Sharonda D.
Yelp
Yelp Elite Event: Houston's First Annual Halal Festival!
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Jando and the Yelp Elite Team for extending their gracious invitation towards me and my four guests! I absolutely enjoyed this event as I am a huge fan of Halal cuisine! We were lucky to be on the VIP Guest List because the lines to enter the event were obnoxiously super duper long! I felt honored to be able to enter the event early and enjoy some of the venues before the mad crowd!
Gosh, I don't know where to start! There were so many different venues that ranged from coffee shops, jewelry shops, clothing shops, food venues, 360 Photo Booth, Moonwalks for the little children, paintball and laser tag, and lots of delicious halal cuisine!
My family and I visited several venues which included the Pak Man Truck, Mama Thai Lao Fusion Venue, OMG BURGERS Venue, Gryo Republic, Creatopolis, Qahwa Coffee Shop, N Scarves, Pak-Indo Grocers and Halal Meat, and more! My husband's favorites were the Mama's chicken wings from the Mama Thai tent and the Mad Dog from the Mad Dogs tent, my daughter's favorite was the Potato Samosas and waffle fries from the Pak Man truck, my grandson's favorite was the OMG Smashburger from the OMG Tent, and my favorite was the yellow rice and chicken with cucumbers, tomatoes, jalapeños, and onions from the Gyro Republic Tent. However, I thoroughly enjoyed my Hubby's mad dog! It was sinfully and wickedly delicious! The waffle fries from the Pak Man truck were downright and utterly delicious!!! They were seasoned and fried to perfection! We also had the OMG chicken sliders which were very tasteful and flavorful! Regretfully, we did not have the opportunity to experience the Halal cuisine at the Primitive Brisket tent due to the highly intense super duper long line, lol. It was ridiculously super-sized long and the sun was not having any mercy on us, lol.
My daughter and I bought a few items from the Creatopolis tent, a small female business owner. She designs hand made jewelry and arts and crafts. She has a plethora of trinkets ranging from paintings, resins, crochets, key chains, fancy soap dispensers for your bathroom, bracelets, earrings, glass art, glass mugs, and more. You can check her out on social media instagram @the.creatopolis and Facebook @the.creatopolis
There is plenty of parking available if you arrive early, however late arrivals were parking across the streets and walking to the stadium. As my family and I ended our visit and were exiting the stadium, we noticed that the line grew outrageously long from the time we'd arrived around 11:00 am vs. 3:00 pm. The line extended from the stadium out to the streets where you enter the parking lot. It was ridiculous! I give many thanks to Jando and the Yelp Elite Team for the perks that we receive as Elites! Being on the VIP was an honor! We did not have to fight with the large crowd to get to the front of the line. We were able to enjoy the venues without the busy human traffic. It was amazing! We absolutely enjoyed this event and experience! We look forward to another Halal Food Festival Event next year!