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

DSC05777

Aloha Sapporo! Last day in Furano

Aoi Ike, or the Blue Pond. We spent almost a full day sightseeing from Furano to Sapporo on the bus route back, taking us to scenic points to see fall foliage and the now-famous Blue Pond. Since Hokkaido is Japan’s…

DSC05716

Aloha Sapporo! Visiting Furano, part 2

The field outside our cabin in the mornings.Our visit to Furano — the middle of Hokkaido, and one of the most agricultural areas — continued with a very interactive tour to various farms. Although it’s a famously popular area for…

DSC05963

Fighting hunger with CANstruction

I can’t believe I’ve only covered the big CANstruction event once all these years. I guess I was so amazed by the architectural feats using canned goods, I must have assumed you all were already checking them out.Yesterday was the…

DSC05921

Fashion forward: Versace’s Fall/Winter 2014 preview

The limited Versace Aloha bag, only sold in Hawaii. Versace Hawaii unveiled its Fall/Winter 2014 collection at its Ala Moana Center store last night, featuring many unique and limited edition items — including their exclusive Aloha bag, of which there…

DSC05466

Aloha Sapporo! Visiting Furano, part 1

I headed to Sapporo with four friends because we won a tour from Hokkaido Treasure Island Travel — we just had to provide our own air fare. What fun! After a full day in the city, the Treasure Island bus…

sapporopromo

Aloha Sapporo! Return to the city

I can’t believe it’s been two years since I last went to Sapporo. When Hawaiian Airlines launched their inaugural flight route there, I got to go and blogged about the experience. It ended up being my (and my friend Laurie…

Hyundai

My little auto adventure: Hyundai Elantra

Well, it took a while since my last test drive to find a car dealer that would let me take a car on an extended drive as I do my car shopping and blog. Tony Auto Group’s Allan Capello was…

DSC05236

Something new: Slurp at Vino

One day, Vino Italian Tapas Chef Keith Endo was shooting the breeze with his boss, D.K. Kodama, about food ideas and how to draw business to the restaurant for lunch. Vino, as you may know, is only open for dinner…

DSC05186

Party pics: Hawaii Restaurant Association’s Hall of Fame

The Hawaii Restaurant Association (HRA) held its eighth annual Hall of Fame dinner last night at Dole Cannery Ballrooms, an event honoring longtime, outstanding industry members.This year’s Hall of Fame inductees were: Joey Cabell, Chart House Waikiki; Peter Canlis, Canlis Restaurant;…

DSC05139

Something new: Hawaii’s Favorite Kitchens

On Thursday, Hawaii’s Favorite Kitchens — an expansion of Rainbow Drive-In — opens in Kapahulu next to the iconic plate lunch spot. The new venue features some of Hawaii’s most popular local foods, including poke, hulihuli chicken and KC waffle dogs, all…

DSC04752

Did this: Maui Foodbank’s “Blue Hawaii”

A lot of us have heard about the Hawaii Foodbank, which services Oahu, but not to many have heard about the Maui Foodbank. The organization is not as big as Oahu’s, but the need is no less great. There are…

DSC04602

The Good Table at Stage

Since this is the last week to buy a table at Lanakila Pacific’s The Good Table, I have one more preview of one of the featured restaurants at the event. Stage Restaurant in the Honolulu Design Center has donated five…

cover1

Preview: Livestock Tavern

Lucky Belly fans have been waiting for its sister restaurant to open across the street for months, but I’m here to tell you … they’re not open yet. After a few setbacks, Livestock Tavern — which was set to open…

DSC04686

First taste: Peter Merriman puts his touch on Jimmy Buffett’s

Chef Peter Merriman’s Handcrafted Restaurants and Monkeypod Kitchen quietly took over Jimmy Buffett’s in the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort last Monday, with a very promising new menu.The space and the name of the restaurant will remain the same for a…

DSC04315

A fruitful day at Frankie’s Nursery

I love that the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival brings in celebrity chefs from around the world, because it opens opportunities for me to explore different things. Food writer Sean Morris, who knows everyone in town, had taken Marcel Vigneron…

ChefAction

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Chefs Action Network

The second annual North Shore Food Summit happens today and tomorrow at Waimea Valley, and although chefs and other food industry citizens will make up most of the attendance, all interested individuals are invited to participate. You can learn about…

mooncover

Chinee like me: Moon Festival 2014

About two dozen varieties of fresh moon cakes at Sing Cheong Yuan.I did it again. Like last year, I was running around for a week before the official mid-autumn festival, which was yesterday (Sept. 8) and forgot to get my…

DSC04466

HFWF 14: Finale at Ko Olina

The Hawai‘i Food and Wine Festival held its finale event, It’s a Food World After All, on the beach Sunday at Ko Olina Lagoon. It was a relaxed and fun way for the nine-day festival to wrap up, with 15…

cover

Did this: Kaanapali Fresh 2014

The highlight of Kaanapali Fresh is their Saturday, a day filled with food, drink, and fresh products to bring home so you can create yourself.The day started early with their special farmer’s market at Whaler’s Village. This was open to…

DSC03650

Something new at The Bar Honolulu

Moumen el Hajj and Holly HadsellThe Bar at the Honolulu Club is actually not new, but the menu is, and so are the people behind it. If you remember Oahu’s Hajji Baba and Beau Soleil restaurants from the 1990s, you’ll…

DSC04119

HFWF 2014: Under a Maui Moon

The stage at Kitchen StadiumThe Hawai’i Food and Wine Festival returned to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa last night at Kaanapali Kitchen Stadium’s “Under a Maui Moon.” The sold-out event featured a unique presentation of renowned chefs (and their…

DSC03863

Kaanapali Fresh: ‘Aha’aina O Ka’anapali

There’s farm to table dining, and Maui has a lot of that … but have you tried evolutionary dining? This year, Kaanapali Fresh challenged their featured chefs to use traditional Hawaiian ingredients (and/or recipes, if possible) to create dishes that…

DSC03734

Kicking off Kaanapali Fresh 2014

Maui has some of the best food celebrations in the state, and one of the relative newcomers, Kaanapali Fresh has become the most blogged-about culinary destination event on the island so far. It’s a great way to showcase the island’s bounty…

DSC03517

Preview: The Good Table 2014

Many of you come to this website to read about and plan your outings to the latest restaurants around town. Here’s a chance for you to do that, plus do good for a nonprofit that feeds our kupuna.For the last…

DSC03485

Hidden gem: Il Buco

I know locals very rarely want to venture into Waikiki — traffic can be bad, parking is expensive, and the crowds can be maddening. But you know, you’ll find that in Chinatown, too. It was so refreshing to find a…

DSC09844

Good eats at Holoholo Bar & Grill

I had been meaning to blog about this neighborhood bar for a while, but I wanted to go a few times before I did. The hard thing with Holoholo Bar & Grill is, their portions are pretty big, so you…

DSC03000

Low tea at Stage

Orange china at Stage matches the building’s exterior.It seems like I’ve been taking in a lot of tea services lately, from the Moana Surfrider to The Monarch Tea Room. My latest caffeinated adventure was at Stage Restaurant, in the Lime…