Students and community members flocked to the Little Circle to enjoy the delicious foods at the annual Food Fest on Nov. 2. Several of the school’s clubs and chapters came together to make dishes from their homelands for the event.
As BYU–Hawaii’s tastiest event of the year, Food Fest provides a wide variety of foods, ranging from authentic tacos to fish balls. One of the biggest crowd pleasers was the Thai Club’s Pad Thai dish. Aubrey Rasmussen, a senior in graphic design from Texas, said, “I got the Pad Thai and it was really good, but it was an hour wait.” While only a few students had patience like Rasmussen to wait for the flavorful Thai food, others opted for a quicker option such as the Latino Chapter’s tacos.
Reid Crickmore, a junior majoring in hospitality tourism management from California, happily purchased the authentic-style tacos. Crickmore said, “The tacos were pretty good, especially for being from Hawaii. They were really authentic and fresh. I wish there was more though.” As people continued walking around the Little Circle, the air was filled with the succulent smell of seasoned meats from the Latino Chapter’s tacos mixed with a sweeter smell of spices from the Hong Kong Club’s booth.
Jeff Collins, a junior in business management- marketing from California, described the food he ate as amazing. “I can’t tell you what any of it is or what it is called, but it was really good.” He attempted to further describe the food by saying, “There was rice and this thing that was like mochi. It was all really good.”
The Filipino Club continuously hosted a line of at least 15 people up until the food ran out. Alex Leng, a senior in business management from Oregon, was one of the lucky students that got some chicken kabobs and lumpia before the club ran out. Leng said, “The lumpia was my favorite because it was filling to my belly and sweet to my lips.”
Tyler Murdoch, a freshman in business management from California, bought food from the Filipino Club as well. Murdoch’s favorite food was the chicken on a stick. “It was so good. It was juicy, succulent and perfectly marinated,” he said.
The Samoan Club offered a large plate filled with island favorites. Ernest Slade, a senior in information technology from Samoa, said, “The Samoan Club was good like every year. This year, they changed it up a little and added chicken curry.”