Holy mackerel! Can’t believe Rice Fest is almost here! Guess we’re just gonna haveta take you into Rice Fest weekend with a few (what else?) rice-themed WIH photos! Hope to see y’all on Saturday! 🙂
Points for Photo #1…
* Name dis dish: 3 points
* Name da oddah dishes: 2 points each
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #2…
* Name dis dish: 3 points
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #3…
* Name each soosh: 2 points each
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
* I’ve been looking into outsourcing the fulfillment duties (shipping, inventory management, etc.) for the VH07V brand because it’s getting shmall kine hard to manage part-time. No can handle Randall! If all goes well, I should be then able to open up an online ordering site. Stay tuned!
* In the meantime, I’ve been jammin on all kine new hats. Whatchu tink of this sampo color combo?
* My friend Shari continues to be a selling machine for her Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure team: Team VH07V! Below is a photo she took of her second order, and believe it or not, she still has another few orders in the queue. If you’d like to donate to her team, please visit the Team VH07V page. If you’d like to join her team for the walk (October 21st), click on this link.
* As one of the sponsors for this year’s Rice Fest (duh!), VH07V will be responsible for producing both the official Rice Fest shirt (for sale at the event at the VH07V booth) and the shirt for all volunteers. Here’s an online album of the process these shirts went through to get screened in time for this Saturday’s Rice Fest! Special thanks to Lanakila Custom Products for coming through in the clutch!
Where/When you can find VH07V in the coming weeks:
09/15/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. Lamar. Stop by and say hi.
09/22/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 4:30pm game vs. Nevada. Stop by and say hi.
09/29/12: 3rd Annual Rice Fest – As a sponsor of the event, VH07V will also have a booth at this year’s Rice Fest where we will sell all of our VH07V shirts in addition to the custom event shirt! Come on down to the Ward Warehouse complex to visit our booth any time from 11am-7pm.
10/13/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. New Mexico. Stop by and say hi.
10/19/12-10/21/12: 48th Annual Food & New Products Show – Get your Christmas shopping done at the Blaisdell all weekend! Come visit us at our booth for a free gift!
11/10/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 2pm game vs. Boise State. Stop by and say hi.
11/24/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. UNLV. Stop by and say hi.
12/01/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. South Alabama. Stop by and say hi.
As always, a big mahalos to everyone for your support and for helping to spread the VH07V! 8)
This year’s Rice Fest will be held THIS Saturday, September 29th from 11am-7pm at Ward Warehouse! There will be cooking demonstrations from Chef Mavro of Chef Mavro Restaurant and his partners Stephanie Lum and Shawn Ching of Hawaii News Now, and Grant Kawasaki of Hawaiian Grown TV & Hawaiian Grown Kitchen and his partner Justin Cruz from KHON2, Santa Miyoshi of Tokkuri Tei defending his “Riceipe” contest belt, live entertainment by Jody Kamisato & ‘Uke’s Rising Stars and Jon Yamasato, and taiko drumming from Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii, our 3rd annual SPAM Musubi eating contest, and our attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s Largest SPAM Musubi! Don’t forget to also bring your brown rice or monetary donations for our beneficiary Lanakila Meals on Wheels. Can’t wait! See you there…
A Monday post! Wha-WHAT!? Yes, I’m working on a local saimin series (like I did with my previous Ramen Quest series) and need your help y’all!
So far, I’ve documented my experiences at Shige’s, Shiro’s, Hamura’s, Nakai, and have a few others up my sleeve, but I wanted to put the call out to you folks to see if you had any other suggestions. In the comment area below, please post your list of fave saimin eateries around town and why and I’ll go check um out. If you have da time, let’s eat there together so I can include you in the article! 🙂
Other than that, my life has been pretty much all Rice Fest (I may even be on tomorrow morning’s news on Hawaii News Now). Hope y’all can make it this Saturday!
