Last Year, for an April Fool’s Day blog post, I wrote about a botanist living on the Big Island who created a pog fruit though plant grafting. This story was complete fiction, but little did I know that I was actually writing about tropical fruit expert, Ken Love.I first discovered Love when I screened the film “The Fruit Hunters,” which…
In 2011, Koa Chang was living in Thailand, training (and competing) as a Muy Thai kickboxer. He had been living there for a few years already, as he had been studying martial arts and fought in Korea and Thailand. But then he got the call: His father, Ali’i, the founder of Ali’i Kula Lavender, had suddenly passed away.“I threw my…
I have this theory. Sometimes the reasons why we love a movie have nothing to do with the movie itself. Sometimes our passion for a film is tied to the age we were when we watched it. On a likeability scale of 1 to 10, add +3 for the innocence of childhood. +2 for puberty. +1 for your pretentious college…
Things you hope will disappear if you just ignore them: Credit card offers. Telemarketers. Those annoying late night chat requests from the old college drinking cohort who found you on Facebook. Your muffin top. Okay, so it turns out that stubborn belly bulge is sticking around. And no amount of those chest exercises you tried when you were 12 ever…
Tickets are sold out for Thursday’s Taste of Marukai, a first ever for the eight-year-old fest. For the 800 of you who’ll show up at the wholesale chain’s Dillingham store for one of the quirkiest, most fun showcases of Japanese food and drink, here are this year’s primo points, some pairing tips and your basic 411.Where: Marukai’s flagship Dillingham store,…
This past Saturday, the Honolulu Zoo released lioness Moxy’s three cubs into the lion exhibit.
Many of you Oahuans have heard of the Hawaii State Farm Fair. But have you heard of the Maui County Agricultural Festival? This past weekend was the Valley Isle’s sixth annual ag fest, and I was fortunate to get an invitation from Dania Katz at Edible Hawaiian Islands Magazine to come over for the day to experience it.Maui residents are…
A sold-out crowd packed into the Republik for a one-night-only concert by the popular Celtic punk group from New England, the Dropkick Murphys.Known for encouraging audience participation during their shows, band members interacted with the crowd throughout the performance, and even invited fans onto the stage to help them close out the show.Here are party pics from the concert along…
When you’ve got it, you’ve got it, and local singer-songwriter Duncan Kamakanaonakuahiwi Osorio has it — undeniable musical talent.Thanks to Kamakana’s (his stage name) performance during blind auditions on NBC’s “The Voice” this week, he’ll be able to share that talent with the nation. Nonstop Honolulu will be following the show, which airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on…
I had a chance to talk to Lynette Pflueger of Chef Mavro, who recently was named one of 50 nominees for Food & Wine Magazine’s The People’s Best New Pastry Chef, which is voted for by readers.We discussed past and present desserts from Chef Mavro’s seasonal menus, and Pflueger — a native of Spokane, Wash. — said revamping the popular…
On Friday, Grand Chef Kenichiro Tanaka of the Imperial Hotel Tokyo will be presenting a one-night, sakura-themed dinner at La Mer at Halekulani, featuring cherry blossom paste and salt-cured cherry blossoms that Tanaka imported from Japan.“When I left Japan, cherry blossoms were in full bloom,” Tanaka said via a translator. “This season, Japanese enjoy cherry blossoms. So I decided to…
Last year, I wrote a post about a botanist who created a pog fruit. This story was created as an April Fool’s Day prank. However, the key to any good lie is that it contains a grain of truth. While researching the post, Mark Suiso of Makaha Mangoes told me pog fruit was theoretically possible.A year later, as if by fate,…
Thanks to many of the young urban artists around town and events like Pow Wow Hawaii, Art After Dark, and First Friday, appreciation for the arts — and local artists — has been elevated to a new level. Yeah, many people have known about the art, and maybe of the artists, but the current widespread interest and awareness with people…
Okay, it’s time for a lesson in fluid dynamics or the science of fluids (both liquids and gases) in motion.While visiting the culinary program at Kapiolani Community College to get some behind-the-scenes coverage of preparations for the annual Ho’okipa fundraiser, I came across a student furiously whisking a bowl over a double boiler, attempting to make a sabayon. After a…
Chef Casey Barnes, who won the job as executive chef at Ola at Turtle Bay on “Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell,” has been at work for well over a month and seems to be transitioning well to life in Hawaii.I couldn’t make it out to Turtle Bay for the filming of the show’s final cook off last December, but after…
Yes, people, it IS the last Friday of the month already, which for the food-driven among you means one thing: It’s Eat the Street night in Kakaako. Tonight’s theme: Japan, meaning every one of the 40 food trucks and street food vendors will have at least one Japan-themed dish on the menu — or if they’re like Simply Ono, they’ll…
Watch Hi Five What: Pentatonix has already won over the hearts, and ears, of a few editors in our fashion office, and we imagine the five-member a cappella group sounds even more amazing in person. Good thing tickets are still available to see The Sing-Off winners live at the Republik this Saturday; their cover of Radioactive will blow you away….
No doubt, you’ve seen a lot of things popping up in Kakaako over the last couple of years as part of Kamehameha Schools’ revitalization of the area. One of the players in that hip new vibe is Amanda Corby (@UMUHawaii), who moved in last year as a partner in Taste with Brandon and Poni Askew (@StreetGrindz) and chef Mark Noguchi…
Disney Theatrical Productions on Tuesday announced the return of “The Lion King” to Honolulu at a media event at Washington Place.The stage adaptation of the the animated classic will begin its eight-week engagement at Blaisdell Concert Hall on January 14, 2014, and run through March 9. The last time the show was in Hawaii was in 2007.Group ticket sales of…
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced Broadway musical The Lion King is returning to Honolulu, Hawaii.
I’ve prefaced several of my reviews of animated films by stating that I’m not a fan of the genre. For some reason, I’ve never been able to fully appreciate and enjoy them. Every time I’ve sat in a theater for an animated film, it’s been with a slight feeling of dread, anticipating that the next 90 minutes would be a…
“Olympus Has Fallen” wants to be a throwback to the testosterone-filled violent action films of the ’90s. It shares many elements of those films, such as the muscle-bound hero looking for redemption, the bloody shootouts, the bureaucrats sitting in the war room talking instead of doing, and even the wrong place-wrong time story set up. But you can’t make an…
Matohu photos courtesy: Brie Thalmann (left and right), Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (middle). Wow. Tokyo Fashion Week is speeding by faster than a bullet train. As we revealed yesterday, HONOLULU fashion editors Brie Thalmann and Stacey Makiya are in Japan's fashion trenches, infiltrating shows and capturing fall's hottest trends. With all that stylish wear-fare, spotty Internet connections, and a 19-hour time…
Locally produced by Kinetic Films, “Hang Loose” is a comedy about a bachelor party in Hawaii that goes terribly wrong. I had the opportunity to sit down with three members of the film’s cast – Dante Basco, Dion Basco and Justin Chon to talk about their latest projects, favorite local foods and behind-the-scenes romances. You can catch “Hang Loose” as…
