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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"\"When my husband asks me what we did today...\""}]

Smile 26 1 10

<title>Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026</title>

"When my husband asks me what we did today..."

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

 "When my husband asks me what we did today..."

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 opened its new coffee shop, Kaffe Kāhala, late last year. The shop is located on the resort’s lobby level (along the Wall of Fame). It took the former space of a retail shop.

The café is a casual grab-and-go spot, but it's open to the public (you don’t have to be a hotel guest to check it out). It features a self-serve premium Illy coffee machine, with iced and hot options for beverages like Americano ($6-$7), cappuccino ($6-$8), caffe mocha ($6.50-$8.50) and more.

The café serves freshly baked pastries, which are from Dean & Deluca Hawai

Pastries range from Echire butter croissants ($9) and Echire butter pain au chocolat ($10) to three cheese honey bread ($9). Dean & Deluca Hawaiʻi’s croissants are known for their crispy, flaky yet light texture.

Customers can also choose from assorted musubi and gourmet sandwiches. If you’re craving dessert, opt for a rotating selection of cakes and treats from La Palme D’Or, a dessert shop in Ala Moana Center.

[{"type":"text","text":"The café is open daily from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m."}]

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Kaffe Kahala sign 011526

<title>The Kāhala Hotel & Resort has a new coffee shop</title>

Kaffe Kāhala is open daily and offers self-serve Illy coffee, along with freshly baked pastries from Dean & Deluca Hawaiʻi.

The Kāhala Hotel & Resort has a new coffee shop

[{"type":"text","text":"A new dim sum eatery recently opened in Kapolei."}]

Gyu-Masu Steak & Seafood — located within Embassy Suites Kapolei — recently changed its concept and re-branded its restaurant. The former steak and seafood eatery was centered on serving wagyu sourced from Toriyama Farm in Japan at affordable prices.

The restaurant served a la carte dishes and also featured an all-you-can-eat concept, but business owner Victor Jian took some time to re-evaluate how things were going.

“Nowadays, there’s so many all-you-can-eat places; it’s a little saturated,” he says. “Back in the day, you had places like Todai; a few years later, they all disappeared. I don’t want to be one of them, so I was like, ‘Maybe I should switch.’”

A few months ago, Jian ran into his longtime friend, who used to own Chinatown eatery Legend Seafood Restaurant. That conversation was further confirmation to Jian to change things up at his restaurant.

“He said he sold it, but still has his central kitchen,” Jian says. “He works in a central kitchen in town, so he produces everything and I purchase from him. We have a good partnership, in terms of doing this. His stuff is really good.

“I used to work in a Chinese restaurant before, but it’s very hard to open a dim sum restaurant,” Jian adds. “It’s a lot of work.”

The restaurant officially opened as re-branded 

 on Dec. 12. The current menu features many dim sum staples, including steamed har gow ($7.50), pork hash with shrimp ($6.25), soup dumplings with pork ($6.25), Hong Kong-style pork bao ($7.65), chicken feet ($7.75) and sticky rice in lotus leaf ($8.50).

So far, Jian says the egg custard tarts, Hong Kong-style pork bao and sticky rice in lotus leaf have been popular.

“At a lot of dim sum restaurants, they pre-bake it (the egg tarts), but we don’t bake it until people order them,” he says.

Jian still incorporates wagyu on the menu. Customers can enjoy dishes like steamed wagyu in black bean sauce ($19.50), wagyu fried rice ($23.50), wagyu chow funn ($24.75), wagyu chow mein ($24.75) and wagyu meatballs ($19.50).

“I look forward to getting people to try something different,” Jian says. “I want people to try the wagyu chow funn, chow mein and wagyu fried rice. The flavor is very different because we’re using wagyu tallow and A5 wagyu to cook with; it makes a huge difference."

Customers can take advantage of four-hour validated parking at Embassy Suites Kapolei when dining at the restaurant. The eatery will be open during limited hours on the upcoming holidays; Jian encourages customers to make reservations and stay updated by following the business’s social media account.

Even though his dim sum restaurant just opened, Jian is full of plans for 2026.

“I want to do a variety of stuff incorporating wagyu,” he says. “Right now, my friend and I are working on making a wagyu-filled manapua. I’m working with him in terms of using farm-to-table wagyu — ‘How do we introduce this to the Chinese cuisine? How do we do that, elevate it, and make it even better?’ I want to do something new, something that no one has ever done before.”

Jian says a dim sum express grab-and-go concept is in the works, so customers can anticipate that in the coming months.

Open 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 5-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays; closed Mondays

Free parking at Embassy Suites Kapolei with restaurant validation

West Emperor Dim Sum lunch spread 121925

<title>West Oʻahu has a new dim sum spot</title>

West Emperor Dim Sum Restaurant just opened in Embassy Suites Kapolei. It’s a re-branding of former wagyu eatery Gyu-Masu Steak & Seafood. Restaurant owner Victor Jian has teamed up with the former chef from Legend Seafood Restaurant to bring dim sum to the West side.

West Oʻahu has a new dim sum spot

Everyone’s looking to save money and get the most bang for their buck. This series will show you where you can save while still savoring a good meal.

I wouldn’t have expected to find a loco moco at a popular steakhouse in Waikīkī. Yet, that’s one of the best deals on the happy hour menu at 

Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Royal Hawaiian Center is known for its U.S.D.A Prime steaks that are dry-aged in the eatery’s own aging box. The restaurant offers its happy hour menu from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays at the bar and lounge; first-come, first-served.

Fun fact: The eatery’s happy hour has been around since 2010. It used to be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The eatery’s housemade chips with sour cream are complimentary and a nice way to begin your dining experience. Your server should bring a basket to your table, but if not, just ask about the chips.

The seafood combo ($26) is one of my favorite dishes from the happy hour menu. It comprises six crostini topped with ‘ahi tartare, lobster and crab. Both the lobster and crab are reminiscent of a refreshing crab salad. Each crostini features a generous portion of seafood.

The ‘ahi tartare ($18) and lobster crostinis ($18) can also be ordered on their own.

At $12, this mini loco moco is cheaper than some plate lunches, and it features a good portion. The patty itself is thick and flavorful, and we can’t get enough of that savory mushroom gravy.

Other dishes on the happy hour menu include steak sliders ($24) — a customer favorite — hamburger sliders ($14) and steak tartare ($24). We held off from ordering more to save room for steak.

The Taste of New York ($83.95) is one of the most popular deals on the happy hour menu. It includes a 12-ounce, bone-in, dry-aged New York sirloin that’s brought sizzling to your table. It’s served with sides of creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, and New York-style cheesecake for dessert.

Nearly $84 sounds steep for a happy hour deal, but the eatery’s New York sirloin steak is about $110 on the a la carte menu — and that’s without any sides or dessert. It’s a nice option for a special occasion if you’re celebrating during the week.

If you order steak, just remember — the steak is still cooking slightly on the sizzling hot plate, so keep that in mind when choosing your desired level of preparation (we often go with medium rare).

Drink discounts on the happy hour include wines by the glass, martinis and cocktails ($8 each) and draft beers ($6 each).

Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

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Daily Smile: Saturday, January 10, 2026

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