Filed under: Dining, Hawaii, Honolulu | Tags: chinatown, chinese, gut, little village
Parents in town, was looking for that Chinatown location offering an optimal balance of delicious food and child-friendly atmosphere. Having passed by Little Village on several occasions, snaking around the throngs on the sidewalk waiting for a table and glancing in at the glowing faces of patrons basking in subdued lighting and funky yet authentic atmosphere, I thought I might have the place.
Then I read more than a few unflattering online reviews bitching about service and subpar quality. These reviews seemed more detailed than the ones gushing in praise, but I forced down the second thoughts I was beginning to have, and went with my gut.
As usual it did not lead me astray.
With a Pinot Grigio in hand courtesy of HASR Wine Co., the around-the-corner-from-everything-in-Chinatown stop for an excellent match to any meal (and a destination worth exploring in its own right), we headed for our table toward the rear of the restaurant. The space is curiously divided into a fancier room with painted walls, hanging art, recessed spaces containing finely detailed vases and dimmed lighting, and a more pedestrian, brighter space where our table was located. This split personality has the unfortunate effect of making you wish you were sitting in the nicer section, even though the public area is just fine.
That small twaddle aside, the food was pretty spectacular, in particular the amply stuffed mu-shu and honey walnut shrimp that was basking in a sauce nothing short of astounding. The service was a little spotty, with dishes coming out untimed and in seeming haphazard order, but that didn’t bother us so much, especially when we saw the check.
Mei wei!
I started hearing the ads on the radio a few weeks ago. “Have you tried that new restaurant?” “No, not yet, let’s go on WOMF and see what people are saying about it!” “WOMF?”
No, it is not a variation on the phrase that it naturally elicits as a response: WTF. WOMF stands for Word of Mouth Forum, a web forum for people to share opinions on local restaurants, stores, services, virtually anything that can be bitched about or lauded.
I didn’t think much of the ad until I walked into a cafe recently and there was a little card dispenser placed in a strategically visible part of the counter holding business cards advertising the service. Hmm, this WOMF seems to be gaining a little traction, or at least has a tenacious marketing team, I thought.
A little research turned up that WOMF is an Australian idea that they (the people behind WOMF) are trying to turn into a global force. Interestingly Hawaii is one of only a few states that has WOMF so far. Geographically it makes sense, but also culturally. There is already a strong word-of-mouth culture here in Hawaii.
Paradoxically this may be the kiss of death for WOMF – the service will have to compete with a strong, pre-existing, organically grown network. Not to mention a plethora of sites such as outside.in that already seem to offer similar services.
I don’t really care if it lives or dies. I just see it as an interesting – and literal – incarnation of the elusive word-of-mouth phenomenon that everyone’s trying so hard leverage.
I was recently reading an interview with Steve Reich in an essay anthology called Sound Unbound, and in it he talks at some point about the sin of Adam in eating the forbidden fruit. He mentions an interesting angle on the primal sin myth, which comes from the Zohar, the central book of Jewish mysticism. According to the Zohar (not to be confused with the Zohan), the original sin was really one of timing. If Adam and Eve had been able to wait until the Sabbath, enjoyment of the fruit would have been permitted. But Adam couldn’t control himself and had to take a bite a couple hours before the start of the holy day. Reich mentions this version in relation to the steady march of technological advancement, over which us humans don’t really seem to exercise much control. That is to say, we couldn’t just collectively decide to take a few years off from developing faster and faster processing chips.
Now, when I read this, I suddenly realized, as an inadvertent brand guy, that this must be the idea at the core of Apple’s brand name and logo! (Whether Apple’s marketing team knows it or not.) Now, I’ve read a few lazy descriptions of the Apple naming process that claim “Apple” was essentially developed a “fun” alternative to what was on the market at the time. Which may be true. But I prefer the idea of Apple products as the forbidden fruit, that tempting morsel that Adam just couldn’t keep himself from sampling before the designated time, knowing full well he was about to damn mankind for all eternity. After all, someone’s taken a bite out of the apple in the logo.
I’m a single guy, a swingin bachelor for a couple of weeks, with wife and kids back in Tokyo. Part of this deal means rising to the challenge of feeding myself.
