This is a little late (surprise, surprise!), but I wanted to get this out anyway! So last week, our fellow blogger Alan Okami of Ka Leo O Kalihi and his family had their 15th Anniversary party at the Willows. (pictured here with me and Ed Sugimoto, who already blogged about it!)

Papa Okami with Alan's cousin/fellow blogger, Lori Okami.

It was kind of a mini-reunion for our blogger ohana!

The party was also like a "who's who" of local entertainers, young and old. Look who I saw! Remember TJ Maeshiro, who won Aloha Tower Marketplace's first ukulele contest? He's 17 now, and so big! I feel so old!

Check out some of the food:

Check out some of the entertainment! Soul Sisters were so talented!

And here's an all-star kanikapila group at the party!

Congratulations to the Okamis and especially to my bruddah Alan! Wishing you many more generations of success.

This seems a little self-serving to be MIA for weeks and then pop back up to talk about an award, but one of the main reasons I was busy was preparing my speech! Christa Wittmier made me feel better by saying, "Blogging is so two thousand and late!"

Last night, I was honored by the Public Relations Society of America-Hawaii Chapter (PRSA Hawaii)--more specifically, by Nathan Kam--with the President's Leadership Award. Unlike the Gregg Perry PR Person of the Year, which is awarded by a jury of one's peers, this one is given at the sole discretion of the president (which Nathan is).

The theme of the night was social media, and although many of us use it, not so many PR pros are super active on it. In fact, compared to our mainland counterparts, Hawaii lags far behind in social media activity. I could go into all the reasons why more PR people here won't get more involved in the use of social media or get others into it, but my--and Nathan's--hope is that they will.

With Conchita Malaqui of Waikiki Beach Walk

In a volatile economy, having the network created by social media is what saved me. I lost my job at the end of 2008, but because I had carved a niche through my overactive Twittering, I was able to pick up clients, like Pearlridge and Waikiki Beach Walk, who needed that service. We're looking ahead to the end of the year and the opportunities seem endless. So my question to my peers was, "If you lost your job tomorrow, is your personal brand and network strong enough to keep you working?"

Maybe. If they've embraced the technology and actually do some social things, the transition is easier. Even if they're not tech savvy, if they reach out to others to help them learn, that's social in itself. I can't say enough about how I've met so many wonderful people via social media that I wouldn't have met otherwise.

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a sermon on social media, although I do wish more of our readers were also more into it. I'm grateful for the opportunities that this blog and my Twitter have brought me, and I'm so grateful to Nathan and PRSA for this once in a lifetime award. I'm truly honored.

Congratulations to the winners of the Koa Anvil program awards, too!

Ah, the power of Twitter. Did you see the news story on KITV4 last night about the couple who met on Twitter and subsequently got married using social media?

Dallas Nagata and Ed White met at a "tweet up," or a gathering of twitter users, last year. After a whirlwind romance, they got engaged. Now, don't get me wrong, the normal focus of social media is not to hook up. If you take technology out of the picture, you could say Dallas & Ed found each other by chance through mutual friends.

Other than that, their relationship has been all about social media. We watched their romance unfold on Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. The invitation to their wedding was done on Twtvite. The wedding was livestreamed so that people around the world--mostly family & friends who couldn't make it--could be a part of the event. We all had our cameras and phones out so we could upload photos of the event in real time.

It was at Kakaako Waterfront Park, which was one of the reasons there was such a wide range of attire, from dressy to uber casual. (Left to right: Mark Mizuno, Gypsy Raven, Jennifer Lieu, Brad Tada, Jeff Kang, Erin Kinoshita)

They decided to make it a potluck, which was a cool way to show what our virtual friends eat from their neighborhoods. Or, in other cases, to show their home cooking/baking skills. On top of that, many of us were meeting for the first time. At least one guy met the couple for the first time, here!

