13 Must Try Stalls in World Street Food Jamboree 2016

The 3rd installation of the World Street Food Congress 2016 (#WSFC16) is happening now in Manila! 25 top street food chefs and vendors/hawkers from over 10 cities have flown into The Philippines, some for the first time, to showcase and serve tasty heritage recipes at the Food Jamboree that will be open to the public on Wednesday, 20 April from 4 pm to 11 pm. It’ll continue until Sunday, 24 April 2016.

This year, the selection of mouth-watering Southeast Asia recipes include Asam Laksa, a mouth-puckering noodle dish that put Penang on the world map after being ranked 6th by CNN Travel; Sate Maranggi from Indonesia – charcoal-grilled satay accompanied by an Asian salad of cucumber, onions and chilli; Triple Sauce Seafood Tempura from Singapore with delicious dips like salted egg yolk, chilli crab and black pepper, among many other tempting Asian specialties. Here are 13 must try stalls in World Street Food Jamboree 2016!

Keng Eng Kee (Singapore)

Keng Eng Kee is run by the Liew family and a third-generation, helmed by Paul, Wayne and Geraldine. The siblings inherited and expanded their parent’s zi char business to open KEK Seafood at Pandan Gardens, a modern day zi char. In working with Makansutra, they have developed a trendy fried seafood platter with three dips for the adventurous eater- tempura squids, soft shell crabs with crispy brinjals in a platter delivered with three dips- chilli crab, black pepper and salted egg yolk sauces. Read about it here.

Pepita’s Kitchen (Philippines)

Lechon is given a new comforting twist here as this iconic roasted suckling pig is now stuffed with spicy truffle paella. This is definitely my favourite dish in the Jamboree. The piggies were roasted till it is golden and shiny. We stood in the queue for a long time before getting a portion it. The incredibly crackling skin gives a nice crunch in the mouth. The meat was soft and very flavourful. What blew us away was the soft and very fragrant truffle oil paella. I think many paella chefs need to learn how to cook paella from Ms Dedet. Note: It was sold out within 3 hours yesterday. So drop by early to avoid disappointment.

Nam Bo Sticky Rice Banana (Vietnam)

An architect by profession, Ngo Thi Bich Thuy calls it quits and started to sell sticky rice banana to earn more to upgrade family livelihoods. From a small food truck selling to passer-by on the road, they have relocationed into a shop – the Nam Bo Sticky Rice Banana. Khao Tom Madt is a popular dish in the south of Vietnam, the soft and cured banana is typically encased in sticky rice, then wrapped in banana leaf, and grilled over wood fire. There are two ways to eat it, plain or with the addition of roasted sesame seeds drizzled with sweetish coconut milk.

Wan Dao Tou Penang Assam Laksa (Malaysia)

Lim Ee Quen gave up her comfy beauty salon business to manage this decades-old family recipe Penang Laksa in a frill-less and hot coffeeshop stall in Penang, Malaysia. Her hard work paid off when she was crowned the Assam Laksa Champion in the Battle of Penang Hawkers 2011. Wan Dao Tou’s assam laksa has fresh fish flakes sitting in the broth with a dollop of hae ko (sweet prawn sauce) and tamarind blended with their family’s sambal recipe. Not as thick as I have expected but the spicy-sour broth is still dangerously addictive.

Martabak Markobar (Indonesia)

Martabak Markobar is a recent wildly popular variation of sweet martabak or the Chinese mee chang kueh. They make this death-by-chocolate pancake much like a pizza, where dough in poured onto a special pancake mould. It comes out with crispy edges and soft gummy body, and has up to 8 versions of chocolate toppings. It is a very popular midnight snack. Martabak Markobar is different from the normal Martabak Manis because it is extensively chocolatey and is an open face pancake with the variety of chocolates, ranging from Toblerone, Tim Tams, Kit Kat, Nutella etc.. even green tea and cheese.

Ayam Taliwang Bersaudara (Indonesia)

Warning: this is the spiciest grilled chicken dish known to Indonesians. Ms Baiq Hartini is the lady who brought this Lombok Taliwang Chicken (Ayam Taliwang) dish to Jakarta 25 years ago. She started selling the dish as a side business while juggling her main job as a midwife. Since then it has expanded into a restaurant, Ayam Taliwang Bersaudara. The Ayam Taliwang is famous for its secret marinade, which includes the mind-numbing, spicy-stingy bird’s eye chili from Lombok (chilli in Indonesian parlance). Typically a whole chicken is marinated and then grilled on charcoal fire for a smoky, roasty and spicy aroma. The locals eat it with Plecing Kang Kong, a water spinach salad with a savoury sweet peanut sauce.

