OK, I’m pushing Kristi’s tour photos back one more time to tell you about our live broadcast with Jai Cunningham of KHON this morning. We’re promoting First Fashion Friday at Aloha Tower Marketplace happening this week, and there are a lot of elements to show on camera.

Manolo is on vacation, so Jai has been filling in for him on the live spots. This was my first time working with Jai, and it was really interesting. Did you know that he’s originally from Alabama and went to an all-boys’ boarding school with a strict dress code? That’s partly why he is so spiffily dressed on camera all the time….not just for the visual, but because that’s what he is used to. OK, that’s not ALL we learned about Jai, but that was pretty good trivia.  If you haven’t worked with him yet, he’s very easygoing and easy to work with!

Our first shot at 6:30 was promoting the fitness aspect of First Fashion Friday. As mentioned previously, we are offering a free fitness makeover: just listen to KQMQ this week for details or send an email with a photo to info@alohatower.com and tell us why you deserve to win. Chris Hughes, one of the DJs at the station, came to talk about his fitness goals and pump the makeover contest.

As you can see, Chris is interested in bulking up and gaining more muscle definition, especially developing his upper body strength. Jai turned to me and said, “And Melissa, you…..er, are probably like most of us….” And I said, “Yes! I need to lose weight.” My boss Scott texted me immediately to say, “So what’s Jai trying to tell you?”  ha ha!

The rest of the segments focused on celebrity stylist Crystal Pancipanci, who will be one of our fashion panelists on Friday, giving us a preview of fall trends. She’s worked with the Baraquio sisters, Rachel Ray, and Valerie Bertinelli, as well as many local celebs.  Last year she gave KQMQ jocks Chanel Mokepuha and Devon Nekoba a makeover (after which I stole all of Chanel’s clothes for myself). Today she worked with Miss Aloha Tower Kaili Hussey and Miss Teen Aloha Tower Steisha Sheather, and not only talked about trends for fall but how to effectively put trendy outfits together.  Heck, I learned three things just standing there listening her think out loud and she didn’t even realize it!

I’d tell you more about what I learned from Crystal with regard to dressing myself, but you need to hear it on your own!  Just come to our free event on Friday, August 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. Crystal, along with Alyson Helwagen of LeiChic.com, will talk about tips and trends for fall.

Ah, but this is a “flack like me” entry, isn’t it?  Here are some tips from today’s live broadcast:

1.  If you’re doing a broadcast anywhere in the harbor, you need to get the necessary permission to access the area(s) ahead of time.

2.  It helps to draw a map so you can communicate to the cameraman (George Cabral!) exactly where the Live Van should park.

3.  Be prepared to be on camera, in case people don’t show up.  Today I brought a change of clothes in case people didn’t show up for the Fitness Segment, and was ready to improvise for fitness moves.

4.  As always, bring extra props.  I lugged two sets of dumbells up to the second floor while wearing heels! But they were necessary props so we could demonstrate some simple moves on camera. I picked the nicest looking dumbells so they’d pick up the light. I think we also had a couple of extra outfits as backup, in case we ended up with an extra segment to talk…and we did.

See you on Friday!

p.s. big mahalo to Jennifer Lieu, who was running around with the camera and getting all the clothes set up just right. And for getting George some coffee.  And for shushing housekeeping as only a Pushy Chinese Broad can do!

Note:  Also known as Okonomi Cuisine Kai 

After about a year of trying, I finally made it to Kai—located behind WalMart (or, if you are like one of my neighbors, you say it’s behind Saigon Passion). I have heard that this place is really crowded, but I can tell you without a doubt that it’s quite empty on Sunday nights. So if you’ve been dying to try it but can’t get in, try a Sunday.

The décor is pretty interesting: Kind of mod, high ceilings, different textures and angles. I got to meet the Japanese designer when its sister restaurant, Kaiwa, opened in Waikiki. However, I was with a couple of architect friends, and they started to excitedly get into the architect-speak with him, and my eyes glazed over as they lost me.  All I know is, the guy is very forward thinking, has a good eye, and is extremely turned on by his work.