Later that night, in keeping with the social media activity, Dallas & Ed showed up to "Shirtless Wednesdays." For those of you who don't know, DJ Charlie Criscola (@Charlieboy808, in the large cell) hosts a weekly internet livestream in which he mixes music from about 10 p.m. to midnight. It started when he came home one night to mix music, and since he was hot, took off his shirt. People who came to the livestream then followed suit (mostly guys). It's been a weekly internet tradition ever since.

The couple then requested Elvis' "Falling in Love With You" for their first dance, which they did on camera for us. Fun!

Everything about this event was a great way to show the community that social media can build. Although it starts online, it transfers to real life. People who say they don't have time or don't want to learn about using it are, in my opinion, missing out on the richness that any kind of social interaction--online or not--can provide. Like any social situation, you need to exercise common sense, but once you learn how (like reading this blog!), you can really broaden your horizons.

Congrats Dallas & Ed! Wishing you many years of happiness. See you online.

Many people have written about the uber-popular Sweet Home Cafe in the Old Stadium Mall on King Street, but even without the write-ups, the place would still be packed. Have you been there?

It's basically Taiwanese shabu-shabu: You order from one of several kinds of broth, like a spicy soup, curry, or even a healthy herb. Then you go to the fridge and pull out plates of the ingredients you want to put in it. There's veggies, meats, noodles, and seafood.

There are also over a dozen dipping sauces to enhance the ingredients, which you can mix and match to your liking.

So some twitter friends invited me to their "family dinner" there the other night, and I was like, "Are you crazy?! The wait is about an hour long! And it's so expensive!" The last time I went there, I was with only one or two other people, and the price per person was quite steep.

Well, I showed up, and there were 14 people! It helped to ease the wait, even with it raining. Plus, Sweet Home Cafe enforces a time limit on diners.

They wasted no time grabbing all the ingredients they like and got right down to cooking. Here's Kristopher Schlund with aburage in the healthy herb soup.

I forgot that Sweet Home is BYOB! Phillip Han poured sake for everyone, even the staff (who did a kampai with us).

Michael Sorenson ordered beef tongue, which is sliced paper thin.

At the end, like in robata sushi bars, they count up the plates and charge you according to color. We sure ate a lot! But the price per person for four broths and all of those ingredients only came out to $15 per person.

Dessert is complimentary at Sweet Home Cafe if you order a meal. The bowl is created according to the size of your party, so two or three of these bowls landed on our table! It's full of shave ice, two kinds of tapioca, fruits, syrup, condensed milk, and mango flan (sometimes it's coffee flan). This is perfect after a big meal!

At the end, I was pretty jazzed that I went. DJ Doc Rock said, "This is why it is hard to explain to people why we wait so long for a table every week to eat here when there are other places that take reservations...I think to myself, 'Damn, they really need more true friends'--as the wait is not that long when in good company. It even seems to make the food better as well. Thanks for joining our family dinner."

I'm not even the type of person who likes soup, so Doc was right. It didn't even matter what we had for dinner, because the company was so good! Sometimes, friends make great family.

Sweet Home Cafe
2334 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 947-3707

Ah, the power of Twitter. If you ever doubt the way social media has opened up our horizons in positive ways, just watch my timeline. I was tweeting about going to Maui for the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival, and when I arrived, many Maui Twitter friends (whom I'd never met) started to welcome me. Some mentioned that I needed to try Star Noodle, but I couldn't because I had no car.

Well, Julie Yoneyama came to pick me up! Nancy Daniels of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts was on hand and was able to come along, and Dania Katz of Edible Hawaiian Islands Magazine met us at Star Noodle. Julie & Dania had met before, but it was the first time for the rest of us!

Star Noodle is located up the hill from Lahaina Cannery Mall. It's owned by the same people who own Old Lahaina Luau, so the luau caters through this restaurant facility.

Some of the geniuses in the front kitchen, making the magic happen. The restaurant uses as much local products as possible in their dishes, like Maui beef and Waipoli greens.

Julie with their executive chef, Craig Masuda. I asked him how he got the inspiration for the dishes at Star Noodle, since they are international dishes with local flair. He smiled and just chalked it up to a lot of research and travel, as well as R&D. "Everyone loves noodles," he said. He's even experimented with sweet potato and taro noodles, which haven't turned out well...yet. But Craig is sure they will someday.

