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.

Email Mari

Articles

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…

Foodflash: Foodland is opening a poke restaurant in Kakaako

Foodland, the state's biggest locally owned supermarket chain, just announced it's opening a poke bar and restaurant Dec. 12 in Kakaako. Redfish, a 36-seat eatery at Salt Kakaako, will have poke and other dishes plus local beers, craft cocktails and…

Manoa gets a new Feast

You who drove to Moiliili and fought for parking to eat Jon Matsubara's butter-poached crab and bacon sandwiches and fried chicken dipped in umami aioli and gochujang sambal, and you who never made it to his months-long Feast at Anasia…

Chef’s picks: What to eat at Rangoon Burmese Kitchen

I met Khun Sai, chef-owner of Chinatown's Rangoon Burmese Kitchen, at last month's Hale Aina awards. Or rather, Sai had just won Best New Restaurant - Editor's Choice, one of only two awards selected by the top eaters on the…

Foodflash: Pigs do fly! Look who’s opening in Tokyo

It's official: After months of rumors, Chinatown's Pig & the Lady confirms today that its first overseas restaurant will open in Tokyo this fall. The new restaurant will be owned by Tokyo-based Transit General Office, whose other restaurants include four…

Summer slime: Natto Day feast coming 7/10

Note: The July 10 natto dinner is sold out! So we've added an identical encore feast on Sunday, July 14, 2019. For tickets to More Summer Slime: 7/14 Natto Feast encore, order online at Eventbrite. There is slime, and there…