Melissa Chang

Frolic Contributor

Melissa Chang graduated from the University of Hawai‘i with a degree in journalism and has been blogging since 2007, mostly on food and travel. She works primarily in social media, so you can find her on Twitter and Instagram.

 

 

Articles

New chef, new menu at Off The Wall

Many people know Off The Wall Craft Beer & Wine for its innovative self-service tap walls, offering more than a dozen rotating beers, three ciders and ales, and selected wines and kombucha. Just in time for restaurants reopening for dine-in,…

Aloha oe, Ed Morita

Ed Morita prepping a dish. This and his headshot are by Darryl Watanabe. One of our original bloggers, pastry chef Ed Morita, passed away early today. If you've been around Hawaii's food scene and/or social media scene a while, you've probably at…

Heiho House to bring gastropub-style izakaya to Kaimuki

It takes a lot of guts to open a new concept restaurant in Hawaii, and in a pandemic, to boot. But sometime in August, restaurateurs Thomas Ray and Hideo Simon plan to open Heiho House, a gastropub-style izakaya with a creative approach to…

Guieb Cafe brings awesome cheap eats to Kalihi

Sometimes the best discoveries are the most random ones. I'd been scrolling through Facebook and saw my classmate, Wina Silva, on a breakfast date with her boyfriend, raving about the food at a newish restaurant called Guieb Cafe. My other classmates…

Chris Kajioka’s stylish Miro opens in Kaimuki

Cafe Miro had been a staple in Kaimuki for 25 years under the helm of owner-chef Shigeru Kobayashi, with solid French-style cuisine and prices that were affordable enough to make it a regular spot for neighborhood diners. We wondered what the…

New comfort food pop-up benefits the community

If you're a regular traveler to Tokyo, you're probably familiar with Ogo Ono-loa in Akasaka, a hidden gem for local expats and Japanese who love Hawaii. Aiea boy Ryoji Soranaka cooks local comfort dishes like loco moco and poke to give people…

Why you need to shop at farmers markets now

Editor's note: Melissa Chang manages the social media for Oahu's Farm Lover's Markets. She decided to write this post after what happened in the confusion surrounding new coronavirus regulations, when police shut down the Sunday Kailua farmers market. You'll find…

Get Hawaiian food at Oahu Grill in Kaimuki

Wow, laulau! Now that Oahu Grill is open in Kaimuki, East Honolulu residents have two reasons to be happy that they don't have to make a special trip to Kalihi or a long trek to Kaneohe to get good Hawaiian food…

Hidden gem in a hostess bar: Morichan Sushi

Several years ago, I blogged about a sushi bar hidden inside hostess bar Club Evergreen. Well, our site was redeveloped and the many details of that blog are gone (thank you, Richard), but so is Evergreen. Like many hostess bars,…

Meet the new Crack Seed Store owners

"Uncle" Kon Ping Young's last day with his Kaimuki Crack Seed Store was Dec. 31, but yesterday, new owners reopened the iconic neighborhood snack shop without skipping a beat.  Young didn't announce his retirement until it was time, nor did he put…

Kapiolani Spaghetti House just opened near Ala Moana

A new pasta restaurant opens today in the former Bread + Butter location, which was previously Angelo Pietro. Coincidence? Maybe. Delicious? Definitely. If you're familiar with the restaurant business, you know that Diamond Dining, which owns Shokudo, Buho and the previous Bread…

Karai Crab reopens in the old Cafe Sistina spot

Snow crab combo. Photo courtesy of Karai Crab.Karai Crab, the popular crab boil restaurant adjacent to The Willows since 2012, reopens today in the former Cafe Sistina space on King Street. The new location is 2,700 square feet — twice the size…

Hank’s haute new hot chicken sandwich

Everyone knows Hank's Haute Dogs for their gourmet hot dogs — it's right there in the name. But every so often, Henry "Hank" Adaniya introduces new items to change it up.  Nashville hot chicken sandwich, $7.95. Last week, Adaniya's old…

Quiora’s Italian fare is worth the splurge

Update 10/26/19: The $55 family boards mentioned below are no longer available; the restaurant says they were an introductory special. Everything is now a la carte — steak for $68, pork dishes for $55 and the whole fish at market…