How One Hawai‘i Chef Became a Dining Institution
From family food legacy to new adventures in fusion, Chai Chaowasaree has reached icon status.
Mari Taketa
Articles
Watch a sake movie, then drink the sakes
In a crowded izakaya recently I found myself sitting next to Anderson Le, who flies to film fests all over the world in search of good picks for the Hawaii International Film Festival. “You!” he said. “There’s something I want…
Our hood: Liliha
Our hood is a series spotlighting the neighborhoods the Frolic team calls home. Up first: favorite foods of Mari Taketa’s Liliha. Here’s my hood, Liliha. It’s an old, evolving hood that runs mauka-makai along Liliha Street just above Chinatown. At…
The food you’ll eat: Joy of Sake
It calls itself The World’s Best Sake Celebration, so you already know the sakes will be stellar. At next Friday’s Joy of Sake, you’ll find 391 of them — more sake than you’ve ever seen in your life — but…
Oh yes we did: Midsummer Natto Feast
All 32 pounds courtesy of Aloha Tofu, all non-GMO Full house for Sunday night’s Midsummer Natto Feast, now a four-year-old tradition in Honolulu. Thanks to the ravenous appetites of Hawaii’s Facebook natto lovers group, we’ve had izakaya-style natto, global natto,…
Natto again! Midsummer feast coming July 12
UPDATE: The July 12 natto feast is now sold out. One thing I’ve come to learn about Hawaii’s Facebook natto lovers group: They really love natto. This is a group who posts pictures of all the natto they eat: natto…
38 Best New Dishes and Drinks You Must Try in Hawai‘i
The best new dishes and drinks around the state.
Kakaako street food scene hits 2.0
Those tables, tents and food trucks you see at the old Fisherman’s Wharf? On Ala Moana just across Ward Warehouse? That’s Kakaako’s new street food pod. Not only that, it’s a permanent thing, and the start of something much bigger.…
Something New: OMG, Honolulu Finally Has Korean Chain Chicken
Crispy, light as air and addictive. Finally!
8 Classic Honolulu Dishes That Just Won’t Quit
These dishes never seem to get old.
Discover an Unexpected Frozen Treat in the Corner of a Korean Supermarket
En Hakkore Coffee Bar whips up amazing Korean shave ice.
Something new: Bellini Bistro
On a cool and breezy night I wanted the hominess of a simple chicken — nothing Asian, nothing battered and as close to roasted as I could get. Which is why, Friday night last week, I was on my way…
Ladies vs Gents: Whose cuisine will reign supreme?
So MW Restaurant is putting together a benefit dinner with a male vs. female lineup of culinary superstars. Which is heart-stopping enough (I know who I’m putting my money on), but I wanted to know more. “It all started because…
Something new: Mark Noguchi’s Mission
“Remember you used to tell me,” Mark Noguchi said, “how my food took you back? Well, that’s what I’m cooking here. It’s comfort food with a nod to history.”Sitting in the leafy courtyard of the Mission Houses Museum, I have…
Drool now: The food you’ll eat at Something New
The menus are in, dishes taste-tested, and the verdict as we knew it would be: Something New’s food is killer. As if there was ever a doubt. We threw Honolulu’s best and craziest chefs tough challenges. What would happen if…
Something New event: Michelle Karr-Ueoka and Mark Noguchi go native
Something New is a food celebration with a twist: Nine of Honolulu’s craziest chefs will unleash their creativity in fun new ways, each challenged with a local ingredient that takes them out of their comfort zone. Join us for a…
The Man Behind Shokudo’s Popular Honey Toast
He created Shokudo, Búho and, now, Bread + Butter.
Townies can grow food: Demo this Saturday
I grew a tomato plant on my back porch last year. It was either that or keep blowing $20 a week on Beretania Safeway’s sweet, gargantuan, mainland-grown heirlooms at $5.99 a pound, which in my mind cost even more because…
Taste the Bangladeshi Countryside in the Biryani at Café Maharani
Café Maharani delivers rich flavors from Northern India.
Dive in: MW’s Chocolate Cafe popup
Not Reese’s: Frozen Waialua chocolate peanut butter cup with chocolate mousse. — Photo by Olivier Koning “We’re gonna do a vertical tasting of different chocolates,” MW Restaurant’s Michelle Karr-Ueoka was saying. That was it. Vertical tasting of anything, I’m in.…
Drink Beer and Cocktails on Tap at Mō‘ili‘ili Gastropub, Pint + Jigger
The Mō‘ili‘ili gastropub that won first-place Hale ‘Aina awards for best beer program and best cocktails.
