Festival in Yokohama to Celebrate ASEAN Cuisine

Yokohama City in Japan will host the ASEAN Festival 2013 on 5 and 6 October.

Eighty thousand people are expected to attend the open-air event, which will showcase the variety and delightful flavours of ASEAN cuisine. Live music, cultural performances, handicraft displays, and diplomatic representation from ASEAN member states will also feature.

The festival is being organized by the ASEAN-Japan Centre to commemorate 40 years of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation. The festival has been designed to look and feel like an ASEAN market. Twenty chefs are being flown in from ASEAN countries to lead culinary demonstrations and tastings of iconic ASEAN food dishes. Licensed ASEAN restaurants, retailers and embassies of ASEAN member states will also be present.

Of the 65 booths, 30 will be dedicated to ASEAN food and beverage.

"ASEAN cuisine reflects Southeast Asia's diverse culture and traditions," said Dananjaya Axioma, Director of the ASEAN-Japan Centre. "ASEAN's indigenous cooking techniques and ingredients have evolved with India, China, the Middle East and Europe all having an influence. People in Japan can taste the best of ASEAN at the festival."

The 20 chefs -- two from each ASEAN member state -- will prepare signature national dishes in the "Local Cuisine of ASEAN" booth at the festival. Food from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar is rarely seen in Japan.

Hien Thuc, a popular singer from Vietnam and Over Dance, a Laos pop group, will perform, as will musicians and dancers from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia and Singapore.

In 2012, four million Japanese visited ASEAN destinations. Sampling ASEAN food is consistently rated as a high priority among Japanese travellers to ASEAN countries. Some 4.2 million Japanese are expected to visit ASEAN member states in 2013, according to forecasts by the Pacific Asia Travel Association.

The ASEAN Festival 2013 takes place at Omatsuri Hiroba, Yamashita Park in Yokohama on Saturday and Sunday October 5-6 from 10.00 to 19.00. Admission is free.