This year’s Rice Fest will be held next week Saturday, September 29th from 11am-7pm at Ward Centers! There will be cooking demonstrations from Chef Mavro of Chef Mavro Restaurant and his partners Stephanie Lum and Shawn Ching of Hawaii News Now, and Grant Kawasaki of Hawaiian Grown TV & Hawaiian Grown Kitchen and his partner Justin Cruz from KHON2, Santa Miyoshi of Tokkuri Tei defending his “Riceipe” contest belt, live entertainment by Jody Kamisato & ‘Uke’s Rising Stars and Jon Yamasato, and taiko drumming from Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii, our 3rd annual SPAM Musubi eating contest, and our attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s Largest SPAM Musubi! Don’t forget to also bring your brown rice or monetary donations for our beneficiary Lanakila Meals on Wheels. Can’t wait! See you there…
It’s been another one of those cray cray weeks y’all! After Rice Fest is pau, hopefully things will get a little more back to normal. But until then, we’ve got another one pic week…. We’ll try to make it easy this time so we can get a skosh more than 13 comments. 😛
Points for Photo #1…
* My fave item hea: 3 points
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken? (duh!): 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #1
* Name each item: 1 point each (Futomaki, Cone sushi, mochiko chicken bento, hot dog, spam, ahi ogo poke – Kage)
* Location: 2 points (Tanioka’s – Kage)
* General area: 1 point (Waipahu – carokun)
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each (Farrington Hwy – carokun)
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points (carokun)
Points for Photo #2
* Big Fat Zero
Points for Photo #3
* Fun name for each player: 1 point each (Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc, Happy – carokun)
For this week’s “Spotted“, we have another video of a little SkinnyHawaiians silliness involving everyone’s favorite drink: Green River. A few months ago, I posed a question out to y’all about where the BIL can find some Green River in Hawaii these days. After researching that, I actually tried to make it on my own and suddenly became an expert at it. 😛 Here’s how that turned out…
* My two new colorways are FINALLY in! Gray/Green for the new football season and Blue/Pink (partially for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure walk)! Both are selling like hotcakes so far, especially the Gray/Green one!
* Speaking of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, my friend Shari continues to sell products and get mad donations for her team: Team VH07V! As of this writing, her team is up to $625 in donations and is at 63% of her $1,000 goal. Help them reach that goal by clicking on that link and making your tax deductible donation! I will also personally donate proceeds from the sale of the Blue/Pink VH07V shirts during this drive right back to Shari and her team. If you’d like to join her team and walk, click on this link.
* Last week’s tailgating kine action prior to the Hawaii Warriors vs. Lamar Cardinals game was a great success. Did you guys go? Got to hang out with some friends I haven’t seen in a long time and have a few before the game. Even got a good seat to catch a glimpse of the first ever Warrior Walk, a tradition that coach Norm Chow instituted this year where the players and coaches walk through the crowd before heading towards the stadium. Here’s some footage I was able to catch of the first ever Warrior Walk:
Warrior Walk – First Hawaii Warrior Walk Before Lamar Game
* As one of the sponsors for this year’s Rice Fest (duh!), VH07V will be responsible for producing both the official Rice Fest shirt (for sale at the event at the VH07V booth) and the shirt for all volunteers. Check out this sample for our volunteers. Pretty legit right? 🙂
Where/When you can find VH07V in the coming weeks:
09/15/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. Lamar. Stop by and say hi.
09/22/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 4:30pm game vs. Nevada. Stop by and say hi.
09/29/12: 3rd Annual Rice Fest – As a sponsor of the event, VH07V will also have a booth at this year’s Rice Fest where we will sell all of our VH07V shirts in addition to the custom event shirt! Come on down to the Ward Warehouse complex to visit our booth any time from 11am-7pm.
10/13/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. New Mexico. Stop by and say hi.
10/19/12-10/21/12: 48th Annual Food & New Products Show – Get your Christmas shopping done at the Blaisdell all weekend! Come visit us at our booth for a free gift!
11/10/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 2pm game vs. Boise State. Stop by and say hi.
11/24/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. UNLV. Stop by and say hi.
12/01/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating near or along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. South Alabama. Stop by and say hi.
As always, a big mahalos to everyone for your support and for helping to spread the VH07V! 8)
Don’t forget, this Saturday (Sept 22 from 8am-1pm), my home storage facility – Hawaii Self Storage in Mililani – will be holding a “Garage Sale” to help support the Hawaii Meth Project. Buy great stuff and support a good cause at the same time. If you wanna pick up some VH07V merch while you’re there *grin* , message me on Facebook and I’ll see if I can swing by and meet you at my unit.
