Scenes from the Rice Fest

(Warning: *CHOKE* Photos)

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!

Our Rice Fest sign on the morning of… Exciting!

The line waits in anticipation (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Scenic shot of Aloha Tower (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Our Sponsor Diamond G Rice (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

(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!)

Diamond G Rice gave away free rice to patrons every half hour! (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Stephen aka @PHOTOluluTV won free rice and quickly donated it to our non-profit partner Lanakila Pacific. So thoughtful!

Stephen donating his rice to Lanakila Pacific. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Still early in the day, I had some down time to visit each booth to capture the sights.

Bruddah Kalani Miller and his niece(?) at their Mobile Gamer Guys’ booth.

Some keiki having fun playing video games inside the posh Mobile Gamer Guys’ van. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Valen Ahlo posing with the 58th Cherry Blossom Festival Court (Princess Kimberly Fujinaka, Princess Cori Hanagami, Queen Marissa Machida, and Miss Congeniality Andrea Hiura). (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

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”.

Dr. Maria Stewart’s Rice Education booth. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

The fellas from the Snow F|A|C|T|O|R|Y (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Russ aka @ParkRat enjoying his treat from Snow F|A|C|T|O|R|Y. (Photo Courtesy @Melissa808)

The early scene from above. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Pacific Soul’s Sean Priester and his staff. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Pacific Soul’s offerings at the Rice Fest. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Pelekunu’s booth. They won the Most Creative Booth Award! (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Grilled Teri Chicken plate from Pelekunu’s. (Photo Courtesy @Melissa808)

The Thai Kitchen booth

The Mixed Plate from Thai Kitchen

Slowly starting to pick up (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Don Ho’s Island Grill booth

Kats Sushi booth. They won the “Best of Show” award as voted on by the visitors. (Photo Courtesy @bitachu)

Spicy Tuna temaki (handroll) from Kats Sushi. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Himalayan Kitchen’s booth.

Eastern Food Center’s booth.

Various rice offerings (including jung, mochi and SPAM musubis) from Eastern Food Center. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Primo Sushi’s booth. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Big City Diner’s booth. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Island Taste’s booth. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Arturo’s Hot Sauce booth. (Photo Courtesy @LanakilaPacific)

Julia, Chimaine, Umma and Mai at the Scrip booth. (Photo Courtesy Umma Kayvalyam)

Sweet Charlotte’s booth.

Sweet Charlotte’s offerings. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Hawaiian Kine Seasonings’ booth.

Offerings from Hawaiian Kine Seasonings. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Yelp booth. (Photo Courtesy @Melissa808)

Leonard Jr.’s malasada van. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Our friends at the Lanakila Pacific booth. (Photo Courtesy @Melissa808)

One of @LanakilaPacific’s tweets during the day. (Photo Courtesy @LanakilaPacific)

The guys from Oishi-Genmai GIC Japan. Look for their products next year!

The Admission/Volunteer Check-In/Twitter #RICEHUNT booth. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Goodie bags for all Twitter #RICEHUNT participants. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

And then the #RICEHUNT Twitter Scavenger hunt began! Here are the list of items the participants had to find and Twitpic out in order to win:

• A member of the 58th Cherry Blossom Festival Court
• A pair of chopsticks
• A picture of Bruddah Bryan from 102.7 Da Bomb
• A picture of both Chef Barry “Cutty” Cutler and Hawaii News Now’s Stephanie Lum at the Celebrity/Chef Cooking Demo at 1PM
• A scenic picture of Aloha Tower
• A food dish with rice
• A food booth at Rice Fest
• Maribel with the new IntelliGo (at the Oceanic sponsor booth)
• A close-up of The Mobile Gamer Guys’ Bus
• A Rice Fest volunteer / staff – They must be wearing the Rice Fest shirt

Below are some of the images from the #RICEHUNT.

