Here's what to expect from mega food festival Lahore Eat 2016

It's gathered a cult-like following in just the two years that it's been around in Karachi.

And now, the festival is coming to the original foodie city this weekend, from Friday to Sunday, Jilani Park in Lahore will be transformed into the venue for Lahore Eat 2016.

The fest kicks off at 4 pm on the first day, ending at 11 pm, and the other two days are a full 11 hour affair, starting at noon and wrapping up by 11 pm.

Also read: First glimpses of Karachi Eat 2016

From sub sandwiches and fried oreos to biryani and kashmiri chai, there's going to be something there to delight everyone's palate. Pay Rs. 200 entrance fee and you've got access to over 40 eateries under one roof, or lack thereof.

We get the scoop on the food shindig that's going to make your cheat day a cheat weekend.

The ultimate guide: The ones to watch

All the usual Lahore faves will be popping up stalls at the event, even all the fancier places like Cosa Nostra, Nishat Hotel's The Cube, Cafe Upstairs and The Lahore Social, to name a few. The best part? None of it will be priced over Rs. 300! Albeit, the servings will be smaller but that works in your favour -- you want to keep space in your tummy to try a little bit of everything.

Looking for something unique? Although there's going to be lots of burgers and desi grub, there's also going to be vendors selling food items you don't usually eat like Fish Tacos from The Shack, Rice Bowls from Sweet Affairs, Afghani cuisine from Dastarkhwan and Boba tea.

Azam Hafeez, the man behind the The Shack explains, "Fish tacos have never really been done before in Pakistan so we're going to be serving those, a tortilla filled with a crispy piece of fish, sour cream, salsa, jalapenos, the works."

With so much buzz surrounding his stall already, we wonder how Hafeez is preparing for the volume.

"I've taken part in the very first Karachi Eat so I have a little idea about how crazy it gets. I've gotten 300-400 kilos of fish coming in so here's hoping we won't be running out!"

To beat the Lahore heat, head over to the Lahorelicious kiosk to get your hands on some of their artisanal gelato or an affogato to give you that energy kick.

"We've gotten a bigger ice cream machine just for Lahore Eat so we've been churning out ice cream day in and day out; I just don't want to run out of stock!" explains Shermeen Khan, the woman running the budding business.

"Everything is made from scratch so if you're having a scoop of the Strawberry Cheesecake, we'll be making the cream cheese by ourselves, whatever ingredient we can make in the kitchen, we do."

Also on our radar are the wraps and choco spirals from Jumbo Gyro and by choco spirals, we mean premium Belgian chocolate wrapped in crispy tortilla bread and cut to fit your bite. as well as take-out restaurant Shut Up and Eat which will be setting up a live pasta station on the second day!

"Look out for a yellow vespa to spot our stall. We've put in a lot of thought and effort into standing out," says Narmeen Rumman of Shut Up and Eat, who runs the home venture with her sister, Shabeena Saboor.

"We're doing a different menu all three days, the first and third day being desi cuisine such and the second day will be pasta which is our specialty and everything will be made in front of you, like you go into your own kitchen and watch your mom cook. That's what makes us different, we're home cooks and we have a lot of women helping us out."

Keeping up with Karachi

First off, here's a piece of advice: book a Careem! If it's anything like Karachi Eat, looking for your driver or parking is going to be the biggest nightmare and will just put a damper on an otherwise glorious day. Instead, fork up Rs. 200 (use their promo code to get this rate!) and get to the venue hassle free.

Nutella was big this year at Karachi Eat and it seems like the choco hazenut spread has become a Lahore fave too. K-town had Spoonful's Nutella gol gappas? No problem, Lahore's Sarrak Pe Karrak has Nutella dumplings, as well as Nutella lassi prepared by Maro Tandoors.

Churros & Choc by Rayyan Durrani was a massive hit at Karachi Eat and Lahore has something similar with Muneeze Khalid of Sugarie -- the churros will be made with pure cane brown sugar and customers will have four different toppings to choose from.

This time around, the fest in Karachi attracted nearly 60,000 people in a span of 3 days. Will the foodie town be able to keep up? We'll just have to wait for the weekend and find out.

Tips for surviving the fest

We know it's tempting to get carried away but remember, it's Lahore Eat, not Lahore Fashion Week. Dress comfortably, skip the heels (white sneakers are trendy and convenient!) and keep a hair scrunchy in your bag for when you roll up your sleeves to dig into that plate of nihari.

Speaking of getting your hands dirty, keeping a hand sanitizer would be a smart move and make sure your phone is fully charged; trust us when we say you're going to want to Instagram what you're eating.

Have a game plan; as well-prepared as these vendors are, the foot traffic will be mammoth and there is a possibility that they may run out of certain food items that you've been pining for so make sure you manage your time well. May the odds be ever in your favour.

Happy chowing, fellow foodies!