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

AgFestpromo1

Maui Ag Fest 2014

I had a hard time choosing a promo pic to represent today’s blog about the Maui Agricultural Festival. The highlight is definitely the collaboration between Maui chefs and farmers, but there is so much more to the event.On the first…

dinearound1

Maui: Dine-around in Wailea

I’m finally catching back up to my Maui trip last weekend! As part of the Maui Agricultural Festival activities, the media and visiting chefs were treated to a dine-around at top Wailea restaurants: Capishe? has been around for more than…

Did this: Hula Grill’s chocolate/beer dinner

Chocolate goes well with almost anything, but I don’t know if many people know that it goes well with beer. The bitterness in dark chocolate apparently goes well with the various flavors that different beers (especially stouts) impart, leaving a…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Lance Kosaka

Since the upcoming Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) of Hawaii Spring Soiree is this Saturday, I’ve been looking at the lineup of chefs and getting very excited. One of the new restaurants on the list is Top of Waikiki, and they’re showcasing their (sort…

GrownonMaui-promo1

Did this: Grown on Maui collab dinner

I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since I attended the Maui County Agricultural Festival for the first time. Last year, I just flew in and out so I could check out the event itself for the day; this…

Grondin11

First taste: Grondin

I want to be clear, this post is not a review. Grondin — a new restaurant in Chinatown blending French and Ecuadorian flavors — just opened Monday night. As you read this, they are prepping for their third night of…

tastyadventure1

An eating adventure on the Pi’iholo Zipline

There’s a lot of good food in Hawaii, but have you had a real dining adventure? I got to have one, literally, when two Maui businesses decided to collaborate and take their entities to a new level.One is Happy Opu,…

bill-promo1

Preview: bills Sydney

I got to meet Bill Granger at his new restaurant yesterday. I had never heard of bill’s Sydney (yes, with the lower case “b”) until I got wind of it opening its first Hawaii branch this month, but for foodies…

Capoeira1

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Capoeira Besouro

Several years ago, I went to Rio de Janeiro for Carnivale and, while on Copacabana Beach, saw some young people in groups taking turns doing an acrobatic dance in a circle. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen, since it…

Torae1

New eats: Izakaya Torae Torae

It’s taken us a while to get a post up about the new izakaya run by Hide Yoshimoto, the popular sushi chef from Doraku. When we first went, pre-opening, the dishes and the service was still being tweaked, so it…

fresh1

Preview: Fresh Cafe Downtown

The new Fresh Cafe, located in the old Indigo space in Chinatown, opened Wednesday for a media preview. The restaurant and the menu have been undergoing renovations since owner Tiffany Tanaka took it over last fall, and she hopes to…

polar1

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Special Olympics

This is not the real Polar Plunge pool! Nonprofits around town always have different fundraisers to help them keep running, but Special Olympics Hawaii probably has the most unusual and fun events that get the entire community involved. You’re familiar…

poshpromo1

Party pics: Ala Moana Center’s Posh Pau Hana 2014

Ala Moana Center kicked off its annual Shop a Lea, a weeklong spring fashion event with special shopping and dining offers, a large gift with purchase (this year it’s a pink Kipling tote), fashion shows, and in-store events. To boost…

bruschetta1

First taste: Koko Head Cafe

The people behind Koko Head Cafe: Chef Lee Anne Wong (center), with owners Kevin Haney and Denise Luke, who also own 12th Avenue Grill. — Photo by Diane SeoI have a confession: I have never watched an episode of “Top…

promo1

Did this: Great Chefs Fight Hunger 2014

About 600 people attended the Hawaii Foodbank’s annual Great Chefs Fight Hunger this past weekend, a fundraising gala in their Mapunapuna warehouse. In addition to 20 different booths with creative dishes by  renowned Oahu chefs, there was wine, beer, sake, cocktails…

eggs2

Eating local at the Hyatt Waikiki

It’s great to eat local, do the farm-to-table stuff, source your ingredients from a small radius, etc., but when you live in a metropolitan hub like Honolulu, that’s not always easy to do. In recent months, the Hyatt Waikiki has…

Shaymus1

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ MDA Spring Soiree

The upcoming Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) of Hawaii Spring Soiree will be its 15th, but I only went for the first time last year … and was blown away. I go to a lot of nonprofit events during the year,…

maidopromo1

New(ish) eats: Nabeya Maido

Is there room for another nabe/hotpot spot in town? There are several, just in a five-mile radius in metro Honolulu. The latest is Nabeya Maido in Market City Shopping Center, which opened in December. I wouldn’t normally go, but radio…

beefbeefbeef1

Did this: Hawaii Island Rancher’s Dinner

The “farm to table” movement has been a bit of a trend in more metropolitan cities like Honolulu, but in many parts of the state, that kind of eating is a way of life. On Hawaii Island, where most of…

New eats: Tsurumen ramen

I don’t usually go to places as soon as they open and post a review right away, but so many people saw my instagram yesterday and asked about the new place on Kapahulu, that I felt I had to answer…

Blockb

New mixed-use residential project in Kakaako

Kamehameha Schools today announced that it is collaborating with Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii Inc. to develop a mixed-use project in Kakaako that will add a total of 183 housing units to the island’s urban housing market.

Wine dinners at The Plaza Club

You’ve probably been to The Plaza Club downtown for meetings and big events, but you rarely, if ever, get to partake in their special wine dinner programs … until now. Once a month, The Plaza Club is offering a special…

Fashion: Anne Namba’s spring line

Anne Namba (left) with her models from the Cherry Blossom court.Local designer Anne Namba showcased her Spring 2014 line at her Kakaako studio last night, with the Cherry Blossom queen and princesses as her models. She brought out a lot…

Kona Abalone opens in Ala Moana

If you’ve been to the farmer’s markets around town, you’ve seen the booth with the freshly grilled, live abalone from Kona. It’s wildly popular with Japanese tourists, who know it’s a delicacy and not nearly as inexpensive at home.Well, now…

New eats: Sushi Ginza Onodera

There’s a new sushi bar in town, brought to you by the owners of Kai Ramen (near Ala Moana Center).  I was hesitant to go because I had heard about the $250 price tag, omakase only, but friends who tried…