Pohole salad: Hana fiddlehead ferns, Maui onions, kombu, tomatoes and dried shrimp. This is a very unique salad, full of interesting textures and flavors in every bite. I don't know how they figured out this combination for a salad, but it works!

The pickle jar: pickled seasonal vegetables and ogo. This isn't too tart, so it's easy to eat. I just love this old-fashioned presentation, like a nod to the old plantation days!

Make sure you order sparkling jasmine tea at Star Noodle. It's lightly carbonated jasmine tea, with a gorgeous floral flavor. It matches anything you order, even if you don't order anything else!

Star Noodle Ramen: This is their signature broth, made from the bones of the kalua pig from the Old Lahaina Luau. You'll definitely never get this anywhere else! The broth is super rich, super hearty, and super strong; one food critic described it as "very piggy." It's not for everyone, but if you love pork flavor, this is definitely a must-try. I'll bet this is great hangover food.

Dania loves the garlic noodles! These are noodles sauteed in garlic, then tossed with garlic, and topped with more garlic. These aren't like Thanh Long--they are more local-style--but they're very tasty. Note that most of the noodles here are hand-made in an old-fashioned machine by a girl named Lori (we actually met Lori!), so they're slightly chewy but have a softness that only fresh noodles can produce.

Julie's favorite dish is the pressed pork buns, served like Peking duck with hoisin sauce but with shiitake mushrooms and cucumber. It's like eating a deluxe Chinese bun in snack-sized bites, with a few more flavors to tease the palate.

Today's special: Maui beef garlic steak with Waipoli greens. I've only had Big Island beef, so this was a treat! Maui beef is melt-in-your-mouth tender with just enough fat to give it flavor and texture. The Waipoli greens have a slightly bitter bite and are a great contrast against the manly steak.

Vietnamese crepe (aka Banh xeo) filled with pork and shrimp, accompanied by greens. This isn't like other banh xeo I've had, where the crepe is soft and pliable. Here, the egg is mixed with coconut milk and fried till crispy. The crunchiness lends a new dimension to this dish, which is good even without the crunch!

I saw "Fried Soup" on the menu and was curious. Julie explained that there was a popular noodle dish at an old restaurant called "Dried Soup," so they emulated that recipe and changed the name. I'm still not sure where the soup is in this, but it's comprised of fat chow fun noodles fried up with bean sprouts and pork. I love chow fun, so this was great! It reminded me of the char kway teow in Southeast Asia.

These aren't your momma's brussels sprouts! Chef grills them so that the sugars come out to give them some smoky sweetness, then serves them up with bacon and a kim chee dipping sauce. "Can you tell the inspiration behind this dish?" Julie asked. Kalua pig and cabbage! We finished this dish quickly.

But wait, there's more! Star Noodle makes their own ice cream, again using mostly local ingredients. Sometimes they make starfruit ice cream, and I hear their Saloon Pilot flavor is to die for. Today, we had (from front to back) Li Hing, Green Apple, and Banana ice creams. The Li Hing isn't too strong; if you close your eyes, you can barely tell what it is, but you know it's good. The Green Apple was made with artificial flavor, but it just popped! It was one of our favorites. And the Banana was so flavorful, it was like biting into the fruit itself.

Star Noodle serves mini-malasadas with chocolate and butterscotch caramel dipping sauces (background) with chopped peanuts. These were great like this, but then we tried spreading the green apple ice cream with the caramel on it. Or the banana ice cream with the chocolate on it. It was sinful!

Star Noodle has only been open since February, so it's still pretty new. I'm so glad I had twitter friends on Maui, or I never would have discovered it! The prices are great, too. If you go, try to go with a group so you can try more things, as we did. Mahalo, Julie and Dania, for helping me find this....and thanks for a wonderful lunch with wonderful company!

Star Noodle
286 Kupuohi St; top of Lahaina Business Park
Lahaina, HI, 96761
Phone: 808-667-5400