The World Street Food Congress 2017

Get ready for this year’s biggest feasting party because the World Street Food Congress 2017 is happening in the Philippines for the second time! Organized by Singapore-based Makansutra (S) Pte Ltd. and supported by the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines (TBP), this 5-day foodie jamboree will be held at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds from May 31 through June 4.

With 30 master hawkers and pop up stalls from 13 countries, it will be bigger and better than last year, and it will surely be one dynamite festival of flavors!

RE-IMAGINE POSSIBILITIES

More than just a big food fair, the WSFC is also a dialogue that will underline the preservation of street food and the street food movement, specialized culinary tourism, and social enterprise, among many other issues.

The WSFC17’s theme is “Re-imagine Possibilities,” and it aims to open people’s minds, eyes, and palates and create a bigger appetite for heritage street food opportunities around the world. The organizers are looking at reinventing flavors while not forgetting the old and regional activation, as well as to champion stars and heroes of the industry who can lead the change of this street food movement into the future.

WSFC EATS AROUND THE PHILIPPINES

Team WSFC, led by Makansutra’s KF Seetoh, recently went around various regions of the Philippines for 20 days to explore the country’s famous dishes, as well as undiscovered gems like the Lamb Monggo in Davao (a lamb and green bean stew devoured with rice), a favorite dish of the current Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, and the Sisig Paella, a new twist on the local icon Sisig (hot plate of chopped pig’s head from Pampanga, all to be offered at the WSF Jamboree. Seetoh and the team devoured over 250 dishes so they could personally curate the Filipino segment of the Jamboree!

This year’s Filipino specialities will feature six cities and regions from Davao, Bicol, Pampanga, Iloilo, Ilocos, and Bacolod.

INTERNATIONAL STREET FOOD GEMS

Here are the 13 countries that will be represented at this year’s WSF Jamboree:

• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Indonesia
• Vietnam
• Thailand
• India
• Japan
• China
• Taiwan
• Mexico
• USA
• Germany
• The Philippines

Old favorites like the Bali barbecue pork ribs and Indonesia’s Chocolate Martaback will be back. New items include Singapore’s Marmite chicken burger, Mexican tacos, Malaysia’s Claypot Apom Manis, Oh Ah Jian (Taiwan-style oyster omelette), coffee pork rib burgers from Singapore, and the Soi Lum (chrysanthemum broth mocha dumplings roasted in sugar from Guangzhou). The WSFC Jamboree will be the first appearance of the Soi Lum outside of Guangzhou, which means attendees of the event will be the first to see and taste this dessert outside of the province!

WORLD STREET FOOD DIALOGUE

The WSFC 17 will be this year’s largest congregation of heritage food advocates, industry think tankers, international delegates, hawkers and street food fans convening on one platform to discuss, debate, advance initiatives, and devour unpretentious street eats. Over 100,000 are expected to attend this great food fete.

Aside from the wide variety of local and international street food at this year’s event, guests can also look forward to hearing from eminent industry speakers from the USA, Indonesia, Singapore, the UK, and the Philippines.

The stellar line-up of speakers include:

• Keynote speaker Greg Drescher, VP, Strategic Studies and Industry Leadership, California Institute of America
• Michelin Star Nonya chef Malcolm Lee of Candlenut Singapore
• Michelin Star chef Andy Yang of Rhong Tiam, Thailand
• Peter Lloyd, owner of Sticky Mango Restaurant in London
• Shen Tan, co-owner of Revolution Café and winner of Palermo Street Food Festival 2017
• David Yip, food anthropologist and writer representing China
• Odilia Wineke, Food editor of Detik and CNN Indonesia
• Sangeeta Singh, Nasvi, India

The WSF dialogue will be co-moderated by KF Seetoh and Chef Sau del Rosario, owner of Café Fleur and 25 Seeds, and the Philippines’ representative at the Foro Mundial Gastronomia Food Festival 2016 in Mexico.

ANTHONY BOURDAIN AND THE BOURDAIN MARKET

International food and travel celebrity host and chef Anthony Bourdain will also be back in the Philippines as he is one of the key dialogue speakers this year. He is known to have a soft spot not only for Filipino food, but also for the Filipinos.

Bourdain tapped Seetoh as the advisor and consultant for the Bourdain Market, which is slated to open in New York in 2019. At the WSFC 2017, he will personally be giving updates on the Bourdain Market, and will also select over 100 street food vendors at the event to be part of his project.

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WSFC PRESS CONFERENCE

Last April 4, the WSFC team and TBP organized a press conference at Makansutra Megamall for members of the local and international media, which included world-renowned food and travel bloggers. At the event, we got to hear more about what we can expect from the jamboree.

Seetoh also talked about the value of food – especially street food – as the window to a culture’s heritage. He stressed that a country’s food tells so much about its people and history, which is why it is so important to be proud of it. He raved about the very rich, unique, and colorful Filipino food culture, and mentioned that Filipino food should progress and evolve without losing its heritage. “Do not forget where you came from,” he said.

To reinforce the theme “Re-imagine Possibilities,” a short cooking demo was put together by Chef Him of Makansutra, wherein he reinvented a popular Filipino street food: pares (Filipino beef brisket). Pares is usually cooked with rice or noodles, but Chef Him recreated the pares by cooking it as Braised Beef Noodles with Shrimp Chives Dumplings. It was delicious!

At the end of the event, we were given a taste of Makansutra’s delectable street food!

I can only imagine how fun and phenomenal the street food congress will be! There’s nothing like immersing yourself in a country’s culture, and what better way to know more about a country’s culture than by sampling its food, especially street food? And the best part about this event is that you don’t even need to travel too far to get a taste of the street food from different parts of the world! The street food will come to YOU, and they will all be in one place, just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed! Be sure to go there hungry because you’re going to want to have a little bit of everything!

The World Street Food Congress 2017
Date: 31 May – 4 June
Prices of Food: From PHP 150 onwards
Entry fee: PHP 150 redeemable at food & beverage stalls
Opening Hours:

• Wed to Fri, 31 May – 2 June: 4:00 PM – 11:00 PM
• Sat, 3 June: 1:00 PM – 11:00 PM
• Sun, 4 June: 1:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Street Food Demo Schedule: please check http://wsfcongress.com for updates

For more updates, check out the official website at http://wsfcongress.com or the following hashtags:
#WSFC17 #makansutra #worldstreetfoodcongress #itsmorefuninthephilippines #tbpdelivers #tpbgovph