This year’s Rice Fest will be held next week Saturday, September 29th from 11am-7pm at Ward Centers! There will be cooking demonstrations from Chef Mavro of Chef Mavro Restaurant and his partners Stephanie Lum and Shawn Ching of Hawaii News Now, and Grant Kawasaki of Hawaiian Grown TV & Hawaiian Grown Kitchen and his partner Justin Cruz from KHON2, Santa Miyoshi of Tokkuri Tei defending his “Riceipe” contest belt, live entertainment by Jody Kamisato & ‘Uke’s Rising Stars and Jon Yamasato, and taiko drumming from Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii, our 3rd annual SPAM Musubi eating contest, and our attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s Largest SPAM Musubi! Don’t forget to also bring your brown rice or monetary donations for our beneficiary Lanakila Meals on Wheels. Can’t wait! See you there…
Points for Photo #1…
* Name each item: 1 point each
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #2…
* Name of dish: 5 points!
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #3…
* Fun name for each player: 1 point each
* Real first name for each player: 3 point each
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #1
* Location: 2 points (Cafe Laufer – Paco)
* General area: 1 point (Kaimuki – Paco)
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each (Waialae Ave – Paco)
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points (Paco)
Points for Photo #2
* First name of bride & groom: 10 points each! (Jen – carokun)
Points for Photo #3
* Name of sammich: 3 points (Grilled Mahi – Coconut Willy)
* Location: 2 points (Kua’aina – Kage)
For this week’s “Spotted“, we have Japanese ice skating legend Miwa Nishida as she sports her Blue/White Logo T colorway during a recent practice session at the Olympic Prep Arena in Yokohama Japan. Here’s Miwa’s blog post about it!
* Still waiting for my two new colorways to come in. Gray/Green for the new football season and Blue/Pink (partially) for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure walk (and because it looks cool! 😉 ). Will keep y’all posted!
* Speaking of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, my friend Shari has been ON FIRE with collecting donations/pledges for her team: Team VH07V! As of this writing, her team is up to $550 in donations and is #1 so far amongst all teams from Hawaii. Help them reach their goal of $1,000 by clicking on that link to make your tax deductible donation! I will also personally donate proceeds from the sale of the Blue/Pink VH07V shirts during this drive right back to Shari and her team.
* As one of the sponsors for this year’s Rice Fest (duh!), VH07V will be responsible for producing both the official Rice Fest shirt (for sale at the event at the VH07V booth) and the shirt for all volunteers. The sample I saw looked SICK! Can’t wait to share it with you guys!
* Other than that, I’ve been running low on a lot of stock just waiting for my “fill-in” shirt request to get filled. I plan on being fully loaded just in time for the new football season and the upcoming Rice Fest on the 29th.
* Depending on the tailgating sitch, I plan on being in the parking lot at Aloha Stadium this Saturday prior to the first UH Warrior home game. You guys going? If you wanna stop by and ask questions about VH07V or see some samples (or just hang out), holla!
* Last week, I visited my sticker guy on Maui to talk “bidness”. Found out his shop also did hats. It turned out to be quite the productive visit as I was able to get a bunch of new hat styles produced super fast kine (same day!). Which one do you like da bes?
Where/When you can find VH07V in the coming weeks:
09/15/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. Lamar. Stop by and say hi.
09/22/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 4:30pm game vs. Nevada. Stop by and say hi.
09/29/12: 3rd Annual Rice Fest – As a sponsor of the event, VH07V will also have a booth at this year’s Rice Fest where we will sell all of our VH07V shirts in addition to the custom event shirt! Come on down to the Ward Warehouse complex to visit our booth any time from 11am-7pm.
10/13/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. New Mexico. Stop by and say hi.
10/19/12-10/21/12: 48th Annual Food & New Products Show – Get your Christmas shopping done at the Blaisdell all weekend! Come visit us at our booth for a free gift!
11/10/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 2pm game vs. Boise State. Stop by and say hi.
11/24/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. UNLV. Stop by and say hi.
12/01/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. South Alabama. Stop by and say hi.
As always, a big mahalos to everyone for your support and for helping to spread the VH07V! 8)
Next weekend (Sept 22 from 8am-1pm), my home storage facility – Hawaii Self Storage in Mililani – will be holding a “Garage Sale” to help support the Hawaii Meth Project. Buy great stuff and support a good cause at the same time. If you wanna pick up some VH07V merch while you’re there *grin* , message me on Facebook and I’ll see if I can swing by and meet you at my unit.