On a recent Saturday evening, it was time to take a taste of the local ramen. Since Tenkaippin is a known quantity, I thought I’d opt for the more adventurous choice: Rai Rai Ramen, a couple blocks up from Tenkaippin on Kapahulu.
The verdict: not bad at all. Perfectly decent miso chashu with egg noodles on the thick side, a little katame which I think is the ideal. Chashu tender, buttery and flavorful. Soup not astounding but good enough. A side of gyoza was very good – homemade, with a nice blend of spiced meat and garlic.
A month or two ago I also tried Goma Tei at Ward Center. This was more of a Kyushu style to Rai Rai’s Sapporo, and equally well done. Also a very flavorful, tender chashu, with a soup that was almost too spicy, in a good way.
Filed under: Events, Hawaii, Honolulu, Music | Tags: freaks, halloween, Honolulu, logic, maceo
This was the inaugural year of the Hallowballoo Festival in the Arts District. Three blocks of live music, open bars and freaky costumes.
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Papa Mali was smokin as the free show headliner. I remember checking out his sound several years back and thinking, meh. He’s definitely grown as a player. Second tune in was an inspired Bertha that had the oldtimers bouncing around the avenue.
Then it was off for a date with DJ Logic and the legend Maceo Parker. No one was around for the first half of DJ Logic. It was me on the floor and Logic on the boards.
As the crowd filled out and Maceo came out, it was time to slip on my mask and dance my way into the night. Which is just what I did. He had lost a step or two since I saw him in Philly circa 2002, but still they are few who can hold a torch to such funkiness.
Filed under: Family
Bear hugs. Cinnamon rolls. Bridge. These were a few of the many things she did better than most people. But more than that, she was a person who took real joy in life, who gave more than she got, who put a premium on family and friends. One of those people of whom we think, if there were more people like her this world would be a better place. I did not spend nearly enough time with her, but I treasure every moment that I did.
Rest in peace, Grandma.
The other day I obtained the full Kraftwerk discography. To be honest, I wasn’t all that stoked about it. I almost felt it was kind of an obligation as a music collector, more than any real desire to have their music. I’ve been listening to Trans-Europe Express for years, but always with mixed feelings. It was one of those albums I felt I should like more than I really did. I also saw them live, at a festival, but the strongest impression I took away was the question of whether it was really them on stage or mannequins.
But with my recent acquisition, and a few patient listens, I suddenly understand. With The Man-Machine and Computer World, you can hear the precursors of everything to come in electronic music. I also think their music has aged well. In my iTunes shuffle tracks from those albums blend perfectly well with more contemporary electronic artists. With Autobahn, I was also able to understand how they were often thrown in with the Kraut Rock movement. I used to listen to Can and think apples and oranges. But Autobahn is a little more organic, and much more trancey, with the band’s Kraut Rock roots still evident.
Anyway. Just wanted to point out how much Kraftwerk rocks. In case anyone besides me had forgotten.
Filed under: Events, Media, Random | Tags: creatives, election, frenzy, Obama
With the election season about to come to a climactic close, and the media doing their damnedest to whip things into a frenzy – needlessly so – many of us are feeling like we are on the cusp of something big. To a certain extent, the amount of emotion people have invested in this election is a little scary, a symptom of fear; there is a palpable whiff of desperation in the air. And some of this is surely justified. With a tanking economy, an overstretched military, a broken infrastructure and a shifting dynamic in the world power balance, the stakes are high.
At this point, Obama seems to be gliding toward victory like Michael Jordan dunking in slo mo from the freethrow line. Barring some weird Gore-like reversal of fortune, my earlier prediction of a McCain victory is seeming more and more foolish. Even Steven Colbert appears to be grudgingly endorsing Obama.
It has been interesting to see different groups coming out to support Obama. There is the lefty media, of course, and Hollywood, but it has also been impressive the way creatives (by which I mean commercial and non-commercial artists of all media) have felt compelled to generate unsolicited promotions. I can’t think of another candidate in the history of big media that has inspired such a tremendous outpouring of grassroots support.
Some examples:
The well-known will.i.am music video, Yes We Can.
Graphic artist Shepard Fairey’s iconic Obama posters.
The artists of Wants for Sale offering Obama portraits in exchange for campaign donations.
One high profile agency put up People in the Middle for Obama.
Another imagined Palin as President.
And, of course, creatives aren’t the only ones for Obama. Apparently, these guys are too.
