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Circles Thai continues Thai Knife Fight series with Northern Liberties battle

The sixth installment of Chef Alex Boonphaya’s Thai Knife Fight cooking competition is coming up next week, when the Circles Thai owner plans to pit one of his own up against lauded Philly Chef Derek Davis.

The next installment of Chef Alex Boonphaya's Thai Knife Fight cooking competition is coming up next week, when the Circles Thai owner plans to pit one of his own up against Philly chef Derek Davis.

Chef Davis of the now-closed Derek's (formerly Sonoma) in Manayunk will face off against Circles Thai chef de cuisine Tom Puthongdee on Thursday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. The battle will take place at Circles in Northern Liberties, and is the sixth edition since the series started in 2014.

The chefs will prepare four courses for the meal, two savory and two sweet. Guests will then blind-taste those dishes — which will be paired with craft beers — and rate each on a scale from 1 to 5. The chef garnering the most points will take home a Korin Japanese chef's knife and bragging rights.

Tickets for the event run $35, plus tax and gratuity. Call Circles Thai at 267-687-1309 to reserve a spot.

At last year's Northern Liberties battle, Chef Puthongdee bested Chef Silvestre Rincón-Tellez — an ex-partner of Chef Boonphaya's in the shuttered Tuk Tuk Real. Chef Puthongdee is Chef Boonphaya's brother-in-law, and came to Circles Thai after a stint at Sup Sip Thai in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Davis, for his part, has worked in Philadelphia's restaurant industry for several decades. Aside from Derek's in Manayunk, Davis is known for his work at Kansas City Prime, Fish on Main, and Arroyo Grille. Prior to setting up shop in Manayunk, he also was the executive chef at the Warwick Hotel's 1701 Café.