“A member of the 58th Cherry Blossom Festival Court” (Photo Courtesy @biznaz)

“A pair of chopsticks” (Photo Courtesy @princesstara459)

“A picture of Bruddah Bryan from 102.7 Da Bomb” (Photo Courtesy @bitachu)

“A picture of both Chef Barry “Cutty” Cutler and Hawaii News Now’s Stephanie Lum at the Celebrity/Chef Cooking Demo at 1PM” (Photo Courtesy @tweetpea)

“A scenic picture of Aloha Tower” (Photo Courtesy @bitachu)

“A food dish with rice” (Photo Courtesy @princesstara459)

“A food booth at Rice Fest” (Photo Courtesy @emichan58)

“Maribel with the new IntelliGo (at the Oceanic sponsor booth)” (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

“A close-up of The Mobile Gamer Guys’ Bus” (Photo Courtesy @bitachu)

“A Rice Fest volunteer / staff – They must be wearing the Rice Fest shirt” (Photo Courtesy @LaurieCicotello)

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…

102.7 Da Bomb’s Bruddah Bryan giving away a skateboard from Oceanic Time Warner Cable (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Cookin’ With Cutty’s Barry “Cutty” Cutler and Hawaii News Now’s Stephanie Lum put on their Celebrity/Chef Cooking Demo (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Cutty and Stephanie’s “Healthy Fried Rice” dish. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Ingredients for Cutty and Stephanie’s “Healthy Fried Rice”:

• Brown Rice
• Olive/Grapeseed Oil
• Turkey Bacon/Turkey Sausage
• Organic Eggs (whites only)
• Carrots
• Maui Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Salt & Pepper
• Seasonings
• Lettuce Leaves
• Cilantro
• Braggs Liquid Aminos

Serve on a fresh butter lettuce leaf

Stephen (@PhotoluluTV), Sara (@sarakata) and Melissa (@Melissa808) enjoying themselves at the Rice Fest (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Russ (@ParkRat), Melissa (@Melissa808), and Rick (@RickNakama) take time to pose at the Rice Fest (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

And before you knew it, it was time for the 2nd Celebrity/Chef Cooking Demo, featuring Kai Market’s Chef Darren Demaya and KITV4’s Lara Yamada.

Kai Market’s Chef Darren Demaya cooking with KITV4’s Lara Yamada

Chef Darren and Lara’s dish (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

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!

Getting blessed from the Lung Kong Physical Culture Club Lion Dancers (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

The drummers from the Lung Kong Physical Culture Club (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Up close on one of the lions. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

The lion dances through the crowd and all over the premises for good luck. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Next up: The Ukulele Hale keiki and Jody Kamisato & Chris Salvador, aka Heart and Soul!

Jody Kamisato introducing his band Heart & Soul (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Heart & Soul with their special guest Kalei Gamiao (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

I gotta say, I was REALLY impressed with young Chris Salvador’s voice. Wow!

Kalei Gamiao, Heart & Soul, and the Ukulele Hale keiki jammin’ it up! (Photo Courtesy Jody Kamisato)

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.

Chef Hideaki “Santa” Miyoshi, Chef Kendall Uyehara, Chef Robert Denis, Chef Matthew Naula, and Chef Colin Hazama line up as Bruddah Bryan introduces them. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

3-2-1… Go!

Kauai Grill’s Chef Colin Hazama goes at it. (Photo Courtesy @Mel808)

Chef Colin’s Hanalei Squid Luau Risotto (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

RumFire’s Chef Matthew Naula tosses rice in his pan. (Photo Courtesy Todd Masui)

Chef Matt’s dish. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

The crowd gathers as the chefs hurry to complete their dish. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Don Ho’s Island Grill’s Chef Robert Denis preps his dish.

Chef Robert’s Lomilomi Salmon Risotto Lollipops w/ Sweet Chili Glaze dish. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

HMSHost’s Chef Kendall Uyehara works on his gravy. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Chef Kendall’s Loco Moco a la Francaise dish. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Tokkuri-Tei’s Chef Hideaki “Santa” Miyoshi just cruisin’. (Photo Courtesy @Mel808)

Chef Santa kicks it into high gear. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Chef Santa’s Seafood Risotto. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

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.

