Forest Feastival is one of the most gorgeously set food festivals you will visit. With festoon lighting leading you from the car park through the woods and eventually to the site in Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend, it's a vision of disco balls, rainbow-coloured bunting, campfires, tipis, parasols and rustic lushness. Add in the waft of freshly-cooked scran from some of Wales' best street food traders and you've got yourself a pretty delicious set up.
This time round, visitors can also enjoy an exclusive preview of food from the brand new restaurant Tukka Tuk Canteen, the long-awaited venture from Purple Poppadom's Anand George and Rupali Wagh. To say I was excited to sink my teeth into some new dishes from this delicious dream team is an understatement - and I'm glad to say they lived up to expectation.
Tukka Tuk Canteen is the fourth Tukka Tuk project - and its first permanent restaurant - and it's planned to open on Cardiff's Whitchurch Road, which has become something of a foodie mecca, towards the end of the year. It follows the success of Tukka Tuk pop ups at Goodsheds in Barry, Cardiff Market and Swansea's Founders & Co.
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With a vast new menu that's differs from Tukka Tuk's usual dishes of mutton rolls, Kerala fried chicken and chips, among others, items like a crispy onion pakoda, Keralan coconut chicken and Malabar parotta (all of which, I was told, are gluten-free) were on offer. But what caught my eye was the Masala Dosaa (£8.50); a crispy rice and lentil pancake stuffed with potato masala and served with a side of coconut chutney and Sambhar.
I was only waiting for five minutes before I was presented with a large disposable bamboo plate full of goods. I tucked into the Sambhar first - a lentil-based South Indian vegetable stew - which was mild upon first taste, allowing me to enjoy the myriad of flavours it brought: heat from cumin, zing from ginger, a nuttiness and slight sweetness from what I believe to be coconut.
Together with the lentils and various other vegetables and a drumstick included (not the sweet or tool used to play the drums but pods from the Moringa tree), this curry was fresh and full of warmth and flavour. The pancake was earthy, ever-so-slightly tangy and held together well, making it great for dipping bits into the stew.
Within the folded pancake was a tasty potato masala that packed a positive punch - its tumeric and ginger shone through immediately. Together with the Sambhar, it was an explosion of flavour in my mouth.
To help with the (albeit mild) heat - I am not good when it comes to spice ( read my review of Fowl and Fury's new hot nashville chicken restaurant here ) - I spread some of the coconut chutney, which was interestingly paste-like, in the mix. It was delightful. The coconut pulp's grainy texture added another dimension to the plate and the strong taste of coriander and ginger added to the coconut's muted sweetness. While there was a lot going on on my plate in terms of texture and flavour, all elements together made for a marvellous meal that worked wonders. Now I've had a taste of it, I cannot wait for Tukka Tuk Canteen to open its restaurant in the near future.
Among some of the other offerings at Forest Feastival this time round are Rock and Scallop whose scallops (at £5.50 a pop) include one flavoured with garlic and parsley butter and another with black puddng, chorizo and chilli jam. The scallops themselves were tender, pulled apart from the shell easily and weren't overpoweringly fishy. The chorizo and black pudding added a salitness to the incredibly fresh tasting seafood, while the chilli jam added a slight sweetness. The garlic and parsley added a zing to the mild taste of the scallop.
Bao Selecta's buns (£5.95) are always a winner. With fluffy, cloud-like buns envelopping the crunchy (vegan) "beef" - that really tasted like the real deal - topped with cucumber and pickled cabbage, they were the perfect dose of sweet and savoury. Fire & Flank too pulled it out the bag with Steak & Dauph (£12) featuring steak slices that were melt-in-your-mouth tender, deep fried Dauphinois potato that was soft, creamy and had a subtle crunch on its outside and was topped with chimmichurri house sauce. Yum.
Forest featival is back on Fridays (adults only), Saturdays and Sundays until September 25. You will find it at Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend CF32 0LS. For full details, click here
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