider, enjoy the countryside and would be an overall good day out. 

Other tipples on offer were spirits, from toffee vodka to whisky and brandy. The one sample we had was from a company called Celtic spirits co another local welsh producer. They had a variety of brandy with different flavours, the one that took our fancy was apple and blackcurrant. The taste on its own is very strong but put it with some lemonade and you have yourself a very tasty tipple. 

Overall there was too much food and drink to try in one day. Next year bring it on, food and drink galore. I would recommend it to anyone even if stopping for lunch.