Martha Cheng

Dec 12, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Martha Cheng

Arrays of grilled fish, miso soup, rice, sashimi and sides restore order in a hectic holiday season. Breakfast is back at I-naba. And just in time, for though Japanese breakfast is a year-round delight, there’s something about the holidays that has me turning to it more often. Maybe it has to do with the balance and variety in the full spread, a sense of organized abundance in a season of chaos. Whatever it is, I’m glad it’s back.

Nov 30, 2024 | honolulumagazine.com | Martha Cheng

To be a chef is to be a craftsperson, applying artistry to food. But chefs are also tradespeople, enduring intense physical demands to produce consistent results, all while managing cooks on the line. Despite glossy features—like this one!—it can be largely thankless work. Here are five chefs to take note of, each driven by curiosity and the dynamic nature of the job. Emily Iguchi’s career has been shaped by tenacity.

Nov 27, 2024 | theinfatuation.com | Martha Cheng

Open for more than 60 years in upcountry Maui, the small grocery is the place to pick up Maui-made snacks like venison and fishcake dip, along with desserts featuring kalo or ‘ulu. But if you skip the hot food, you’re making a mistake. Their bentos are prepared throughout the day, and our go-to is the fried chili chicken, which remains crispy underneath a slightly sweet glaze, paired with chow fun.

Nov 27, 2024 | theinfatuation.com | Martha Cheng

Pass the Cup Noodles and cans of Vienna sausage and head straight to the bakery case at Komoda, a grocery store and bakeshop that’s been around for more than a century in upcountry Maui, and about as ramshackle as you might expect of anything that age. That case offers classic donuts and long johns, but you’re here for the stick donuts (five glazed mini fried dough balls stacked on a skewer—a.k.a. the most fun way to eat donuts) and their guava malasadas.

Nov 27, 2024 | theinfatuation.com | Martha Cheng

There are many sushi bars on Maui, but none have the quirky beach shack ambiance of 1054Togoshi. Named after the Tokyo neighborhood that the owner is from, this restaurant feels like you’re in a friend’s seaside cottage instead of the middle of a strip mall in south Maui’s busy Kihei. There are only a few tables and seats at the sushi bar, not necessarily a constraint of the space, but because the place is run only by a husband-and-wife team.