Food makers and food lovers will once again have a big gathering at the three-day food festival, "Mad Face Food Week" where everyone will forget about everything but the delicious foods in front of them.
Set for March 1-3 from 3pm to midnight at Sermsuk Warehouse, the annual event will bring together head chefs, home cooks, traditionalists and try-anything-once types, domestic goddesses and dons of the deep fryer.
With their cooking backgrounds ranging from culinary school to grandma-taught to self-taught, they will be serving up a fresh perspective on Bangkok's eating scene, one not driven by awards or "best" lists but by characters, community and a healthy dash of crazy.
To be more precise, this is where chefs and cooks cut loose, create what they want and have a dance-off with their diners along the Chao Phraya River.
At the centre of the festival is a lively marketplace of more than 60 stalls, twice more than last year, hosted by chefs, home cooks, restaurants, families and foodies. Each vendor will put forth a laser-focus menu, serving one of two original creations that have never been featured on their regular menus.
Stalls are set up for socialising, with neighbouring vendors coming together to create different ad hoc "zones", complete with their own music, look and vibe.
Those with a sweet tooth will have a sugar rush with the butter-laden pastries, calorific desserts and caffeine with a kick. Alternatively, nutritious, guilt-free and gut-loving fare will be presented for health-conscious foodies.
The "no fork" zone will offer an ultimate hands-on eating experience while cooks and cocktail shakers from Bangkok's buzziest neighbourhood of Chinatown will be there with their tantalising dishes.
There also will be au naturel goodies lovingly grown by the region's grooviest grocers, fresher seafood, crazy rich Asian food, as well as tasty dishes prepared by chefs and restaurateurs who call Bangkok their second home.
The highlights include two pop-up restaurants curated and run by two groups of chefs and mixologists, as well as the Mad Face Bar offering a variety of drinks in all area. Special treats to this year's festival will be three exclusive private dinners every evening, two sunset dinner cruises on Saturday and Sunday, and two boat parties, also on the weekend only.
Entry fee is 100 baht per person per day (inclusive of one drink). Sermsuk Warehouse is located between Charoen Nakhon 13 and 15.
-- Patcharawalai Sanyanusin
Visit www.madfacefoodweek.com.
