Left to right, Joanne's BBQ House's Pork Belly Roast, Boualouang Laos & Thai Cuisine's Prawn Mango Salad and Satay Madura's Chicken Satay, all at Taste of Edmonton 2026. Photo by Fish Griwkowsky /Postmedia

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Not gonna lie, I make selfish use of Taste of Edmonton every year getting to meet-cute our lively pan-Asian restaurant scene – apologies to all the perogies out there. (“What’d he call me?!”)

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This year, bucking tradition after discovering the best sushi spot in the city at Sushi Aroma, I totally avoided Japanese fare at ToE, instead diving tongue first into other Southeast Asian delicacies.

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Good move – though I have my eye on you, Crab Mango Roll at Tokyo Noodle House!

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Prawn Mango Salad, Boualouang Laos & Thai Cuisine (Booth 8, 3 tickets) 

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One to beat the heat straight off, this pretty, mango-juicy little salad looks like a dish of fries at first glace, but the combo of yellow fruit wedges, onion, crisp mint and meaty shrimp just feels so deliciously healthy. A nice tangy sauce and the price being right make this one the day’s first high five!

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Pork Belly Roast, Joanne’s BBQ House (Booth 34, 4 tickets) 

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Like the mango salad above, gluten and dairy free, the meat could have been a little juicier, the rice a bit fluffier, the gravy a bit more … detectible. Still: big fan of yummy pork belly, though I might try their chicken tenders with tallow fries and maple BBQ tallow dip next time instead.

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Chicken Satay, Satay Madura (Booth 5, 3 tickets)

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Hate to admit meat on a stick is the winner here, but holy cats was this purely delicious. With a generous coating of indeed-nutty peanut sauce with a little bit of onion and garlic, the chicken morsels were perfectly juicy (I’m Homer Simpson drooling about them writing this). Sometimes, the basics are just the best. Dairy free, PS, with a sweet little cucumber-carrot salad on the side!

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