Save the Date! This year’s Rice Fest will be held on Saturday, September 29th from 11am-7pm at Ward Centers! This year, we will have cooking demonstrations from Chef Mavro of Chef Mavro Restaurant and Grant Kawasaki of Hawaiian Grown TV & Hawaiian Grown Kitchen, Santa Miyoshi of Tokkuri Tei defending his “Riceipe” contest belt, live entertainment by Jody Kamisato & ‘Uke’s Rising Stars, and taiko drumming from Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii, our 3rd annual SPAM Musubi eating contest, and our 2nd successful attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest SPAM Musubi! Don’t forget to also bring your brown rice or monetary donations for our beneficiary Lanakila Meals on Wheels. Can’t wait! See you there…
Points for Photo #1…
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #2…
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* First name of bride & groom: 10 points each!
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #3…
* Name of sammich: 3 points
* Location: 2 points
* General area: 1 point
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points
* Month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the month photo was taken?: 1 point
* Day of the week photo was taken?: 1 point
* Year photo was taken?: 1 point
* Exact time photo was taken?: 5 points
Points for Photo #1
* Location: 2 points (Yohei Sushi – Otto)
* General area: 1 point (Kalihi – Otto)
* Closest street(s)?: 1 point each (Dillingham, Kokea – carokun)
* Google Street View link (if get)?: 2 points (carokun)
* Still waiting for my two new colorways to come in. Gray/Green for the new football season and Blue/Pink (partially) for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure walk (and because it looks cool! 😉 ). Will keep y’all posted!
* As one of the sponsors for this year’s Rice Fest (duh!), VH07V will be responsible for producing both the official Rice Fest shirt (for sale at the event at the VH07V booth) and the shirt for all volunteers. The sample I saw looked SICK! Can’t wait to share it with you guys!
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Where/When you can find VH07V in the coming weeks:
09/15/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. Lamar. Stop by and say hi.
09/22/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 4:30pm game vs. Nevada. Stop by and say hi.
09/29/12: 3rd Annual Rice Fest – As a sponsor of the event, VH07V will also have a booth at this year’s Rice Fest where we will sell all of our VH07V shirts in addition to the custom event shirt! Come on down to the Ward Warehouse complex to visit our booth any time from 11am-7pm.
10/13/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. New Mexico. Stop by and say hi.
10/19/12-10/21/12: 48th Annual Food & New Products Show – Get your Christmas shopping done at the Blaisdell all weekend! Come visit us at our booth for a free gift!
11/10/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 2pm game vs. Boise State. Stop by and say hi.
11/24/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. UNLV. Stop by and say hi.
12/01/12: University of Hawaii Football game – Will likely be tailgating along the main walkway leading up to Aloha Stadium prior to the 6pm game vs. South Alabama. Stop by and say hi.
As always, a big mahalos to everyone for your support and for helping to spread the VH07V! 8)
Save the Date! This year’s Rice Fest will be held on Saturday, September 29th from 11am-7pm at Ward Centers! This year, we will have cooking demonstrations from Chef Mavro of Chef Mavro Restaurant and Grant Kawasaki of Hawaiian Grown TV & Hawaiian Grown Kitchen, Santa Miyoshi of Tokkuri Tei defending his “Riceipe” contest belt, live entertainment by Jody Kamisato & ‘Uke’s Rising Stars and taiko drumming from Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii, our 3rd annual SPAM Musubi eating contest, and our 2nd successful attempt to break the Guinness World Records for the World’s Largest SPAM Musubi! Don’t forget to also bring your brown rice or monetary donations for our beneficiary Lanakila Meals on Wheels. Can’t wait! See you there…
And lastly… Jon Yamasato, a fellow Kaiser alumni reached out to me and asked if I could help support his friend Jay Veltri, who, at just 33 years old, is in the middle of his 2nd “battle for survivorship” with cancer.
This Saturday, September 8, 2012, the day before Jay’s 34th birthday, there will be a fundraiser held at a private estate at Paiko Lagoon (near Kuliouou). Suggested ticket donation is $25. The festivities will include a live band, buffet, children’s activities, a silent auction, raffle prizes and more! For fundraising ticket information, visit jayveltri.com.
I don’t know Jay personally, but because of our many mutual friends, it feels like I do, so I donated to his fight. If you are also able to donate to his fight or purchase tickets for the fundraising event this Saturday, please do. And please Pray for Jay… Mahalo!
