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

Aloha Brisbane!

Right on the heels of its Sapporo flight launch, Hawaiian Air started direct flights to Brisbane last week. I was fortunate to get a seat on the inaugural flight, thanks to chef Chai Chaowasaree. I brought one of my favorite…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Manoa Chocolate

There’s something about locally made products, especially in Hawaii, that are just so darn appealing. Maybe it’s because we know a lot of the people who are bringing these products to fruition, and the exact places the ingredients come from.…

Star Chefs in Hawaii: Mark Noguchi

As mentioned yesterday, I’m thrilled to see Hawaii chefs getting recognition in an online magazine I’ve followed for about 20 years. StarChefs.com is a big deal in the culinary world, and this is the first time they’re profiling our state,…

Star Chefs in Hawaii: Dave Newman

Have you heard of StarChefs.com? I’ve been following this website for about 20 years (back when I used Hotmail!), watching mainland trends and jobs in restaurants as well as glimpses of new chefs there. I was surprised and thrilled when…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Ocean Vodka

On a recent trip to Maui, Dania Katz (@DaniaEdibleHI) took me on a little detour to check out Ocean Vodka’s (@OceanVodka) new farm and distillery near Kula. Many of you may know Ocean Vodka as a brand that uses water…

Little Oven returns

If you are active on Twitter and Instagram, you already know that Little Oven, the tiny, beloved dessert restaurant on King St., suddenly reopened on Friday night. If you have been active on Twitter for three years or more, you…

Sapporo faves

I had no idea that Sapporo — or Hokkaido, really — was such a destination. When you think of Japan, you usually think of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, but Sapporo should be added to that list.We did a lot in…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Whole Foods Kailua

Whole Foods Kailua got a jump start on the holidays earlier this week with a tasting tour of their store, showcasing items that people may want to serve at their next party. This was the first time for me (and…

Aloha Sapporo! Last day in the city

Hawaiian Airlines’ flights from Sapporo to Honolulu are on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 9:30 p.m. (arrives in Honolulu at about 10 a.m.). We spent one last night in the city, but due to the late flight, were given the…

Aloha Sapporo! Visiting Asahikawa

First rule of visiting Sapporo (or anyplace in Hokkaido): Don’t believe the reverse hype. We were told that there’s nothing in Sapporo and we should get out of town, but the city actually offers a lot. We went to Asahikawa…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Primo Popcorn

You may have heard that Hawaiian Airlines revamped its snack service and product offerings this past summer. In addition to complimentary meals and wine, they have a new “pau hana snack bar” on mainland flights, where passengers can mosey up…

Aloha Sapporo! Visiting Noboribetsu

Here's all you get to cover up at an onsen. Cel phone shows scale.Many Japanese people visit the spa town of Noboribetsu, Hokkaido’s most famous hot spring resort, so we thought we should do the same. Noboribetsu is a haven…

Aloha Sapporo! Sightseeing

Okay, so Sapporo is not all about eating and drinking, although we’d like to think it is. There’s culture and sightseeing, as well. We had a whirlwind tour of Sapporo’s highlights with some Japanese bloggers, who took us to a…

Aloha Sapporo! Day 3, with ikura

As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, we were kind of on an eating rampage and ended up eating several meals in one day. To spare you from the photos of everything we ate (and saw), I broke it up into two…

Aloha Sapporo! Visiting Otaru

I’ll confess, we ate about eight times today. If you follow me on Instagram and Twitter, you have already seen a good chunk of what we ate, but for those  who haven’t, I don’t want to alarm you by showing…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Sweet Revenge

You may have seen the Sweet Revenge (@SweetRevengeHNL) pie truck at Eat the Street every month since last year … or maybe you haven’t, if you came too late and found that their amazing sweet or savory pies had sold…

Aloha Sapporo! Day 1

It’s been quite a long day, with 10 hours of flying, a long bus ride in, then a two-hour party followed by ramen. But we made it to Sapporo, located on Japan’s northernmost island, to see what Hawaiian Airlines’ newest…

Aloha Sapporo!

As you read this, I’ll be on my way to Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, as Hawaiian Airlines (@HawaiianAir) launches its direct flights to Sapporo. As with previous inaugural flights, they’re taking travel industry executives, employees, musicians, and media, and I’ll…

Did this: The Noble Chef

Chef Sheldon Simeon with his students at The Noble Chef. Photo by Peter LiuWhen you think about it, Maui has a lot of big food and wine events year-round. On almost any given weekend, you can go there and find…

New eats: Kulu Kulu Cake

If you’re headed to Shirokiya today, you’ll find a large new bakery on the first floor. This is kind of a big deal, since that entire corner was previously rotating new vendors every three weeks.Every town in Japan has their…

The Pumpkin Carving Festival

Ed Moody's Monster Carving. —Photo by Russ SumidaThe third annual Pumpkin Carving Festival marked the beginning of fall this week, with events around town to benefit Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Centers and USO Hawaii. Last year, it was…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Eggs ‘N Things

If you’ve lived in Hawaii a long time, you remember the original, wildly popular Eggs ‘N Things on Kalakaua Avenue (which actually originated on Ena Road in 1974). Back in the 1980s, it was open from 11 p.m. all the…

Kaiwa’s hidden menu

You may know that almost every restaurant has secret, off-menu items that only insiders know about. They’re special little items — sometimes they’re things that the employees have concocted for themselves that go mainstream, or they don’t match the overall…