Brisbane chef Benny Lam says food in China is about human connection as much as it is about taste.
Key points:
- The BrisAsia Festival 2024 runs from February 1 to February 18 to mark the start of the Year of the Dragon
- The Lush on Fish Lane Asian street festival will have its inaugural launch on Saturday
- This year will also feature ImaginAsia, a new program for children and young families
Mr Lam was working in his uncle's Hong Kong restaurant at the age of 14 when he discovered his cooking could make people happy.
"When I see the smile on the customer's face after eating my food, it makes me feel significant," he said.
"In Chinese tradition, dinner is a really important thing to stick people together.
"There's a lot of meaning, history, and story behind food."
Mr Lam is now the head chef of Southside Restaurant on Fish Lane, which will soon be thrumming with activity for BrisAsia Festival 2024.
The annual festival is a celebration of Brisbane's Asian cultures and will run from today until February 18.
This year's line-up features a range of new events, including the Lush on Fish Lane Asian street festival, which will have its inaugural launch on Saturday.
Fish Lane will also be home to the Dumpling Festival and the Southside Lunar New Year, which will celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
The dragon is widely considered the luckiest year on the Zodiac calendar and symbolises success, power, and fortune.
Children's program to launch
This year's festival will also feature the first ImaginAsia, a program catered to children and young families.
It will be organised by Brisbane singer Menaka Thomas, who performs classical south Indian Carnatic music with a modern twist.
Growing up in Australia, Ms Thomas learnt traditional Indian music and storytelling from her mother who in turn learned from her father.
Ms Thomas intends to pass on that form of cultural self-expression to her daughter.
"My connection to my traditional culture was through music and storytelling," she said.
"Stories are such a special way of connecting, not only to one's imagination but to rich history, learning, and wisdom that has been passed down through generations."
Asian car culture on display
Southside by Night will bring DJs, food stalls, and petrol heads to Brisbane's south in a display of Asian car culture.
The event is run by Vietnamese rapper, fighter, and hot rod enthusiast Minh Nguyen.
Growing up in the Ipswich area, Mr Nguyen was obsessed with the Fast and the Furious film franchise and its homage to the underground Tokyo drift scene.
As a child, Mr Nguyen would collect Japanese DVDs featuring "Drift King" Keiichi Tsuchiya tearing around bends with reckless abandon.
"The Drift King would take cars and push them to their very limit, and there was something so primal and engaging about it," he said.
"What brought us together was our mutual love for these cool machines, which could dance around and ice skate in a way these cars aren't really supposed to."
BrisAsia executive producer Anthony Garcia said each event was a loving tribute to a unique aspect of Brisbane's Asian communities.
"All of these diverse peoples look to explore their own roots and their own heritage through music, through dance, through food, through storytelling," Dr Garcia said.
"The Year of the Dragon is looking amazing."
BrisAsia's full line-up of events is available on the Brisbane City Council website.