Yeah, I know. Dis post is more than a week overdue, but bruddah ova hea had to sift through 635 photos from all ova da creation (Twitter/Twitpic, flickr, Facebook, etc.) from like 20 different peeps. Finally whittled it down to a little over a hunny in the hopes of giving you a little glimpse into the event that absolutely consumed my life for the last year or so.
For those who don’t know, I am the co-founder of an event called Rice Fest , an event that I am very passionate about, and one that I can honestly say Hawaii wants/needs. Let’s face it. We love our rice here in Hawaii. The plan is to put the Rice Fest on every September (in line with National Rice Month), which we started at our inaugural event last week Saturday (September 11, 2010) at the Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Below are the scenes from that day. Mahalo to everyone for the support!
(A big mahaloz to our sponsors/partners: Diamond G Rice, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, Lanakila Pacific, Vacations Hawaii, HPE Live, and the Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace!)
Due to a tent mix-up, the ladies of the 58th Cherry Blossom Festival Court were out in the hot sun for part of the day. A big mahalo to all of them for being such troopers!
Also in the Keiki Zone, University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Department of Human Nutrition, Food, and Animal Science educator Dr. Maria Stewart shared her current research in an interactive and educational display entitled “Nutrition for Everybody: Learn How Rice Promotes a Healthy Body”.
Mahaloz to all of our #RICEHUNT participants: @amisan34 (and friend), @bitachu (and friend), @biznaz, @photolulutv, @princesstara459 (and friend), @emichan58 (and friend), and @lauriecicotello, and congratulations to @bitachu for winning the grand prize that included gifts from VG Addict, OhanaPCS, TNBLive, and Oceanic Time Warner Cable. Special thanks to @octobersoldier for coordinating the game and prizes! Awesome job!
And then, it was time for the Rice Fest to officially begin! 102.7 Da Bomb’s Bruddah Bryan gets us started…
Soon it was time for the Lung Kong Physical Culture Club to bless our event with good luck via a traditional lion dance. I was told to stand in front while the lions start on me. Love love LOVE this cool shot from @PhotoluluTV that totally captured the moment!
One of my favorite events of the day was the “Riceipe” Cooking contest that pitted 5 professional chefs against each other to see who could make the best dish that incorporated rice. Fun, adrenaline pumpin’, exciting stuffs!
The participating chefs were Chef Hideaki “Santa” Miyoshi from Tokkuri-Tei, Chef Kendall Uyehara from HMSHost, Chef Robert Denis from Don Ho’s Island Grill, Chef Matthew Naula from RumFire, and Chef Colin Hazama from Kauai Grill.
I’m still trying to convince him that “Sugimoto Risotto” has a much better ring to it. 😉
Meanwhile the judges took their places on stage and prepared to feast on some ono kine (rice) grindz! Our judges were Star-Advertiser Food Critic Nadine Kam, Twitter Goddess and all around foodie Melissa Chang (@Melissa808), Professional Baker Ed Morita (@NctrnlBst), and Diamond G Rice’s Harrison Wong.
I was unfortunately running around so I was unable to capture the dish, but FYI, it was “Slow cooked New Zealand King Salmon” with miso yuzu broth, young ginger, soft tofu, and crispy jasmine rice… A dish Chef Colin serves at his Kauai Grill restaurant.
