Celebrate the fall harvest together at Taste of Abby: September 9th-18th, 2022
Abbotsford officially has its very own food and drink festival. After a two year delay Taste of Abby has arrived to celebrate Abbotsford and all its food and drink related experiences at the peak of harvest season. This is a two week long celebration running from September 9th – 18th, 2022. The occasion explores a selection of diverse events, tasting menus and limited-edition creations; all designed to showcase Abbotsford’s rich history, culture and cultivations within in the beautiful Fraser Valley. (As taken from their website)
The celebration kicks off with the Taste of Abby Night Market at Jubilee Park on Friday, September 9th from 5:00pm-10:00pm. An event that I attended, featuring live music and entertainment, freshly prepared food and local drink, plus a vendor market to shop from.
Tickets included 8 tokens with the ability to purchase more at cost, each token is worth $2.50. Guests can purchase tokens and exchange them for food, drinks, and samples. The selection includes full sized dishes from food trucks, small plates from local restaurants, and even alcoholic beverages.
As guest pursued each booth and got to know the folks that operated them, there was live music on the outdoor stage and plenty of seating across elaborately decorated tables. I appreciated the effort show runners put into making this outdoor public space feel like a venue worthy of a fall festival; and a great location to celebrate the city that they love.
We ate from each of the food options and they are as follows. I will be exploring more of Abbotsford’s spirit scene next week so decided to focus more on food this time around.
At the Chinese dumpling booth they had mochi mooncakes in local pumpkin and blueberry, plus coconut flavour. And cute character buns filled with black sesame, lotus seed, and red bean. They later were also serving up chow mein with bbq pork and deep fried wontons. We would enjoy those too, but they are not pictured.
Restaurant 62 was the only full fledged restaurant representing and it shows with their presentation and the quality of each of the plates they are putting out. Both so delicious that you couldn’t believe it was prepared offsite. A duck prosciutto risotto and an heirloom tomato Bufala fresco tartine. The former was rich and sumptuous with cheese, but not enough prosciutto to have it mentioned in the title, it felt more like a topping.
The later I recommend and would order again at their restaurant. These two tastes were enough to have me googling their address. The bread remained crisp and spongy despite the amount of time we felt it sitting. The cream whip was thick like a spread. It was given a nice textural contrast with the mix of fresh and dried tomatoes that topped it.
The charismatic owner and operator of Wingerz food truck had us purchasing their wings and fries. For wings the one that comes highly recommended is their heavy metal hot which is like a Buffalo wing but with a creamy base. The weight and thickness of this made a difference. I wish I could have tried the wing because I feel like the sauce on it would make it the best Buffalo wing I have had to date. However my guest Joyce of @monkeyeatsworld has a dairy allergy so we had to opt for the sweet eruption honey garlic instead. And there were no complaints a thick and crunchy breaded wing, so large and juicy. Definitely a wing I would like to have more of and would order again if and when I see their truck.
And even tastier are their chilli friez. Everything I love about chilli sans what I don’t. This is Winnipeg style chilli with tomato and ground beef, but no beans. Their fresh thin-cut kennebec fries made all the difference. Even good as leftovers with time spent in the air fryer.
At the Fishing Panda Food truck we got some tasty pulled pork tacos served with nachos chips. The tortilla shell had a great chew. Perfect combination of perfect amount of tender tasty pork.
At the Palms coffee cafe truck we got their fresh to press waffles, set on a popsicle stick for easy eating. Finished with whipped cream and fresh strawberry chunks.
Maan Farms was also on site, but instead of offering their fruit wines they were serving Mama Maan’s butter chicken and vegetable samosa. Both as comforting and as delicious as we wanted and had hoped for.
There was even bubble tea on the premises. Tasty tea had a slow start but was serving boba to the masses and I couldn’t give up the chance to try bubble tea from Abbotsford, spoiler it was good.
And I would be remissed if I didn’t stop by the Taves booth as a fan of their farm and brand. They were offering cider on tap and debuting their new pumpkin one. Made with the distinct flavour of cinnamon and warming fall spices.
As for shopping options we had Mt Lehman cheese company selling blocks of their good stuff. Another table had mushroom grow kits, one had all natural and healthy chocolate treats for kids. There were artists and jewelry designers selling their wares, with live demos from the former. There was even the possibility to sign up for a U-pick, where you could harvest a week’s worth of vegetables yourself.
We ate our fill and winded down before the sun set, but the night market ran well into the dark of night. Overall this was really well run for their inaugural year. Organized, fun, and a good representation of Abbotsford. I only could have used more food options to avoid the backed up line. But given how many attended this evening and how successful everyone in attendance saw this as, we will definitely see a larger event return next year.
However, seeing as this event is no longer an option to attend, here is what else you can expect for the next week and a bit at Taste or Abby.
As taken from their website:
There will be a Downtown Abbotsford Art & Wine Walk on September 15th and the Abbotsford Block Party food truck festival on September 16th. There will also be a Taste of Abby Food and Farm Awards ceremony to help recognize some of the dedicated local restaurants, farms, and food experiences in the city.
Restaurants and businesses around Abbotsford, including will be featuring new menu items, picnic packs and signature food experiences throughout the week. Showcasing local fresh ingredients sourced from with Abbotsford. And two local breweries even have a new collaborative beer to mark the occasion.
Be sure to visit the tourism Abbotsford website for additional details and dates. I have visited Abbotsford enough times and have dined at enough restaurants within Abbotsford to confidently conclude that you will not be disappointed in any Taste of Abby experiences.
