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Hawaii Diary Michelle Ramos |
‘Taste of Honolulu’ proved
both filling and tastyTHE big event this weekend was the Taste of Honolulu, Easter Seal's annual eating extravaganza. Usually I get together with several friends to volunteer at the event but this time I joined the masses and went just to eat. In cases like this, finding the right person to go with is part of the eating strategy because the main idea is being able to taste as much as you can without getting full. Eating partner James Barber (who can be seen in a credit union commercial) had me tasting 10 dishes in less than 15 minutes. Forty-five minutes into the eating frenzy, I thought my stomach was going to explode. The 17 dishes are kind of a blur to me but these stood out: Gyu-Kaku Restaurant's Harami Skirt Steak Miso, Canoes' Macadamia Nut & Tropical Fruit Napoleon and Hong Kong Harbor View Seafood Restaurant's Seafood Bird Nest with mango sauce. James's favorite was The Willows' Bacon Wrapped Prawns with Lobster Cream Sauce, which won the People's Choice award for Best Seafood ... Speaking about winners, Lionel Goodard won the Taste of Honolulu Idol competition for his a capella version of "Unchained Melody" and Mia H. Lam won the Beautiful Baby contest. ... Mel Cabang beat Peter Carlisle in the Ready, Set, Cook competition. After Cabang won the whole competition, Carlisle said he was going to give Cabang another two years probation! Also, Lt. Clayton Kau of the Honolulu Police Department beat Capt. Tony Sung of the Honolulu Fire Department. HFD is now 0 for 2 against the cops in Ready, Set, Cook. ... The entertainment was great too. Ho'onu'a and Kapena closed out the weekend. By the time Ho'onu'a finished performing they had only one hour to hit the food tents. "That's plenty time," Jared Keo said. Their sax player, Dustin Chang, was looking forward to trying Kevin's Two Boots' Spicy Smothered Gator, but unfortunately, so did everyone else, and Kevin's had run out. ...
HONOLULU ACADEMY of Arts' ARTafterDARK presented "Fellini Friday" Friday and the Tangentz Performance Group honored the filmmaker by performing as some of the characters he's presented on film over the years. The monthly event isn't just for art lovers. Those who love fashion should go too. There were some unusual yet elegant and gorgeous dresses. It was like watching a fashion show. ...
Highlights this week: "Spider-Man 2" opens tomorrow and get ready for the Fourth of July fireworks! Also, The Pride of Aloha, the first U.S.-flagged oceangoing passenger ship in almost 50 years, arrives at Honolulu Harbor Friday.
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Hawaii Diary runs every Tuesday. Send items to mramos@starbulletin.com