A Taste of Asia Brings Good Food & Community to Downtown Pittsburgh
By Olivia Miller
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and this year in Pittsburgh, you can celebrate it like never before.
On May 25th, Downtown Pittsburgh will host the area’s first Asian food festival called Taste of Asia at The Pittsburgh Playhouse. The event will feature a selection of dishes from the area’s top Asian restaurants including Essence, Zen Restaurant and Sushi Bar, Shanghai Tokyo and Chengdu Gourmet 2 as well as organic juices provided by 1:11 Juice Bar.
The event organizer and executive director of the Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Pittsburgh, Tao He, the event’s purpose runs much deeper than just sharing good food. Though the Asian population in Pittsburgh is growing, He noticed the area was lacking in community events, namely food festivals. He says, “You do not see the representation here.” This led him to join forces with The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania and Visit Pittsburgh to create an event that will allow the Asian community to have a voice and “represent themselves through food.”
The event also serves to showcase inspiring stories of immigration and entrepreneurship, as all of the vendors are immigrants. Namely, Chef Wei Zhu who came to the United States in 2005 and has since grown his restaurant, Chengdu Gourmet, to have two locations while winning prestigious awards like the James Beard Award and receiving accolades from notable people like Joe Biden. He believes it is important to honor and appreciate the Asian community’s innovation and remind people that “America was built by immigrants.”
Guests who visit Taste of Asia can expect to sample the restaurants’ best selling dishes, like Chef Zhu’s crispy and hot chongqing-style chicken. There will also be sushi, pad thai, and Chinese dishes, though He “[doesn’t] want to give too much away.” The event will also feature live music from both traditional Chinese musicians and contemporary jazz musicians at intervals throughout the event.
Tickets are on sale now on the event’s website and can be purchased here. If you have any questions about the event, you can email info@asianfoodfestival.us.
The ultimate goal for the event is to turn Taste of Asia into a yearly tradition during Asian Heritage Month that builds community around the one thing that connects us most: food.
