Laneway! Streetfood! Party!

Last Friday night I checked out the Laneway! Streetfood! Party! in Bible Lane (in the City). Despite the location address, the only thing religious about this event was the ‘heavenly’ taste of the pork belly sliders and delicious Vietnamese spring rolls!

Review spoiler alert: The Laneway! Streetfood! Party! featuring three (intentional) exclamation points in its name was a well-executed Canberra event with a great vibe and is very well deserving of the excessive punctuation in its name!!! Let’s face it, what’s not to love about drinking beers in a laneway after work or uni on a Friday? Or sampling delicious street food, produced by vendors creatively named, What the Pho?

The Laneway! Streetfood! Party! (LSP) was one of four food experiences presented by Beer the Beautiful Truth (a campaign designed by alcohol beverage company, Lion) for The Canberra Times Good Food Month. The ticket price was $50 and included four drinks (Australian bottled beer and cider) and street food, promoted as being created by some of ‘Australia’s top chefs’. One of the food vans, What the Pho is Canberra-based and are professionals in the food van scene, their Vietnamese street food being a permanent fixture at the Hamlet in Braddon.

So, let’s start this love story from the beginning…It was a perfect autumn’s evening in the Nation’s Capital. When I arrived at LSP at 5 pm I overheard people mentioning the tickets had sold out, so I was glad I had pre-purchased mine online via the event Facebook page because I could already smell the delicious food and would have been very sad to have missed out on tasting it!

On arrival, we were issued with four wooden pegs, to be exchanged for drinks and three food vouchers, to be redeemed at the food vans. There were different areas set-up down the laneway, there was a photo booth, and local street artist (Dai Cameron) was spray-painting a mural on a section of corridor towards the end of the lane.

A DJ (whose name I cannot confirm, as it is not listed anywhere online) was playing nondescript background music and nearby him there was a small clearing designated as a dance floor. The end of the laneway was set-up for eating and drinking, with the food vans, a bar and an open area cleared for standing and hanging out.

After checking out the set-up, I headed directly towards the What the Pho food van and treated my taste buds to the spring rolls with delicious sweet chilli dipping sauce. The rolls were fresh and crispy and were the perfect way to start this delightful gastronomic journey. By this stage, I had already relinquished one of my pegs for a Little Creatures Summer Ale, a fairly standard beer available most places nowadays.

Next, it was time to explore the mouthwatering tastes of the Chur Burger food van. The creatively named burger, Notorious P.I.G appealed to me instantly, straight outta the projects of Brooklyn (actually Newtown in Sydney) to the laneways of Canberra! The ingredients included double grilled pork, double bacon, double cheese, ‘special sauce’ and lettuce… This was one ‘juicy’ burger and it had me ‘Hypnotised’.

Okay, enough with the Biggie Small references. The burger was a 10 out of 10 for me, the flavour combination and portion size were both perfect. I will definitely be making a trip to Surrey Hills for another round sometime really soon! Oh, I should mention that apparently there was also a vegetarian chickpea slider if you are that way inclined!

Now two pegs down after trading another for a sweet apple cider to compliment the pork and I was no longer feeling the need to eat…ever again, however, I persisted for the sake of this review!

The final food vendor, whose smoky meats had been wafting through the air since our arrival, was Bovine and Swine (also from Newtown in Sydney). Apparently, their secret to success is to barbeque the meat ‘low and slow’. The item on offer was a 12 hour smoked brisket and coleslaw (a.k.a ‘slaw’ to the cool kids) sandwich. The meat was beautifully tender and melted in the mouth! The smoky flavour was just right and not too overwhelming. To wash it down, I handed over my third peg for a pale ale beer, 150 Lashes this time.

I sat down to absorb the atmosphere and noted the laid back and unpretentious vibe of the party. For me, this could be attributed the variety of ages present at the event. I had assumed it would attract the 20-something (year old) crowd, as it was primarily advertised and organised through Facebook, however, this was not the case. There were a large number of attendees who were a bit older, perhaps the ticket price was the deciding factor in this outcome.

On reflection, one set back for me was the blinkered choice of alcohol on offer, all of which was a little predictable and dull. I understand only Toohey’s products were used due to event sponsorship, however advertising prior to the party indicated that a range of ‘local craft beers and ciders’ would be available on the night. It would have added to the authenticity and street cred of this event had local breweries been given the opportunity to showcase their own produce at the party.

At similar laneway events elsewhere, local flavours are used to add to the ‘homegrown’ concept of the event and there are a number of fantastic local breweries in Canberra, and surrounds, that, I assume, would have appreciated the exposure. This gesture would not have taken anything away from Lion/Toohey’s, in fact, it would have demonstrated their support of small business, and local produce.

With a belly full of gourmet delights and one remaining peg, I meandered through LSP for one last time and stumbled upon a very happy attendee, Elyse Keane.

“My overall impression of the event was that it was good value for money and well organised. There were no lines when ordering food or drinks and you didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes. I would definitely come again,” said Keane.

Elyse is not alone with this sentiment. I hope the Laneway! Streetfood! Party! will make a return next year, perhaps with the inclusion of more local talent.