January 2024: Our Top 3 Most Popular Food Stories
Plenty of new restaurant news, and the latest chapter for Kaimukī’s longtime Chinese restaurant.
Editor’s note: We finished writing this post after midnight on Feb. 1, when Google Analytics’ still-incomplete count for the day showed our Jan. 30 post about 500 page views behind Reader Top 5 Mac Salads. When we woke up this morning, to our surprise, it had pulled more than 800 views ahead. We’ve updated the results below.
No. 3: What’s Up, Duk Kee? New Owners Take Over the Chinese Restaurant
Photo: Andrea Lee
Published Jan. 30, 2024
Manson Lee, HONOLULU digital editor Andrea Lee’s dad, is our secret weapon. The self-effacing salesman likes to take his daughter to lunch, particularly at dim sum restaurants, and more than once has broken the ice with owners in his native Cantonese. In this case, Andrea was surprised to find out her dad is friends with the owners of the generations-old Mō‘ili‘ili icon Golden Eagle, who recently became the new owners of the generations-old Kaimukī icon Duk Kee. Her post ended months of speculation and rumors about the future of Duk Kee: Published two days ago on Tuesday, it’s still being read and shared.
No. 2: Check Out 9 New & Coming Eateries on One Block at Ward Village
Photo: Martha Cheng
Published Jan. 15, 2024
On a warm night after Thanksgiving, lights spilled from two restaurants on an otherwise deserted street in Kaka‘ako. That’s when the owner of one took me outside and pointed at papered-over spaces up and down the block. “This one’s going to be tonkatsu, here’s ice cream, that one’s Happy Lemon, that’s going to be La Tour,” he said, and in my head the darkened storefronts came to life with crowds, food, buzz, a dining destination on a lane I’d never noticed was there. A quick check with Ward Village confirmed that at least seven new eateries are set to join Nori Bar and Cino on that strip of Halekauwila Street by the end of 2024—and seven of them are locally owned.
No. 1: 10 New & Coming Restaurants on O‘ahu: January 2024
Photo: Mari Taketa
Published Jan. 2, 2024
After wrapping up an eventful 2023 with a slew of recaps and best-of-the-year posts, it was important to start 2024 with one that looked forward. We whittled this list to 10 eclectic eateries across the island, two of which—Honolulu Seafood on Alakea Street and Waikīkī Shokudo—are opening today.
SEE ALSO:
Restaurant Transitions: Goodbye, But Not for Long
Frolic’s Top 10 Food Posts of 2023
Hawai‘i’s Best New Restaurants of 2023
The Best Things We Ate in Hawai‘i in 2023
The Year in Beer: Who Opened, Who Closed and Best Beers of 2023
For the record, our next most-read posts of January were Reader Top 5: Best Mac Salad on O‘ahu, Where to Buy Local Farm-Fresh Eggs on O‘ahu and Reader Top 5: Best Hot Pots on O‘ahu.
