Frolic Contributor Melissa Chang

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Sake 101

If you’ve ever wondered about sake but were afraid to ask, visit The Sake Stop at 1461 S. King St. Their whole reason for opening their store was to help educate people about sake and share in the appreciation of…

New eats: Home Bar & Grill

Home Bar & Grill ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 18 They're back — the guys who brought you Kanpai on Ward have moved on and have opened a new hangout. Chris Tai, left, and John Estrella, along with…

Top things to do in Vegas

The light show at the Fremont Street ExperienceAs you can tell from last year’s and this year’s galleries and blogs, I love Las Vegas. Every time I go, I mix in my favorite things to do and eat (gambling, the…

One last look at Las Vegas food

Since I fell behind in my blog posts due to the internet connection in Las Vegas, I now have a backlog of food, food, and more food to show you. I can’t go without telling you about them, because these…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ the Fremont St. Zipline

They strap us up pretty well before riding the zipline. Ouch!There’s more than one way to get your adrenaline pumping while you’re in Las Vegas, as we found out at the Fremont Street Experience. I flew through the air with…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Caked Las Vegas

We love to support our Hawaii peeps when they open businesses on the mainland. When our Twitter friend Brad Tada (@tadasauce) told us about his cousin’s bakery in Las Vegas, we made the perilous drive out to Caked just to…

A taste of Hawaii in Vegas

From left, Corey Asato from Waipahu and Hekili Apao from Hilo run Island Sushi's plate lunch truck. Their schedule is posted at http://www.islandbreezelv.com.Let’s face it, despite all the good food and world-class restaurants in Las Vegas, Hawaii people love to…

Dinner & dessert at Caesars Palace

Since Las Vegas is quite spread out and traffic can get hairy, it’s usually best to group the things you want to do in one spot each time you get out. In this case, Brooke, Ed, and I hung out…

New Year’s Eve at Serendipity 3 in Las Vegas

As Ed Morita mentioned in his blog, he was supposed to go to a New Year’s Eve party at Serendipity 3 with me and Brooke here in Las Vegas. But due to his New Year’s Eve jinx, he sequestered himself…

The country’s largest H&M opens in Vegas

I first discovered H&M with my niece, Emi, on a trip to Europe in June 2000. Although the Sweden-based chain had been around since 1947, it was largely unknown to Americans. As we flew over the Atlantic, we read a…

Vegas: The day of the food coma

I don’t normally end up with a loose schedule, but I was supposed to have a meeting and due to the snowy weather, my contact got stuck in Philadelphia. It left me with a whole day free, so Ed and…

Vegas: Visiting the M Resort

We took a long drive out to the M Resort and Spa in Henderson, not just to try the buffet voted “the best in Vegas,” but to see how this newish resort compares to the new developments on the Strip.It’s…

Breakfast of champions: The Cracked Egg in Vegas

Thanks to late nights on the blackjack table and hectic days, my blog is now about a day behind. Such is a vacation in Las Vegas!Thanks to a reader suggestion, Ed, Amber and I sought out The Cracked Egg, a…

Vegas: A fun day on the Strip

You can’t do a lot in Las Vegas on Christmas Day, since a lot of places (outside of tourist areas) are closed. Even going to shows is a challenge, as many of them close for the holiday. My advice? Shop…

Welcome to Vegas, baby

Merry Christmas from Las Vegas!It’s been just 24 hours, but seems like I’ve been here a long time already due to the time change and just being on the go since I landed — literally. As soon as I got…

Where I’d tell the Obamas to eat

The Eagle has landed, and the first family is again spending their Christmas holiday in Hawaii. I have to admit, sometimes I cringe a little when I see them eating at the same places, especially shave ice, every time. The…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Midori-dori

Did you know that Americans throw away 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than any other time of the year? Whether we’re in the holiday season or not, we should be conscious of reducing our waste throughout…

Grand opening of terra by afloat

Grand opening: terra by afloat ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 21 Photo by Cymri Chang jQuery(function($) { new NggPaginatedGallery('a768b50f4a07d94901ca1e9d492803e3', '.ngg-imagebrowser'); });Video of one of the stylists cutting and styling a model’s hair in three minutes. Three stylists challenged…

Vegas lucky charms

Silly as it may sound, everyone who goes to Las Vegas with the intent of gambling has some kind of lucky charm. Or three. I’m busy packing all of my talismans to ensure I have a very lucky trip.The one…

Hawaii: In Real Life ~ holiday hot chocolate

Derek Lanter with cacao pods from his north shore farm, and me with my cup of chocolate goodnessI was at a tweetup recently at Blue Hawaii Lifestyle’s Bishop St. store, and they were experimenting with Waialua Estate Chocolate to make…

New eats: Yogurstory

Yogurstory ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 27 By Melissa ChangNonstopAlmost overnight, a new restaurant popped up next to Sorabol on Rycroft Street. Yogurstory? What a weird name. Sounds like another self-serve frozen yogurt place. Yet, it looks so…

Vegas, here I come!

Island Sushi & Grill in Henderson is run by Hawaii locals.Yes, it’s time once again to escape the holidays for a week of gambling, shopping, shows, and, of course, eating in Las Vegas. Last time I was there, I did…

Hawaii: In Real Life~building a gingerbread house

Have you seen the incredible gingerbread village at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani? It’s on display now in their lobby – and the best part is, it’s free to the public. The elaborate, edible display stands about 14.5 feet high and…

Tweets from the road: Marathon 2010

Me and my friends at the Honolulu Marathon start line. —Taken with my iPhoneYesterday was (I think) my 17th marathon. I want to say that I knew going in to the 38th annual Honolulu Marathon that this would be my slowest…

What’s up with the knee high socks?

Jocelyn Collado made me model my new pair of Vitalsox. Groovy!In the last few weeks leading up to this Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon, people — me included — have been getting their long runs in. Most serious runners are doing anywhere…

I want a Bit of Sugar!

Have you seen the blinged-out iKandy cupcake pendant that I always wear? I would wear it even if it wasn’t in fashion, but deco sweets have been a big trend for a while now, both here and in Japan.Now, I’ve…

New eats: Ono to Go

Ono to Go ◄ Back Next ► Picture 1 of 16 By Melissa ChangNonstopThere's a new food truck in town, but this time, it's different. They're not serving anything new, trendy or themed; it's what I call bar food on…

Terry’s Place and the Underground Chefs

Back in the 90s, I was a banquet waitress at the Hawaiian Regent (the predecessor to the Waikiki Marriott) to supplement my income as a vice president at a PR agency. On nights when a lot of us were off, we…

What’s your passion?

About a week ago, I had lunch with my friends Doc Rock and Phillip Han and we started talking about how a lot of people in Hawaii tend to be apathetic. (Sorry, but it’s true.) Doc is actually writing a…

Hawaii: In Real Life at Padovani’s Chocolates

Are handmade chocolates really more special than mass-produced ones? What goes into making them? In this week’s episode of Hawaii: In Real Life, I went to Padovani’s Chocolates in Dole Cannery to learn more about the handmade confections.The man himself,…

Melissa Chang

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