Before Jollibee arrived in Hawaii, I had never heard of Filipino spaghetti. A spaghetti where the red sauce is made with banana ketchup? Almost candy sweet with a hint of sourness? This fusion of Italy and the Philippines seemed to…
Six stops on a Saturday morning to get all our dim sum faves in Honolulu’s Chinatown and we are stuffed.
For the coffee purist, there is nothing like the pour over coffee. Invented a century ago, the method has found new popularity in the last 10 years. The pour over cup is always made to order over 4 to 5 minutes.…
Let’s face it. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, certain choices need to be made. Whether you're cooking an intimate family dinner or hosting a massive potluck, every dish requires purposeful thought. This roundup will make one of your decisions easier:…
As national food trends go, nothing has been hotter the last few months than the chicken sandwich from Popeyes Lousiana Kitchen. First released in August 2019 to an unsuspecting public, things quickly went extremely viral. This insanity caused Popeyes to…
I work primarily out of my car. Be it a conference call, email or business proposal, all are usually done while I'm parked somewhere quiet under a tree. With my car doubling as my breakfast table as well, it's important that…
Raise your hand if you love eggs. Ok. Now, raise your hand even higher if you love eggs from Japan! If you're a total Japan egghead like me, you know what I’m talking about. That signature golden-orange yolk and compact white is…
Visitors to Japan will have invariably experienced a department store food basement where throngs of people buy main courses, sides, even desserts for the evening after a long day’s work. It’s a convenience that provides the comfort of a hot meal at…
Pizza soba. The words floated across the television long enough for me to grab the remote and turn up the volume. As a self-proclaimed Tokyo-phile, my NGN/NHK cable package is a key resource when it comes to identifying food targets for the annual…
I always say working part-time at Sprinkles Cupcakes in So Cal ruined me. Those legendary desserts have become my standard for cupcakes, especially when it comes to red velvet. It’s hard to find any cupcake in Hawaii that compares. For…
My father is from Hilo, so I've been a frequent visitor since the early 70s. For me, this Big Island city has steadfastly managed to retain its historic identity and charm — so much so that I can walk into…
At a Chinese restaurant in California's San Gabriel Valley, four people sit at a table. They're all Asian-American, and they're contemplating the spread of pig's ears, intestines, stir-fried liver and pig offal congee in front of them. If the dishes…
From the 1970s, Irifune Restaurant was a cornerstone of the Kapahulu community, a culinary time capsule that never changed. When my family moved from Kalihi in the early '80s, one of my mother’s favorite “fancy” restaurants in our new neighborhood…
A few times a year, I get a call like the following: “I’m vacationing in Maui this year, what do you recommend I eat?” I'm not from Maui, nor am I more than an occasional staycationer on the Valley Isle. Other than…
Editor's note: As of September 2019, ChiChop has closed. My wife was born in Taiwan, so I've visited this delicious country over a dozen times. Each jaunt to Taipei means a mandatory visit to the Shilin Tourist Night Market to eat a gigantic Hot Star Taiwanese Fried…
What do you do when two unconventional new musubi show up around town? Put them head to head, of course, to see if either is worthy. Here's the other half of Battle Musubi: 7-Eleven's Tofu and Brown Rice Musubi. What?…
Wailana Coffee House may be closing, but Hawai‘i is still rich in nostalgic local comfort food.
Two self-described food nerds rank the classic dish across the state.