Harrison, Ed, Nadine, and Melissa get interviewed by Bruddah Bryan. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Melissa taking a shot of Chef Matthew Naula’s dish. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

And then it was time to announce the winner… I’ll just let the next four photos tell the (funny) story.

Chef Santa asks, “Who me!?” (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Chef Santa in shock. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Chef Santa finally cracks a smile. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Chef Santa still in shock. (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

Chef Santa’s Seafood Risotto as seen from Nadine Kam’s perspective. (Photo Courtesy @fashiontribe)

Congratulations Santa-san!

Next up was an amazing Taiko Drum performance by Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii under the direction of Sensei Akemi Martin.

Taiko Drum performance by Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Taiko Drum performance by Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko Hawaii (Photo Courtesy @PHOTOluluTV)

@NctrnlBst’s Youtube video (for Nonstop Honolulu) with footage/images from the Rice Fest

Crowd shot. (Photo Courtesy Tyson Yamada)

Mel (@Mel808), Chris (@ChrisHall78) and Randi (@randi808) pose during the Rice Fest. (Photo Courtesy @ParkRat)

Hawaii News Now’s Minna Sugimoto and Kauai Grill’s Chef Colin Hazama put on their Celebrity/Chef Cooking Demo

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.

Now that’s a good lookin’ couple! 😛 Ron and Sherry pose during the Rice Fest. (Photo Courtesy Tyson Yamada)

And then Kapena takes the stage!

Kapena / De Lima `Ohana serenading the audience at Rice Fest. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Kelly Boy, Kalena, and Lilo!

Scenic shot of Aloha Tower as nightfall sets in. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

The crowd enjoys the music of Kapena. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Kelly Boy spontaneously calls on a girl from the Pelekunu booth to dance hula during a song. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Walter and Lincoln hanging out at the Vacations Hawaii booth. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Maude and Travis working the Oceanic Time Warner Cable booth. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Harrison holding things down at the Diamond G Rice booth. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

And then came the hilarious and entertaining SPAM Musubi eating contest. The contestants had 3 minutes to eat as many SPAM Musubis as possible!

Bruddah Bryan counts down to the start of the SPAM Musubi Eating Contest.

And… they’re off! (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

The look of pain (or concentration)! One of the two. 😉 (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Still going! … As the audience captures footage. (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Keep it going! (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Time’s running out! (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

And Rodney’s the winnah! He ate an amazing 8 out of 10 SPAM musubis within the 3 minute period! (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

“Uncle Rodney” gets mobbed by his adoring fans/family! (Photo Courtesy Kiman Wong)

Why do I call him “Uncle Rodney”? Check out the video! LOL!

SPAM Musubi Eating Contest at the 2010 Rice Fest

And then it was a wrap!

The 2010 Rice Fest is in the books! See you next year!

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! 🙂

Video highlights from the 2010 Hawaii Rice Fest

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Opal Thai Food Wagon – Haleiwa’s Hidden Gem

When wifey and I spontaneously decided to have date night out in Haleiwa the other night, I did what any unassuming young American would do: I checked out Yelp one fast one. At the top of the list was this curious place called Opal Thai Food. Curious because 1) it was a wagon and 2) it was a wagon that didn’t serve your banal Haleiwa shrimp. What are the chances? 😛

No offense to you non-locals, but my strategy when it comes to review sites like Yelp is to give higher precedence to da kama`aina. We’re usually quite honest about our eateries and tend not to get caught up in the hype of a place. After that, like most, I take into consideration the rating level and the number of reviewers rating it. Opal Thai Food had a winning combination of all: great reviews from us locals, high ratings (4.5 out of 5), and a high review count (currently at 75).

Done. We were off to visit our north shore neighbors for some curious Thai food for din-din.

