Meet the winners of Aurora’s Global Flavors competition
share
AURORA — In a city filled with more than 500 independently-owned restaurants and markets serving dishes from around the world, voters selected three restaurants as winners of Aurora’s annual Global Flavors Competition.
The city launched the competition, now in its 12th year, to showcase the wide array of cultural foods Aurora has to offer. To participate in the contest, businesses must feature a globally inspired drink, dish or dessert.
“Global Flavors encourages Aurora residents and visitors to go out and try new businesses they may not have heard of and it provides a platform for those businesses to reach new customers,” said Joe Rubino, a city spokesperson.
Aurora is the most diverse city in Colorado. Residents speak more than 160 languages, and their diversity is reflected in the city's food scene.
The city announced the winners of the competition June 14 at the Global Fest “World in a City” celebration held at Aurora Municipal Center. The city estimates 10,000 people attended the event this year.
This year, 14 businesses submitted dishes for the competition.
Angry Chicken, at the corner of Havana Street and Jewell Avenue, won first place. Ladydee’s Authentic Nigerian Cuisine finished second and HoneyBee Asian Bistro & Sushi finished third.
Angry Chicken
Two boys ran across the restaurant in red Angry Chicken vests, laughing as they disappear into the back of the house.
“Come over here! We need you two for the picture,” said Soumya Yadala as she wrangled her two children to take a photograph with the restaurant staff.
Yadala is the owner of Angry Chicken in Aurora. She acquired the Korean fried chicken joint in August of 2024.
“[Angry Chicken] believes that people come closer with food, so I wanted to give customers an experience that they won’t have anywhere else,” Yadala said.
Video: Peter Vo, Rocky Mountain PBS
Korean fried chicken uses a rice flour coating, which traps less oil during the frying process compared to Western methods of frying chicken. This results in the lighter and often crispier texture associated with the Korean specialty.
At Angry Chicken, the team tosses wings in a variety of sauces, ranging from spicy garlic to the signature spicy angry sauce.
Since taking over, Yadala has introduced a Tandoori flavored wing, a nod to her Indian heritage.
“We wanted to give it that Indian twist and bring some innovation to the table,” Yadala said.
For the Global Flavors competition, the restaurant submitted its original wings, along with all of their sauces, and its Angry Mango Shake.
Yadala and her team brought home the first-place prize for the competition.
“The Aurora community helped back this place for us. From our team to the judges, they made this all happen,” Yadala said.
Ladydee’s Authentic Nigerian Cuisine
Ngozi Onyeali, known as Chef Ladydee in Aurora, is not a stranger to the Global Flavors competition.
Last year, she won third place for her heritage red beef stew. This year, she’s moved up in rankings with her new dish, stewed black eyed beans and spinach.
She grew up in Nigeria and learned from her mother’s cooking. She moved to the United States when she was 18 and has been cooking ever since. She’s been catering over the last 20 years for festivals, events, and private individuals, working out of a commissary kitchen.
Global Festival serves as a complement to the city’s Global Fest celebrations. Ladydee’s dish and history are an example of what the city strives to highlight in this competition.
“Global Fest is able to feature the international cuisines of select local establishments, but no single event can capture the broad diversity of Aurora’s food scene, so Global Flavors is intended to expand upon those offerings to showcase more great restaurants from across the city,” Rubino said.
HoneyBee Asian Bistro & Sushi
“This restaurant is ran by all the immigrants here,” said Helen Du, chuckling as she leaned back in her chair in a private dining room at the back of the restaurant. “Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Mexican — we could be an international bistro.”
Du started HoneyBee Asian Bistro & Sushi with her business partner, Chindy Chang, 17 years ago when they immigrated to the United States from China. It became a staple in East Aurora.
Video: Peter Vo, Rocky Mountain PBS
During the pandemic, Du and Chang had to figure out a way to keep the business alive. They experimented with sushi because it was easy to make for to-go orders. Now, a sushi bar is a regular staple in their restaurant.
The restaurant was one of the winners in 2024. Du wanted to participate in the competition once again.
Felix Budiman, an Indonesian sushi chef of 20 years, created a specific sushi roll just for the Global Flavors competition.
Budiman filled a “Tsunami roll” with shrimp tempura, avocado, cream cheese, a crab mix and baked salmon. He tops the roll with sweet soy, spicy mayo, crunchy scallions and masago. The sushi is then served on a plate with a ring of fire around it.
While the dish didn’t bring home first place, Du said she’s still happy that people voted for them and continue to come to the business.
“Our customer base is like family. They always help us with ideas and always show up,” Du said.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.