South Korean social media star Sang Hyuk Kwon won the 25th Taste of Mariana's Oh My Grill International Food Challenge last Saturday.
The second night of the 25th Annual Taste of Marianas draws thousands of local residents and visitors to cheer on this year's Oh My Grill Mariana International Food Challenge Champions. did.
This year, Korean and Japanese social media stars Sang Hyuk Kwon and Yukiyo Masubuchi (two-time Taste of the Mariana International Food Champion) came to the CNMI to participate in last Saturday's contest.
The two social media influencers competed against Subway Sandwich Challenge winners Jeremy Rother, Bob Liu, and Michael Ma Ye.
During the competition, hundreds of Korean and Japanese tourists and local residents rushed to cheer on their compatriots. The Japanese and Korean communities even went so far as to print flags to be flown high and proud as they cheered on the champions.
However, with only one winner taking home the $1,000 prize, Kwon was the overall winner of last weekend's tournament, followed closely by Masubuchi, who narrowly lost the title. Rounding out the top three was Mariana High School teacher Jeremy Rother.
When asked about his first win at the Taste of Marianas International Food Challenge, Kwon said he was very happy and was looking forward to returning to the CNMI to defend his title.
When asked what he did to prepare after being declared champion, Kwon said he started taking protein a few days before the competition and started training to eat a lot of meat in the lead up to the competition.
Fortunately, his training paid off, and Kwon was able to eat more than 10 pounds. of barbecued meat.
Unfortunately, Kwon was no match for anything over 4 pounds. Carbohydrate intake including red rice and macaroni salad.
Mr. Masubuchi, who came in second place, also finished most of the meat, but struggled with the red rice and macaroni salad.
Rother, who finished third, was proud of the effort he put into the challenge, even though he didn't finish the meal.
In an interview, Kwon said that this tournament was his first time visiting Saipan, but he would like to visit more often in the future.
“[I] I love the pristine nature and mountains, and the people here are very friendly. Especially the food was very delicious,” he said.
This year's challenge, sponsored by Oh My Grill, featured an entire Mariana-style barbecue platter (weighing over 12 pounds).