If you’ve ever dreamed of sampling foods from 90+ vendors from Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, India, and beyond all in one place, then the Dream Asia Food Festival probably called out to you like it did to me.

But the truth is: while the flavors were on point, the lines were not worth it.

The Vibe: Cold, Crowded, Chaotic

At one point, my boyfriend and I had to split up to cover more ground. We spent more time in line than eating, which is wild.

That being said, the energy was nice. There were DJs, dancers, and lots of eccentric foodies vibing through the chaos.

What We Ate (and What We Wished We Had Time For)

Here’s the short list of foods we did manage to get our hands on:

• Egg Tarts – Flaky, warm, and gone in two bites. Only regret was not buying more.
• Meat on a Stick – Several vendors brought the skewered meat. Savory, smoky, worth the wait, but you could usually find a vendor or two without a line.
• Hawaiian Honey Cone – Basically a crunchy cone that tastes like honeycomb cereal filled with ice cream. Instagrammable and delicious!
• Okonomiyaki – Full of veggies and topped with saucy goodness. it was my first time having this and I definitely can’t wait to try a really good one.

The line for the chili garlic noodles however were another story. A line so long we were not willing to wait. I feel like we would’ve spent too much time there and not been able to make it to all the other places we want to go to. No joke it must’ve been at least 45 minutes long. Similarly a few things were sold out along the way so we didn’t get to try those either.

(What I Wish I Knew Before I Went)

• Go EARLY. Like…park before-it-opens early. Especially since it’s a multi-day festival, going early day one is your best bet if you don’t want to run into any sold out dishes!

Would I Go Again? Mmmm…..

I love Asian food. That’s the whole reason I went. But between the crowds, the sold-out dishes, and the wait times… I think this was a one-and-done experience for me. It was kind of hard to enjoy everything with all the waiting and crowds.