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Betty sez...

Short attention span eater: Bakers from Osaka, Japan, are at work at Shirokiya, making sweet treats of sweet potatoes. Think buttery crust layered with creamy sweet potato filling and thin apple slices, then a lattice crust overall. You will stand in line for these 6-inch pies, but that'll give you time to watch the assembly work, which involves some very fast fingers. The pies cost $7.59.

For those who don't want to wait, sweet potatoes in sticks, coated with a sweet syrup and topped with almonds, are pre-made and go for about $6 a box.

Another Osaka treat is takoyaki, little balls of dough containing large chunks of octopus. They're grilled in molds, rapidly turned with chopsticks in a showy manner that's like performance art. Cost is $5.99 for 10.

All the treats are available through April 17.

» Place: Shirokiya, Ala Moana Center, second floor
» Call: 973-9111

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BETTY SHIMABUKURO / BETTY@STARBULLETIN.COM

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Gary sez...

I've been a fan of Frank Miller's "Sin City" graphic novels, so I'm planning to see the movie version. My office mates who've already seen the movie think the first story, starring Mickey Rourke and Jaime King, is the best of the movie's three segments, but I think I'll enjoy all of them, since I'm already familiar with the stories they're based on. (Robert Rodriguez is also one of my favorite directors, ever since his low-low-budget debut "El Mariachi.") Movies opening worth checking out also are "Gunnar Palace," a documentary that follows a U.S. battalion who reside in one of Saddam Hussein's son's palatial house (see Page 23), and "Bad Education" from the great Pedro Almodovar and starring Gael Garcia Bernal (see Page 17).

Jason sez...

I'll be at the Blaisdell Arena Saturday night for "Super Brawl 39: Destiny." The main event should be wild, with local boy Falaniko Vitale taking on Japan's Masanori Suda for the Super Brawl World Championship belt.

Suda gained the respect of Hawaii fans in 2003, when he knocked out Egan Inoue at Super Brawl 29. Vitale is coming off a win by submission at Super Brawl 38, which took place in December.

Want to get a sneak peek at the fighters? Check out the official weigh-ins on Friday at Eastside Grill, starting at 2 p.m.

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