ASD icon blue inverse lighter

ASD Staff

Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Kam Napier in Mānoa. "Rainbows in Mānoa seemed especially big and bright on the weekend the 

To submit your Hawai'i Skies photo, visit us 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

25 10 21 Kam Napier

<title>Hawai'i Skies: Rainbows in Mānoa</title>

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Kam Napier in Mānoa.

Hawai'i Skies: Rainbows in Mānoa

Today&#039;s Hawai&#039;i Skies was captured by Kam Napier in Mānoa. &quot;Rainbows in Mānoa seemed especially big and bright on the weekend the UH Rainbow Warriors beat Colorado State.&quot; To submit your Hawai&#039;i Skies photo, visit us online or email: general@alohastatedaily.com For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 — known for its modern Turkish cuisine — recently launched its new spring menu. The menu now features lighter and brighter flavors to coincide with the season.

Instead of adding new dishes every season, the menu changes quarterly to reflect seasonal ingredients, according to chef Ahu Hettema.

“The flavors are more bright and simple; we work around the farmers’ schedule,” she says.

The eatery will feature the spring menu until around mid-June; then, the menu will change to highlight summer ingredients and flavors, according to Hettema.

The Mosaic meze platter ($45) is one of the most popular appetizers at the eatery. It features a tasty — and aesthetically pleasing — assortment of hummus (topped with chickpeas); muhammara (sun-dried tomato spread with roasted bell peppers, cinnamon and walnuts); baba ghanoush (smoked eggplant with black garlic); labneh (housemade yogurt) and spinach borek (filo dough filled with spinach and feta cheese); served with the eatery’s housemade sourdough.

The platter now features strawberry balsamic with Turkish cured olives in the center. The labneh — which is whipped to a crème fraiche consistency — is topped with a seasonal lilikoʻi honey.

Aegean pearls with Osetra caviar ($86) is a new appetizer. It features crispy feuilletine — like a thin crepe — filled with Waianae cultured cream and topped with pistachio and 1 ounce of Osetra caviar. The delicate pastry “cups” boast a wonderful crunch, while the cream filling is similar to a yogurt in consistency. Its subtle sweetness is balanced nicely by the slightly salty, briny caviar.

The restaurant’s Sultan’s Sofra ($325) — designed to feed four people — is also revamped. It now includes appetizers, a mezze platter, entrees, sides and desserts. Before, the family-style meal was focused more on proteins. It now includes a little bit of everything, including lamb tenderloin, wagyu rib-eye and jidori chicken kebabs, tzatziki, saffron pilaf, spring salata and Mercimek (red lentil, carrots and chili-mint oil) soup.

The manti of the spring hearth ($66) is a must-have dish for sharing. The hand-rolled pasta is filled with Miyazaki A5 wagyu and served in a housemade yogurt whip sauce. It’s garnished with chili oil and edible flowers. The pasta, which is like an elevated ravioli, is cooked perfectly, but its flavorful, tender, beefy filling is the star of the show. It pairs nicely with the creamy yogurt, which boasts a slight spice from the chili oil.

For those familiar with the Sultan’s cilbir dish on the eatery’s weekend brunch menu — this hand-rolled pasta dish features the same creamy yogurt sauce. 

This steak — a 9-ounce portion is pictured — is served with a zucchini sauce on the bottom and comes with roasted vegetables. The meat is topped with karat gold and edible flowers, and is served with saffron rice on the side. We’re told this is one of the eatery’s most popular entrees; the creamy zucchini sauce is an updated element.

The eatery’s pirzola ($57), or dry-aged lamb chops, now features a seasonal cherry pistachio praline sauce. The palace tagine ($43) — a Jidori chicken entrée — is now topped with fennel pollen, Kula orange and lemon blossom oil; the latter is the newest component. The chicken is tender and flavorful, and the subtle floral flavors complement it nicely.

At the time of our visit, a new dessert wasn’t added to the menu, but we’re told a new matcha baklava will be available soon.

Open for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays to Mondays; closed Tuesdays

Istanbul Hawaii chef Ahu 041426

<title>Istanbul Hawaiʻi launches its spring menu</title>

The Kakaʻako eatery’s new spring menu features lighter flavors and seasonal ingredients. Enjoy revamped dishes like hand-rolled pasta filled with Miyazaki A5 wagyu, chicken tagine with Kula orange and lemon blossom oil, and aged steak with zucchini sauce.

Istanbul Hawaiʻi launches its spring menu

, which is known for its signature pork katsu, recently launched a new kushikatsu menu. It’s available during the eatery’s late-night happy hour, which is nightly from 8:30 p.m. to midnight.

You can choose from vegetable, meat or seafood kushikatsu. They cost $2.80 to $6 each, depending on what you order.

