Six hours, two shopping centers and 50 (or more) food vendors in one of the best food places in the country. Get ready.
The Sunnybank Food Trail is set to return next month, taking over the south side suburb on Saturday, June 27.
Now in its 12th year, the one-day event, meant to celebrate Sunnybank’s diverse international cuisine, has taken over sister shopping centers Sunnybank Plaza and Sunny Park, which sit opposite each other at the intersection of High Street and McCullough Street.
Organizers expect about 30,000 visitors during the six-hour event, ordering tasting plates that cost as much as $5 from nearly 50 food halls in both centers.
“I think it’s probably the cheapest food event in south-east Queensland,” says Lisa Smith, senior marketing manager at Retail First Pty Ltd, which operates Sunnybank Plaza and Sunny Park and is responsible for the festival. “Most prices are $2 or $3.
“But what makes it so special is the ‘choose your own experience’ of the event. You get your map and your menu, and decide what you want to eat with your group. From students to families, everyone can navigate it in their own way.”
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The full lineup of vendors has yet to be finalized, but event-goers can expect snacks and small plates from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, among others. There will also be live music, lion dance and kid zone activities.
Smith says the festival has evolved alongside Brisbane’s wider food scene, and that, by the day, there is more competition now in the neighboring suburbs of Sunnybank.
But key to the continued success of the Sunnybank Food Trail is its location at the northern intersection of the suburb, which has a shopping center on three of the four corners, with Retail First managing two of them.
“It’s a unique position and I don’t think anyone else could have done what we’re doing with the election because we have the scale that we need to control the number of people in both stations,” he says. “And having those 50 or more restaurants involved gives people a lot of options.
“I like to watch how people interact on the route because you end up in line waiting for your food and guests. But they’re all talking to each other because they’re comparing what they got at the last stop and what they’re going to do next.
“I like that aspect … it’s about the people and the opportunity for that community connection, which we don’t get a lot of these days.”
Matt Shea is the Food and Culture Editor at the Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and managing editor at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
