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 Fukuoka! Aloha … McDonald’s?

Yes, it’s true. We stopped at McDonald’s to eat. Before you close that browser button, hear me out! We weren’t eating at McDonald’s because we wanted to eat something familiar and American; we wanted to see what they had on…

Aloha Fukuoka! Yatai Mami Chan

I’m ramen’d out! All I want at this point is sushi or an izakaya or even MOS Burger. My running friends Val Ogi and Kyle Unten were game to try yatai, so Although Nagahama and Nakasu are “known” for their…

Aloha Fukuoka! Zaifu, Yanagawa, Ippudo. Oishii!

We were wary about boarding a tour bus to head out to the Zaifu shrine and Yanagawa, but it ended up being a wonderful and educational trip. It gave us a taste (literally and figuratively) of the surrounding area, and…

Aloha Fukuoka: Day one

This is actually two blogs in one, having crossed the International Date Line and traveling forward in time (sort of). I’m going to breeze through the first two events, below, but our adventure really begins in the third gallery. So…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Fresh Catch

The fourth annual Hawaii Ocean Expo takes place this weekend at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, the big event for ocean enthusiasts of all ages. The expo will feature activities, displays, educational demonstrations and more, but the tastiest part will be…

Dinner at Kimukatsu

Dinner at Kimukatsu ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 15 There's been a lot of buzz about the Waikiki Joy Hotel's new restaurant Kimukatsu, the most famous pork cutlet restaurant in Japan, with locations in Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Sendai…

Did this: Taste of Marukai 2012

About 1,000 people filled the aisles of Marukai’s Dillingham store for the seventh annual “Taste of Marukai,” the most anticipated night of the year for those in the know about the warehouse outlet’s events. Dozens of food and drink stations…

Need advice: Fukuoka omiyage?

I’m frantically packing to leave for Fukuoka on Monday, my first time to the city (and my first real trip to Japan, not counting layovers, in more than a decade). Of course, I’m leaving lots of room in my suitcase…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Poppy’s Coffee

I’m always looking for convenient, friendly places to “coffice,” so I was delighted when Poppy’s Coffee (@PoppysCoffee) opened up in my neighborhood. They took over the old Happy Cakes spot about six months ago, and one of my neighbors, Amber…

Dinner at The Grove

I’m probably one of the last people in town to have tried Fred DeAngelo’s newest venture, The Grove, in Kailua. My Twitter friend Jay Terauchi (@Chef_Jay) was visiting from Los Angeles last week, eating his way through the island, so…

Flying to Fukuoka!

You’ve seen Mari Taketa’s (@NonstopMari) adventures in Osaka and Seoul via Hawaiian Airlines on their inaugural direct flights to those cities. If you had never been there, once you saw her blogs, you were itching to go. So when I…

Northern Exposure: The World Ice Art Championships

I’ve saved the best for last: Most of our last day in Fairbanks was spent at the World Ice Art Championships, an annual event that showcases the skills of international ice artists. Fairbanks is so cold, you can have an…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Aloha Tricycle

I was at the Green House the other day when John Garcia showed me a poster for a party happening this Saturday, April 7 to launch a “Green River” popsicle. Wait, what? The beloved drink, which has sparked debate on…

Did this: Great Chefs Fight Hunger

The Hawaii Foodbank held its annual Great Chefs Fight Hunger fundraiser Saturday night, with 22 food stations and nine beverage booths scattered throughout the Mapunapuna warehouse. Although it’s not the Foodbank’s biggest fundraiser, it’s the most favorite one, drawing people…

First look: Whole Ox Deli

Opening Day at the Whole Ox Deli ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 13 Whole Ox Deli opened yesterday, with a steady flow of people from 7 a.m. Honolulu foodies were excited to try the wares of Bob McGee,…

Northern exposure: The Arctic Circle

If you want to do something really different, take a tour to the Arctic Circle. Only 10,000 people per year take this trip, which you can do by air or van. We booked our tour through Northern Alaska Tour Company, which…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Jive Nene

So I’m working with one of my new clients, Bambu Two (@Bambutwo) and they tell me they have this concert coming up. Big deal, right? They always have concerts. Well, it turns out the soul band, Jive Nene (@JiveNene) is…

Party pics: The Campari Classic

Eight of Honolulu’s top bartenders showed their creativity in a cocktail competition sponsored by Campari last night at Brasserie Du Vin. The winner, Kyle Reutner, goes on to Manahattan to compete in the national finals. If he wins there, he…

Northern Exposure: Heading to Denali

It was only the second day, but we were starting to get a little discouraged. We hadn’t seen the Northern Lights or any Alaskan wildlife, and as mentioned before, the locals say, “You don’t come to Fairbanks for the food.”…