Ah, but it’s not the design for which people come to Kai. They’re looking for the simple pleasure of izakaya food. 

The menu does not have a ton of items, but you should still try to go with a few friends so you all can try as much as possible.  On my first visit, I went with my foodie friend Mari and our mystery friend who does not want to be mentioned in my blog.

First things first!  Order the sake. I’m not super into sake, but somehow when you’re eating in a Japanese restaurant like this, it seems the right thing to do.

Then to be healthy, we started with a salad.  If you’re eating out, why would you settle for an ordinary salad? Our waitress heartily recommended the Seafood California, which turned out to be a wonderful choice.

The nuttiest thing was that the most unphotogenic food became our preferences.  The Renkon Cheese (far left) is basically fried lotus root and cheese on some kind of thin crust. It’s salty, crunchy, and yummy; Mari said that although it was simple, it was not something she could make at home so therefore would order it again. I liked it, but the price ($8.75) seemed too steep for a simple dish for a pake diner. On the other hand, the Mochi Mochi Senbei (bottom left, $5.50) was surprisingly pretty good! It’s just mochi fried in butter and shoyu and topped with nori. On this first evening, it was too tough and chewy because Mystery Friend and I had to wait for Mari to take photos.  When I went back a second time and tried it again hot, it was quite yummy–especially after a day of training.

The restaurant also seems to specialize in okonomiyaki, and on this evening we tried their special Modern Yaki (upper right, $14.50). It seemed to be shredded cabbage, noodles, some meat, and a fried egg doused in special okonomiyaki sauce (like katsu sauce).  You throw shaved bonito over the hot dish to make it “move.” It’s quite filling and has a nice taste.

We finished off with the “Big Pan” dessert, which is basically large chunks of toast, honey, and fruit, topped with ice cream. It’s nice that the toast is buttered, which adds to the flavor, but we didn’t like the fact that the fruit was frozen. I preferred the honey toast at Shokudo, sorry! 

Overall, Kai was yummy and reasonable, and I will admit that I now get cravings to go there every so often. For me, it’s a nice, delicious way to spend a quiet Sunday evening with friends or family, and I do recommend it as a way to end your weekend.

Okonomi Cuisine Kai

1427 Makaloa Street off Keeaumoku, across/behind Wal-Mart

944-1555

5 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays; closed Mondays

Pardon my ignorance, but I don’t know what the woman at the front of the ship is called.  In any case, we were all really saddened to see them removing her from the front of the Falls of Clyde today.  According to my security department, she will be stored as a museum piece, so all is not lost.

p.s. just a note to Kristi & Amy: I promise I’ll post your tours here! I got busy.

About a month ago, the Maritime Museum started to dismantle the historic Falls of Clyde. It didn’t seem real at the time, even though we can see it happening every day right outside our window.  Here’s what it looked like as of yesterday.

All right, it’s time to tell you how to win that fitness makeover.  You know how I have been talking about First Fashion Friday coming up on August 1?  Well, to kick off the events, the Hawaii Athletic Club in Aloha Tower Marketplace is offering a free fitness makeover to a lucky participant.

Interested makeover candidates should email info@alohatower.com with a photo and a short narrative on why they should win the fitness makeover by July 30. Finalists will be selected before August 1; the winner will undergo a fitness program until the finale on October 3.

You can also listen to KQMQ to call in to win, but I think this is harder to achieve! In any case, you’ll be doing a fitness makeover like their DJs: Today, Miss Chanel joined the challenge along with me and Chris Hughes.  As you can see, they have different fitness goals, and we figure you do, too.

I cannot stress enough that whoever wins this, has to stick with the program or it won’t work!

Even if you don’t try to enter to win the makeover, come to our free events anyway! The first one is on August 1 at 6 p.m. Learn fashion and beauty tips from a panel comprised of Alyson Helwagen of LeiChic.com and celebrity stylist Crystal Pancipanci; and a fashion show presented by Shane Takeshita of iCandi Hawaii.

Be watching www.alohatower.com/fff.html to see what direction our online magazine takes you this year! All right, time to go shop.