Options include asparagus, shiitake mushroom, lotus root, pork tenderloin, chicken, beef tenderloin, Kurobuta pork loin, oyster, shrimp and more. So far, the Kurobuta pork loin ($4.80) and beef tenderloin ($5) have been customer favorites.

We personally loved the shrimp katsu ($5) and shiitake mushroom katsu ($2.80).

You can also get an assorted kushi katsu set ($15).

The late-night menu also includes popular appetizers like ponzu steak with grated daikon, garlic shrimp, mochiko fried chicken, spicy cucumber and tofu, seared beef tataki and tofu poke.

The mini katsu don and mini katsu curry ($10) are also good deals. The mini katsu curry is a customer favorite.

Customers can also take advantage of $3 drink specials — $3 beers, sake, sho-chu, wines by the glass and sparkling wine.

Validated customer parking is available in the Bank of Hawaiʻi Waikīkī Center lot.

Late-night happy hour is nightly from 8:30 p.m. to midnight

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin spread 040126

<title>Ginza Bairin Tonkatsu has a new, late-night happy hour</title>

The Waikīkī eatery recently launched a new late-night kushikatsu menu. Feast on fried katsu skewers ranging from pork tenderloin and chicken to shrimp and oyster.

Ginza Bairin Tonkatsu has a new, late-night happy hour

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Real Estate

, has made its largest investment in technology set to be deployed across its properties nationwide. In Hawaiʻi, that touches more than 200 employees and over 7,000 homes operated of by 

CEO and president of Hunt Military Communities

“We are in an operationally intensive business. We

’re delivering 400,000-plus work orders a year,” he told Aloha State Daily. “So, you need great technology to help you manage those processes in a way that promotes quality assurance and quality control.”

turnover rate averages about 40% annually. "It was 38.65% for 2025. That is fairly consistent across all branches and installations with some variation at certain bases with specialized training." 

The process improvement technology, he says, helps with leasing, maintenance and more, which brings “much better service to our residents.”

“The biggest improvement has been our maintenance service delivery or work order delivery, and that’s been evidenced by the improvements to operating KPIs [key performance indicators] that our military partners track,” Stann said.

According to the company, “From AI-enabled work order intake to centralized resident portals and automated business processes, the approach is improving accuracy, speed, visibility and consistency across installations while reducing administrative burden on onsite teams.”

Stann adds that the tech also benefits Hunt’s bottom line.

“These housing projects are their own financial entity; they are meant to be self-sustained, meaning that that don’t require further investment from the military. ... They need to produce enough cashflow to reinvest back into the homes, communities."

In Hawaiʻi, the number of financial deposits from the housing projects increased by 73% in 3 years, totaling $42 million in 2022 and $73 million in 2025, he explained, adding, “This is money that gets deposited in accounts that are controlled by our military partners, and [Hunt] maintains the asset management and sustainment plans, and then we recommend what projects need to be done to continue maintaining these home. They release the funds and we use those funds to do the work.”

Stann said for the tech design, Hunt initially worked with a third-party IBM company and leveraged firms to help with the coding but has since taken ownership of it. It was built in Salesforce and then integrated into Hunt’s property management software system, he noted.

Though this type of customer relationship management tool was launched in 2023, ʻOhana Military Communities is continuing to beta test the software.

When asked about implementation challenges, he said, “Change management is hard. Getting them (staff) to buy into a new tool is hard. But you overcome that with leadership and being a team. ... Their feedback has been essential.”

Stann said more tech is coming down the pipeline.

The former U.S. Marine sees his work now as a continuation of his service to support military family members.

“Housing is a very emotional subject. I think it’s really important to be well-trained in communication and solving problems … they (staff) need to be ready to de-escalate situations, solve problems same-day and take real pride in that,” he said. “We exist to take that stress off their plate ... there’s a lot of sacrifice that comes with being in the military.”

The most rewarding part of the job, he said, is working with people and partners.

“I love being able to solve these complex problems so that they can focus mostly on what they do best – and that’s training for the defense of this nation.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Integration in the Islands"}]

Jeff Choi, vice president of operations for ʻOhana Military Communities, recently gave ASD a tour of homes at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Fast Facts about the portfolio:

• All available housing is rentals.

•Occupancy is currently at 97%.

• Waitlist is “pretty healthy.”

•There are over 100 playgrounds.

•Other amenities include access to community center, pool, gym and more. 

• Pets are allowed.

Source: Jeff Choi, vice president of operations for ʻOhana Military Communities

He shared how it’s been adopting the new technology and other local updates.

“One of the really exciting things — and I've been doing this for just over 20 years, in military housing for five — is that Brian [Stann] decided he was going to build the technology and not wait for somebody else to catch up ... itʻs built for what we do,” Choi said.

