Get excited because this year is the 20th anniversary for the Channel Seven Mandurah Crab Fest and it is sure an impressive celebration and it is nearly go time!
Crab Fest is the largest free community event in Western Australia and will be held on 17 and 18 March attracting over 120,000 locals and visitors to the City of Mandurah. The event showcases the lifestyle, location, culture and talent that makes Mandurah so unique. Of course, Crab Fest would not be Crab Fest without a celebration of the native blue manna crab! Fresh food, live music, performances, children’s entertainment, competitions, cooking demonstrations, celebrities, aquatic entertainment… the list goes on.
Photo Credit: Monica Defendi Photography
On the food front, plenty to get excited about with a range of gourmet food events as well as tempting food vans! Sure to be a total crowd pleaser is The Fish Pot – Crab Boil. How delicious does this sound, “Using only the best local produce, imagine locally caught native blue manna crabs, Western Australian king prawns and mussels, local farmer hamlet pork free range chorizo sausage, new potatoes and sweet corn on the cob….. We also have smoked tomatoes, a delicious crab broth and straight from Maryland USA the quintessential old bay seasoning with which we are turning into the best aioli you have ever tried. Served with a freshly baked baguette to mop up all the deliciousness.” So much yes!!! If you haven’t enjoyed a crab boil before then this sounds like the perfect way to make your debut. Don’t be afraid to get messy (because you’ll have a bib to keep you clean), get hands on and just enjoy the serious deliciousness of local Mandurah crab.
Elsewhere you have local restaurants like Sharky’s serving up their renowned fish and chips, along with some delicious crab arancini balls! Nino’s Fish Bar is also getting ready to roll out the fish and chips, can’t get enough of a good thing, along with some different crab inspired dishes. Food & Co is set to serve up a scrumptious paella, along with a range of tasty paratha tacos.
Photo Credit: Monica Defendi Photography
Ragin Cajun Foods is set to bring the spice in with their seafood delights, while Chef Nimrod Kazoom of Spanish Quesadilla / The Flying Fish / Slow Food has crab and cheese spring rolls on his menu, so you’d have to race me for those! Mandurah locals are eagerly awaiting the opening of Cherubs Cucina at Mandurah Forum, but they’ll be previewing some dishes at the Crab Fest and I’m told their pasta dishes are to die for and I just love pasta! Tapasman is also attending and have an enticing range of pinchos, croquettas and bravas on offer.
Redmanna Waterfront Restaurant is a stunning Mandurah waterside restaurant and they are set to have some entirely tempting gourmet seafood dishes on offer. The Habibs has created the crab sayyadieh, a incredibly flavourful seafood pilau, which sounds entirely intriguing. While Little Vietnamese Taste will be offering chicken and beef options for those that want to mix up their crab menu, while C De Paris has a crab ratatouille that sounds fairly epic. And now ok, not crab, but Thee Shucker knows their oysters, so definitely save room for a cheeky dozen…. Or three.
Obviously then, you wont be going hungry at Channel Seven Mandurah Crab Fest, but along with these you also have some food vans to choose from too! Spoilt for choice folks! The Fish Boss will be serving up their fish and chips, along with a delicious crab burger. Absolute Wurst has long been attending Crab Fest and return for 2018 with their signature German snags and crab cakes. Murphy’s Spuds are set to satisfy all your stuffed spuds needs, while Dinner Peace Enterprises has a special crab quiche that is sure to be delicious! Bantastic Mi will be offering your choice of rolls, tacos, salads, sliders or of course bao buns, with a range of tasting fillings. Plus, you can round out your eating extravaganza with something sweet from Delish Ice, with their special range of icy treats in all sorts of flavours, along with Benetta’s Fairy Floss, because, well fairy floss is one of those great sometimes treats and celebrating 20 years of the Crab Fest seems like the perfect reason to indulge!
So while you are enjoying all of this amazing food, bop along to live music, enjoy cooking displays at the Harvey Norman Cooking Stage, take the kids along to some free interactive art workshops and finish the night with a spectacular fireworks display on the Saturday night from 8.30pm. Sure to be a big two days!
Mandurah is in the Peel region, an important contributor to Buy West Eat Best, a campaign run by Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in Western Australia to help West Australians to identify food products which have been grown, farmed, fished and produced right here in Western Australia. The Peel region consists of Mandurah, Boddington, Murray, Serpentine-Jarrahdale and Waroona. The region continues to flourish and grow in tourism, population and agriculture, fishing, crab fishing and forestry. Farms and markets in the Peel region offer a variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, honey and wine.
To find out more about the Peel Region and Buy West Eat Best, just head here.
Photo Credit: Monica Defendi Photography
perthmunchkin 
Leave a Reply