Mari Taketa

Dining Editor

Dining Editor Mari Taketa spearheads coverage of the city’s dining scene for HONOLULU Magazine and its digital food blog, Frolic Hawai‘i. A 10-year veteran of traditional journalism, she traded in a career at The Associated Press in Tokyo and Hawai‘i Business Magazine for nonprofit adoption work in Ho Chi Minh City. Food brought her back to journalism, starting with Metromix Honolulu, The Honolulu Advertiser, Hana Hou and now HONOLULU. She is also excited by travel and periodically attempts to learn new languages.

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Articles

10 more days to get takeout: MW Restaurant is moving

If ordering takeout from MW Restaurant is part of your pandemic life, or if you've missed dining at Michelle Karr-Ueoka and Wade Ueoka's posh eatery, take note: The popular restaurant is closing at the end of the year and reopening…

Pint + Jigger is coming back

This was buried near the bottom of a press release about recent updates at the Ala Moana Hotel, after the part about a new look for the pool deck and a new salon and spa: Pint + Jigger, the Moiliili…

Sweet Revenge is making Halloween mochi and pot pies

Don’t underestimate things that come in small packages. Kathy Masunaga’s baked goods are prime examples of that. As the owner of Sweet Revenge, a bakery/food truck that sells oven-fresh, sweet and savory mini pies, Masunaga wakes up in the wee…

Best of Honolulu 2020

We sought out the best of everything—from local sake to seafood boil, bank to barbershop—and expanded our list with a finalist in every category chosen by our readers.

Supporting Kapolei restaurants just got a huge incentive

Kapolei, you not only have restaurants that make townies jealous, you now have a community effort to keep them in business. Eat. Love. Kapolei is an ongoing drive through July 31 to support local eateries to help them stay open.…

Coming 7/10: Natto Day takeout dine-around

Just when it seemed all hope of Hawaii's annual midsummer Natto Day feast celebrating Japan's infamous stinky bean was lost, a text message saved the day. It was from Scott Pang and Greg Sekiya, creators of the local Facebook natto…

Here’s what Hawaii restaurants are doing about coronavirus

Editor's note: Frolic is monitoring the evolving coronavirus situation as it affects our local foodscape. Now that the U.S. government has recommended not eating at restaurants for the next 15 days, we're compiling a quick list of who's doing takeout,…

What’s happening with Alicia’s Market?

The sun is shining a little brighter on Mokauea Street in Kalihi this new year: Alicia's Market, the three-generation poke shop that was gutted by a fire in 2018, is finally starting its rebuild. "We're looking at summertime" for reopening…