Best Hot Chicken Sandwiches in the Bay Area!

How spicy is the spiciest one?

Abhishek Mynam, Christopher Park, Shayna Tran, and Taylor Nguyen • June 4, 2024

Three food lovers challenge their taste buds and review three hot chicken sandwiches. Are the hot chicken sandwiches as spicy as they say to be? Let’s find out!

Reporting by Abhishek Mynam, Christopher Park, & Shayna Tran.

Filming & editing by Taylor Nguyen.

Music by Stream Cafe on YouTube.

About the Contributors

Abhishek Mynam, Web Manager

Senior Abhishek Mynam is currently in his fourth year of journalism. Mynam is passionate about helping people through the usage of technology. His goal is to give back to his community by developing apps to solve problems that society faces, such as homelessness or mental health. During the next ten years, Mynam hopes to be a married homeowner with two children after graduating from college and working a stable job. Mynam relaxes through playing basketball, going to the gym, biking and volunteering. Outside of school Mynam is involved in Boy Scouts and the non-profit tutoring organization “Teens Tutor Teens”. He follows the quote “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Mynam believes that opportunities are not given and people need to seek out new opportunities. In his role as a web manager this year, Mynam wishes to try podcasting and expand Aquila’s website and social media presence through Instagram Reels.

Christopher Park, Reporter

Senior Christopher Park is in his second year in journalism this year and often takes inspiration from the quote, “c'est la vie”, as a reminder that whatever happens, this is life, and everything will be okay. Park enjoys hobbies such as playing the violin (charity orchestra), reading webtoon (“The Sound of my Heart”) and listening to K-Pop. As someone who values education, Park believes that a media issue that doesn’t get enough attention is the unfairness of the college admission process and believes that certain privileged acceptance rules are unjust. Park values friendliness and maturity in his friends, who would describe him as smart, but unmotivated. The best advice Park has ever received was to not think, and just do. He applies it into his life by not overthinking anything and just making sure to try his best. Park enjoys journalism because he can share his potential with a big audience. He focuses on storytelling through various forms of media and his favorite contribution was his “NOPE” film review. A remarkable moment from writing the article for him was passing out after watching the movie for the fifth time. This year, Park wants to write about more serious and in-depth articles and hopes to be able to make a difference in the world through his writing.

Shayna Tran, Managing Editor

Senior Shayna Tran is in her fourth year of journalism. One of the various clubs Tran leads is Girls Who Code, which she is passionate about because of her interest in the coding field, which she hopes to pursue as a job in her future.Tran enjoys hanging with her friends, trying new restaurants and listening to music. Taylor Swift is one of Tran’s favorite artists because of the way she words her lyrics poetically. Her favorite Taylor Swift lyric is “I’m still a believer, but I don’t know why, I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try try,” from Swift’s “Mirrorball.” Tran’s favorite aspect of journalism is interviewing people, as it provides a session where she and the interviewee can openly converse and get to know each other better without the conversation feeling awkward. As a reporter this year, Tran would like to expand on her past articles about food reviews to cover a larger variety of food, as Aquila has mainly focused on desserts rather than main course foods.

Taylor Nguyen, Social Media Manager

Senior Taylor Nguyen is looking forward to her third year of journalism because she appreciates how much journalism has helped her branch out. She feels that journalism has allowed her to work on her teamwork and leadership skills and hopes to continue to improve them. Nguyen has been a part of UPA’s Vietnamese Student Association, since 2021, and absolutely loves it. She loves how the club allows her to support and learn more about her culture. Nguyen values genuine people who are always caring and understanding. She appreciates how caring her family and friends are as they are the most important people to her in her life. In her free time, Nguyen enjoys listening to music ranging from indie, rock, R&B and K-pop; with her top three favorite K-pop groups being TXT, NewJeans and Red Velvet. Nguyen also enjoys dying and bleaching her hair in several different styles with colors such as pink, black, purple, red, and black and white in a style known as “Skunk Hair.” Nguyen uses her hair as a form of freedom and creativity as it allows her to express her style and feel a sense of originality. Nguyen also adores exploring new, mostly-Asian, food options around the bay,with her favorite spots being Liang's Village and Udon Mugizo. She also enjoys attending festivals in the Bay Area such as Stickerfest, where sticker-enthusiasts come together to buy and sell stickers they have made. She had hoped to attend San José Made—a pop-up retail festival that sells clothes and art—to look at all of the clothes as thrifting is another one of her interests. As the publicity and web manager last year, Nguyen was able to focus on her goals of sharing news through broadcasts. This year, she hopes to continue to do so as the PR manager and to cover topics such as food, music and film.