Grondin’s Most Technically Challenging Dish: Cassoulet
One of Grondin’s best-selling entrées is also the most complicated to make.
Something new: Dessert bar at Pig & the Lady
First things first: Starting Monday, Pig and the Lady is raising the dessert bar with new creations by Vintage Cave’s original pastry chef. Rachel Murai, the homegrown Nobu Waikiki alum hand-picked by former Cave chef Chris Kajioka “because she’s crazy.…
HFWF 2014: A Lucky Modern Buddha Belly
A Lucky Modern Buddha Belly put 1,000 diners poolside at The Modern Honolulu Thursday night, grazing at 14 star-chef-studded stations and sipping Asian-inspired cocktails and wines poured by the vintners themselves. Spotted: Legions of off-duty chefs, including the ponytailed Hubert…
19 Gluten-Free Friendly Restaurants in Honolulu, Hawaii
We’ve rounded up the best spots to avoid gluten on Oahu.
Tips for Eating Gluten-Free
Did we skip your favorite spot? Here's a quick guide with some general rules of thumb to avoid gluten, whatever kind of restaurant you end up at. Turns out some cuisines make it easier than others.
Did this: Hard-core natto dinner
Another Natto Day dinner is in the books, and while the stink may have faded and the sticky-gummy slime been washed from our lips, the glorious afterglow lingers.The place: Pig and the Lady. The time: Sunday night. The chefs: Robert…
Something new: Signature flavors at Shimazu Shave Ice
It’s a year now since Kelvin Shimazu left this earth, and left it a happier place, thanks to the shave ice shop he put on the map with its wild and wacky flavors. I stopped in the other day and…
Hard-core natto: Get ready to feast
UPDATE, 7/4: The Hard-Core Natto Dinner is SOLD OUT.At long last, dinner. Hard-core natto, this year’s Natto Day* feast by Ethel’s Grill, happens Sunday, July 13. And if you’ve ever been to Ethel’s Grill, you know a little of what…
Get ready to kampai — Joy of Sake’s coming
Ah, summer! Languid days, south shore swells … and here in Honolulu, the musical crackle of 370 sake bottles being opened. The Joy of Sake returns to the Hawaii Convention Center on July 18 with 370 sakes from all over…
Are you ready? Hard-core natto dinner
Some “weird facts” I found about natto on foodista.com have convinced me Honolulu is ready:Some Japanese restaurants even make sushi rolls with natto. — Get outta here. Next you’ll be telling me there’s even natto spaghetti.Those with adventurous palates can…
In defense of foodies
Please. A bit of respect for the maligned.Ever since Myong Choi came out with his “Fed up with foodies” rant, people have been gushing in agreement. A few have even gushed to me. Well delivered, Myong. Great for the new…
Lions and drummers and pork belly? Oh yes
If, at a bon dance, you’ve seen men with drums leaping and twirling, the air pulsing with their energy, chances are you’ve seen eisa. It’s exhilarating, this uniquely Okinawan drumming style, and often martial, so that sometimes they’re drumming and…
Back in Kakaako: Mark “Gooch” Noguchi
He’s back: Three months after closing Taste Table, the awesomely quirky popup incubator that changed out restaurants every day of the week, Mark “Gooch” Noguchi is opening a new place on Auahi. Snackbox, a kiosk inside Lauren Makk’s Pad Hawaii,…
Field Notes: Manoa Pool
Each month Field Notes explores Honolulu’s vibrant and varied scenes and subcultures. This month: Weekday Afternoons at Manoa Pool.
We’re on it
Meatball ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 40 First you choose your meatball, then your topping, then your starch (or greens). At Meatball, it's all about the ... what else? Six different kinds (beef, chicken, veg, etc.) can be…
Honolulu Super Cheap Eats Under $6
Nothing more than $6.
First look: Sheldon Simeon’s Migrant Maui
It’s plenty of years since I spent time on Maui, plenty of years since my sis lived in Kihei and Kula and I cruised those points and more. That prettiest of drives from Paia to Makawao, the tall scented forests…