102 Private Kitchen (China)

The Zhu Hou Chicken, a rendition of the popular salt baked chicken, is a representative dish of Foshan, Guangdong in China. The unique feature of the dish is its robust Foshan specialty sauce. The sauce is made from a combination of soy bean, salt, sugar, sesame seed and light soy sauce. Chef Xu Jing Ye is a graduate of the culinary faculty of Foshan School of Higher Learning. A Foshan native, he is the chef and owner of 102 Private Kitchen, a renowned private kitchen in Foshan since 2006.

Hoy Tord (Thailand)

Hoy Tord or seafood omelette is an all-time favourite Thai dish, it was even chosen as one of the best snacks by Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, the national convention hub in Thailand. Tapioca flour, rice flour, lime and water are mixed together to create the flour batter. It is then fried over an iron pan over gentle fire with eggs. Toppings and dressings include seafood, coriander, spring onions, bean sprouts and a dusting of white pepper. The result, a crispy on the outside and soft, chewy on the inside, eggy pancake.

Churros Locos (USA)

Churros Locos is a food truck set-up founded by Daniel Huerta and Isabel Sanchez and is originally situated in Portland, Oregon. Growing up with churros, the couple was hit with a brainwave to venture into the churros business after a stroll along the coast of Oregon. The Churro Sundae is served with old fashioned vanilla ice-cream before drizzled with your choice of toppings like nuts and sprinkles, which includes an alluring Singapore favourite, Gula Melaka (palm sugar), making it the perfect dessert to sweeten up that moment.

BánhCăn 38 (Vietnam)

Another talented hawker with architecture degree, Ms Phan Thi Thu Loan decided to follow her heart, and sell traditional Vietnamese snack in her quest to promote and preserve her country’s food culture. BánhCăn 38 is a street style cafe based in Ho Chí Minh City in Vietnam. A stickler for old school traditions and methods, their Banh Xeo (crispy seafood pancake) is cooked the old fashioned way over wood fire using very traditional claypots and pans. This form of cooking method had gained them recognition from the United Nations for their effort in preserving this culture. They blend and pound pre-soaked rice to make the batter for the light and crispy seafood pancake.

Jin Ji Kway Chap (Singapore)

Melvin Chew inherited his family’s 35 year old kway chap (soy braised and stewed pork, offals and duck with rice or noodle sheets) stall in Chinatown, when his father passed on suddenly in 2014. Aside from the old version, Melvin came up with a Japanese bento style Kway Chap that resonated with a new generation. Slices of braised duck meat were still succulent, retaining a bite but adequately tender. Their braising sauce is light but good enough to coat the meat and offals well. Read about it here.

Donald & Lily (Malaysia)

Peranakan couple Donald Tan and his wife Lily Lee set up what is known to be the first food push cart offering mee siam and other authentic Nonya fare, in Malacca in Malaysia. Today, they have expanded their business to a restaurant, and their daughter took over the business. The key to a good mee siam is in the art of making and frying the sambal, a chilli paste unique to this dish. The result is a tangy, sweet and spicy gravy base that’s very moreish. Their bee hoon is fred with marinate for flavour, texture and colour before the addictive gravy is introduced over.

Chey Sua Carrot Cake (Singapore)

Ever since taking over the wok from their mother more than 30 years ago, sisters Shirley and Grace Tay have never looked back. Everyday, they insist on making their own radish cake. Shirley says factory made ones may be too soft or too hard sometimes, so by making her own, she can ensure consistency in the cakes. Bits and pieces of radish can be found in the carrot cake and it is pan fried to crispy yet soft perfection. Read about it here.

The World Street Food Congress Jamboree is open to the public from April 20 to 24 at Federacion Drive corner 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City. It is open from 4pm to 11 pm from Wednesday to Friday, 12pm to 11pm on Saturday, and 12pm to 9pm on Sunday. For more information, visit http://wsfcongress.com