A big mahalo to everyone who came out to support our first event. Thank you to our hard working staff and volunteers (especially Lincoln Jacobe and my day-to-day partners in crime: Umma Kayvalyam, Harold Su and my wife Mai). Thank you to the media for all of your coverage, including Oceanic Time Warner Cable, Hawaii News Now’s Sunrise, KITV4 This Morning, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The Nikkan Sun, KUMU, Nonstop Honolulu and all those who talked/blogged about us in Hawaii’s Social Media space (@Melissa808, @ParkRat, @Mel808, @RickNakama, @sarakata, @PhotoluluTV, @fashiontribe, @octobersoldier, @LanakilaPacific, @randi808, @pacificsoul, @Nctrnlbst, @amisan34, @bitachu, @biznaz, @princesstara459, @emichan58, @lauriecicotello, @tweetpea, @haboolani, @HawaiiIRL, @hnlmark, @strobie, @SSquire, @MikeSumida, @ChrisHall78, @JKuroiwa, @atmarketing, @Living2Shop, @theodene, and more! Sorry, I know I’m missing a lot!). Mahaloz to @PhotoluluTV, @ParkRat, Kiman Wong, Todd Masui, Tyson Yamada, and more, for taking photos and letting me “borrow” some for this blog. 😛
Mahalo to our sponsors and partners Diamond G Rice, Oceanic Time Warner Cable, Lanakila Pacific, Vacations Hawaii, HPE Live, the Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace, and Rob Yunich and the rest of the USA Rice Federation team. Thank you to all of our vendors: Arturo’s Hot Sauce in Hawaii, Big City Diner, Don Ho’s Island Grill, Dr. Maria Stewart (University of Hawaii at Manoa Professor of Nutrition), Eastern Food Center, Hawaiian Kine Seasonings, Himalayan Kitchen, Island Taste, KATS SUSHI, Lanakila Pacific, Leonard’s Malasadas, Mobile Gamer Guys, OISHI-GENMAI – GIC JAPAN, Pelekunu’s Teri Sauces, Primo Sushi, Thai Kitchen, Soul Patrol, SNOW |F|A|C|T|O|R|Y|, and Sweet Charlotte, and our entertainers: 102.7 Da Bomb’s Bruddah Bryan, Cookin’ With Cutty’s Chef Barry “Cutty” Cutler, Hawaii News Now’s Stephanie Lum, Kai Market’s Darren Demaya, KITV4’s Lara Yamada, Kauai Grill’s Chef Colin Hazama, Hawaii News Now’s Minna Sugimoto, Ernie Loo and the Lung Kong Physical Culture Club, Heart & Soul (and Kalei Gamiao), the Ukulele Hale Keiki, Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii under the direction of Sensei Akemi Martin, Kapena (Kelly Boy, Kalena, and Lilo De Lima), Jonathan Murai and the 58th Cherry Blossom Festival Court, and Bubbles Duh Clown.
Thank you to our SPAM musubi eating contestants and our “Riceipe” Cooking contestants: Don Ho’s Island Grill’s Chef Robert Denis, Kauai Grill’s Chef Colin Hazama (again!), Tokkuri-Tei’s Chef Hideaki “Santa” Miyoshi, RumFire’s Chef Matthew Naula, and HMSHost’s Chef Kendall Uyehara. Mahalo also to our Starwood contacts: Candice Lee Kraughto, Jocelyn Elfstrom, Joanie Matsumoto, and Chaunce Lovett, among others. Mahaloz to the “World Wide Ed” community for reading this far and always showing your support in whatever I do. I know I’m forgetting a lot more, so thank you to anyone and everyone who helped make the inaugural Rice Fest a reality. See you guys next year! 🙂
Save the date for September 11th, 2010, a day when rice takes center stage. Diamond G Rice presents the 1st Annual Hawaii Rice Festival which will celebrate with the rest of the country the joy that is rice. This unique, one day event will be held at the Waterfront at Aloha Tower from 12PM to 8PM and will be packed with family fun, entertainment, food booths, educational activities, rice products, and much more!
Diamond G Rice Presents the 1st Annual Hawaii Rice Festival
The Rice Festival will be an opportunity for people from different cultures to come together and celebrate one of the unique elements that unite them. From celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, to entertainment to contests like the “Riceipe” contest and the SPAM Musubi eating contest, this festival will celebrate the world’s melting pot, Hawaii and its diversity. The otherwise ordinary grain that is consumed in Hawaii on a daily basis will be transformed and infused with new and fantastic flavors that will tantalize everyone’s taste buds. This one-day event will explore the many different uses for rice, as well as the cultures who use it, and will provide attendees with a deeper appreciation for rice and its many functions.
Of course, what would a day of fun be without giving back to those who are less fortunate? Part of the proceeds from the Diamond G Rice presents the 1st Annual Rice Fest will go to Lanakila Pacific, who will also be collecting donations of brown rice at the event.
This 8-hour, one-day event will expect to draw in thousands of people, filled with both appetites and a curiosity of all the different vendors available related to rice and great tasting food in general.
Visit the Oceanic Time Warner Cable booth at the Rice Fest!
Watch the Rice Fest Commercial
Road Runner customers, check your August newsletter (or click here) for a link to download a coupon for FREE admission to the event. Don’t forget to also visit the Oceanic Time Warner Cable booth for free giveaways and show only specials! Come on down and join in on what will indeed be a very RICE day!
World Wide Ed 