Opal Thai Food Wagon in Haleiwa

Ed’s Tip: If you Google their listed address, it’ll actually show that they’re somewhere near Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. The Opal Wagon is actually more in the beginning of Haleiwa (coming in from the south), across the street from McDonald’s, where some of the other shrimp wagons are.

We started with their Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings (with deep fried basil) appetizer.

Woah.

Talk about nom-nom-licious!

Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings (with deep fried basil) – $7.95

I’m not even a basil fan, and I loved the way the flavor of the deep-fried basil matched up nicely with their sweet, semi-spicy glaze. This is a MUST TRY!

Next up, we ordered our two go-to Thai dishes: Shrimp Pad Thai and Yellow Chicken Curry, with a side order or Sticky Rice.

Shrimp Pad Thai Noodle – $8.75

Yellow Chicken Curry – $8.25, with a side Order of Sticky Rice – $1.75

Like what some of the Yelp reviewers wrote, the wagon’s proprietor Opal was very friendly. He brought over a tub of a dry chili flake mixture and suggested that we add it to our Pad Thai. Later, he came over and poured the cucumber/onion namasu looking side dish (see above photo) into our curry and said that it’ll enhance the flavor. It did.

Opal seems to have a pay-after-you-eat methodology, much like sit down restaurants. We felt a little guilty digging in without paying for anything, but we just went with it. I’m convinced that he does this so that he can speak to each customer as to how they enjoyed their meal.

If you’re a big eater, you would probably think that the portions are on the small side. We did come near the end of the night (they close at 6pm with last call at 5:30pm) though so that may’ve possibly had something to do with it.

Ed’s Tip: Since you’re pretty much “roughing it” and dining on their outdoor tables, you may experience some annoyances from your friendly neighborhood fly or 6. You may consider asking for a take-out plate so you can close/cover things as you eat or take it with you if da little buggahs get to be a little much for you.

Overall a great find that we will definitely return to for future date nights.

Our Yellow Chicken Curry, Shrimp Pad Thai and Spicy Glaze Garlic Chicken Wings in front of the Opal Thai Food Wagon

Ed’s Tip: BTW, bring your Road Runner Mobile connection because it works here as well!

Opal Thai Food Wagon
66-460 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712 (map)
(808) 381-8091
Hours: Wed-Sun 11am-6pm (last call at 5:30pm)

Don’t forget… THIS month…

===========================================

Diamond G Rice presents the 1st Annual Hawaii Rice Festival
Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace
September 11, 2010 from 12PM-8PM
For more info:
Ricefest.com / Twitter / Facebook
To RSVP:
Twtvite / Facebook Event
===========================================

Survey Thursday – Do You Facebook?

* Do you Facebook? If not where do you call (social networking) “home”?

Lately, the old older peeps here at work have been asking me about this strange new thing called “Facebook.” As the resident “Web Expert” I guess I’m the go to guy for these types of questions and boy, have they been a-comin’! First I smirk (at how late they are to the party) and then I proceed to explain to these newbies what it’s all about. How you use it, why people use it, privacy concerns, etc. The look on their face is priceless. It’s the same as that of someone who just watched TV in color for the first time. (at least I think that’s what they looked like. 😛 )

Facebook, at least to me, is where it’s at. There are so many features to control privacy, friends, microblogging/notifications (ala Twitter), and, as evident by the interest from the old older peeps here at work, it’s catching wind. I’ve gotten back in touch from old friends from yesteryear that I haven’t spoken to in years, and all the company and corporate peers are there as well! There are so many more relevant people up in thurr than say a MySpace. If I had to compare the two, I’d tell someone that MySpace is more for kids and ‘tweens and Facebook is more for adults. (No, not that kind of “adult” you perv. 😉 )

There is a downside though. With so many of your professional contacts up in the heezy, you really have to watch what you say and post. It’s not like I have anything to hide really, but posting that drunken party pic from the weekend (I don’t do this – just an example) is probably not something for your boss’ eyes. I’ve heard of stories of those kinda things coming back to haunt employees, and that doesn’t really surprise me.