According to Choi, some of the tech initiatives, including custom mobile apps, have been rolled out in Hawai’i, with more planned.

Out of its nearly 200 employees in the Islands, there are about 90 technicians, he said, adding, “We aim for best in class service 24/7.”

Under military contracts, there are strict rules and regulations ‘

Ohana Military Communities must abide by, he said. One, for example, is that in an emergency situation, their response time must be 60 minutes or less. He explained that typically includes plumbing leaks, electrical issues and more.

“Our new app, I’m calling it a ‘shot clock’, is designed with these very specific requirements for military housing,” Choi said with a smile. “So, I think it’s going to make our technicians lives easier.”

The quick response time, he added, is also “a great benefit of living here.”

Currently, technicians are still beta testing the work order app, Choi told ASD. Once out of the testing phase, residents will be able to download the app to view status of work orders.

Other tech initiatives on the leasing side helps community managers, who have been using tools that aid with move-outs since last a year. In the works is another for incoming residents.

“That has really upgraded the quality of the turn process for us, just the overall inspection of the houses; We want everything checked. We want the appliances checked. We want the flooring and the paint checked – it’s been a big piece of what we do,” he noted. “This way inspection lists are just kind of uniform and standard across the company. We take pictures and document it, and its been exciting to have a custom app for that, too.”

Hunt’s leadership has assisted the local team through training and support, Choi added.

For Brent Arakaki, Hunt Military Communities’ director of development, the backend of the home turning software will help long-term.

Choi said, for example, if they were to replace HVAC systems in a neighborhood, developers would be guessing at its age, make and model with minimal information.

“That data is piecemeal right now, but these apps should complete that picture.”

Arakaki added: It takes time. Understanding how that would help from an asset management and strategic standpoint to fine-tune the investments, that would help tremendously. And it might not cause us to do a project every 15 years based on the volume of assets, maybe we do two or three. But we extend the life cycle of certain units because we have more data. We might approach projects differently, and we can identify which models are not working. That type of feedback will be helpful in our procurement, selection and conservation of resources.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Development updates"}]

Arakaki says there is $57 million in construction volume carrying over to 2026 in multiyear projects. With $42 million in additional funds this year, a total of $99 million in backlog construction volume remains. “We just can’t finish that level of work in year.”

Funds go toward exterior painting, roofing, air conditioning replacements, landscaping and irrigation, and more. Local companies are contracted for the work, Choi said.

In terms of developing new housing in Hawaiʻi, Arakaki told ASD they are waiting.

“Congress decides if they want to build out the forces in Hawaiʻi to add on phases, so this would be Phase 7, warranting more 

 housing. Then we compete on that for the contract. They did have an exercise two years ago to look for vacant land … but until that gets approved, then it’s not a real project."

The previous Phase 6 development cost $144 million, Hunt confirmed, adding, “Phase 6 was Hunt Military Communities' last development phase in Hawai'i, delivering 260 new homes between 2017 and 2018. The project was located on Marine Corps Base Hawai'i to demolish, rebuild and privatize the last remaining government-operated family housing units.”

Hunt housing 2026

Government & Politics

Brent Arakaki, director of development for Hunt Military Communities, which manages ‘Ohana Military Communitiesʻ more than 7,000 residential units on Oʻahu, says it reinvests “tens of millions" of dollars back into local communities on average per year. Hereʻs what the company is spending on this year.

Radford Terrace

‘Ohana Military Communities invests millions in military housing improvements in 2025

Gaston, a longtime Mililani resident and engineer, enjoys giving back to local public schools, as well the University of Hawai’i College of Engineering. For Hunt Companies Hawai‘i, he has also attended numerous Neighborhood Board meetings to help inform community members about ongoing road improvements at Kalaeloa.

Hunt's Tony Gaston

Hunt’s Tony Gaston shares how his work and community service go hand in hand

<title>Hunt invests millions in new tech</title>

ʻOhana Military Communities has begun to roll out new platforms that aim to improve operations, benefiting both staff and service members and their families that reside at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Marine Corps Base Kāneʻohe, among various communities on O‘ahu and Kauaʻi. We spoke with Hunt’s leadership at the corporate and local levels to learn about its overall impact.

Hawai'i Skies: Rainbows in Mānoa

ASD Staff

More in Hawai'i Skies

Hawaiʻi Skies: Pink moon

Hawaiʻi Skies: Magnificent sunsets

Hawaiʻi Skies: A priceless sunset

Hawaiʻi Skies: High surf

Most read

Hawai'i Skies: Rainbows in Mānoa

Authors

ASD Staff

More in Hawai'i Skies

Hawaiʻi Skies: Pink moon

Hawaiʻi Skies: Magnificent sunsets

Hawaiʻi Skies: A priceless sunset

Hawaiʻi Skies: High surf

Most read