How did we get to this point? I remember the good ol’ days when these social networking type sites were strictly for us “young” peeps? Let’s turn back the clock a bit shall we… Remember these?

Chat/Talk on UH’s Unix system –> HCU –> Asian Avenue –> IM/Messenger type services (AIM/Windows Live/Yahoo!/Google Talk) –> Friendster –> LinkedIn –> MySpace –> Facebook

Oh YEAH! I bet ya forgot about some of those gems eh? Ha!

And that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what other sites are out there (Yelp, Flickr, Twitter, Bebo, Hi5, YouTube, and yes, we even have one on AroundHawaii.com).

Is there something after Facebook? Probably, but for now, this is where the party’s at yo. Holla if ya hear me! 😉

Talk to me!
* Do you Yahoo! Facebook?
* If so, how many friends ya got?
* Do you add anyone or just the people you know IRL?
* Are your bosses or company’s executives on there too?
* What’s your favorite part about Facebook?
* Your least favorite?
* What other social networking sites do you frequent?
* If you’ve never joined Facebook or any other social networking site, why or why not?

Possible Hijacking Topics 😛
* American Idol dish
* Hell’s Kitchen dish
* The Office dish
* Survivor: Tocantins dish
* CSI dish
* Grey’s Anatomy dish
* Harper’s Island dish
* Southland dish
* Dancing With the Stars dish
* The Biggest Loser dish
* Lost dish
* NBA Playoff runs
* etc.

Happy Survey Thursday… Woo Hoo it’s almost TGI(F)F!

San Francisco Eats

Though the stay in Cali was not all that long, I was able to sneak in a few bites here and there. Here are some highlights yo:

I arrived the day of the wedding (congrats again Tommy and Margaret!), so there was really not much to do other than help with the last minute wedding errands. The soon-to-bes were nice enough to treat us to lunch (custom sandwiches) from a place called Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery. Though they do have numerous locations in California, Seattle and Chicago, we hit up the one closest to us at 3399 Bowers Ave in Santa Clara.

Sandwiches from Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery

The next meal was actually at the wedding, so I didn’t really have much time to snap photos. I was able to sneak a shot at the venue’s pupu platter, which was served to the wedding party before we marched out to the reception area.

Pupu Platter from Freedom Hall and Gardens

The Freedom Hall and Gardens was the site of the picturesque wedding, and, according to their web site, the dish was called the “Pre Buffet ‘Butler-Style’ Passed Hors d’oeuvres” (see menu). Awesome work guys. It was all delish on our empty, Heineken-only filled stomachs. *grin*

The next day, we made our way out to San Fran. For lunch, we ate at Crab House at Pier 39. A bit on the costly side for what you get, but we were hungry and wanted to rest our bones.

Bowl of Crab Chowder from Crab House at Pier 39

The “chowdah” was pretty good but the crab on top was cold. Then, as usual, my eyes were bigger than my stomach, so I ordered the medium Sizzling Iron Skillet-Roasted Mussels and Shrimp platter (see menu – PDF).

Sizzling Iron Skillet-Roasted Mussels and Shrimp (Medium) at Crab House at Pier 39

That evening, after checking out the Golden Gate Bridge, we went roaming around Chinatown. I looked up reviews on my phone for good Chinese Restaurants nearby and thanks to the power of Yelp, we discovered R & G Lounge Restaurant (see menu – PDF).

House Combination Chow Mein, Prawns with Honey Walnut, and Roast Duck from R & G Lounge Restaurant

The eats was good, but the company throughout the entire trip was even better…

Talk to me!
* Have you eaten at any of these places (Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery, Freedom Hall and Gardens, Crab House at Pier 39, R & G Lounge Restaurant)?
* How’d you like it?
* Other San Francisco (Tr)Eats you’d like to share?
* A co-worker recommends Crustacean’s. Ever been?
* Where can you get a good bowl of “chowdah” here in the 808?
* How about good sandwiches or Chinese food for that matter?