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Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Let the dog in!"}]

Smile 26 1 30

<title>Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026</title>

Let the dog in!

Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026

Higa headshot white shirt square

Sterling Higa

Government & Politics

Columnists

Six mayoral candidates want to run Kauaʻi County. On a Saturday afternoon in Līhuʻe, a few took turns at the microphone explaining how the island would feed itself.

The businessman Megeso-William Denis put it least cautiously. He believes in “total food independence,” he said. The island should stop leaning on outside sources.

The crowd, gathered to mark the 20-year anniversary of a food-security nonprofit, took this in without a murmur. No one asked whether an island that grows almost none of its dinner can be made to grow all of it. No one asked who would still be living there if it did.

The other five disagreed mostly about method. A county agriculture department, zoning rewritten so farmers can house themselves, government grocery stores — the means varied, the destination did not. Kauaʻi feeding Kauaʻi is a good so self-evident that the only live question is how fast to arrive.

These islands have run the experiment already. For five centuries before Captain Cook, Hawaiʻi was as food-independent as a place can be. It was sealed off in the middle of the largest ocean, fed by what its people drew from soil and sea.

The archaeologist Patrick Vinton Kirch has spent a career 

 what that isolation produced. The population climbed for centuries, struck a ceiling around 1450, and held there for a time. Then the dryland farms of Maui and Hawaiʻi were worked to the soil’s nutrient limits, until their surplus shrank rather than grew. The oral traditions remember famines when people survived on ferns.

What the islands could grow shaped how they were ruled. Kauaʻi and Oʻahu have the valleys and year-round streams for irrigated terraces, and a steady surplus kept their kingdoms settled. Maui and Hawaiʻi leaned on dryland fields instead, worked at the mercy of the rain. So those islands bred the restless, conquering kings, in part because a kingdom that cannot grow more food can still take from its neighbor.

When Cook’s ships returned in 1779, the kings of Maui and Hawaiʻi were at war. The unification that followed was finished, in the end, with European muskets.

We can look back on that world and see a garden, not a barren field. We can afford to, because we live on the comfortable side of the divide. The 85 to 90 percent of our food that arrives by sea is only the surface dependence. Beneath it run federal aid, state transfers, tourist dollars, and the quiet giving of people who made their fortunes far from any field.

The conversation on Kauaʻi runs on that last kind of money. Civil Beat’s “Hawaiʻi Grown” 

 is funded in part by the Ulupono Fund, established by Pierre Omidyar. He also founded Civil Beat and has long been its principal backer.

Omidyar made his money at eBay, a company whose apocryphal founding legend has him building a marketplace so his fiancée could trade her collectible PEZ dispensers. The dream of growing our own dinner is underwritten, in part, by the global trade in plastic candy toys.

The same sleight of hand appears wherever self-sufficiency is preached. The island that means to free itself from foreign energy will do it on solar panels from China. China makes more than four-fifths of the world’s photovoltaic panels. Kauaʻi will store that energy in batteries from the same China. Autarky, it turns out, is brought to you by globalization.

Nor does the fantasy belong to one party. The degrowth left and the bunker-stocking right find in it the same flattering promise — that a community, or a household, or a single man, might arrange life to need no one else.

There are good reasons to grow more food here. It tastes better when it hasn’t crossed an ocean. Open land is worth keeping in cultivation rather than left to become a fire hazard. Farming is honest work, and a shelf of local sweet potatoes is a fine thing to have when a shipping lane snarls.

Some of what the candidates propose is sensible. Rewriting zoning so a farmer can build a house on the land he works removes an obstacle the county itself put up. Whether a thin harvest calls for a brand-new county department is another matter. The instinct to meet every shortfall by adding to government is its own quiet tell. The error is not in wanting more gardens. It is in the small, smuggled step from growing 

— from a sensible hedge to a daydream of sovereignty.

The daydream is least affordable now. The farming that fed old Hawaiʻi was punishing, and it rested on a population that was large and still climbing. Ours is shrinking and growing old. The state lost residents again last year, as it has for most of the decade. Our working-age people are leaving for cheaper lives on the Mainland faster than children arrive to replace them.

Kauaʻi has held its overall numbers, but this masks a hollowing out. At that same forum, Councilmember Felicia Cowden warned that the island is pushing its own people out and will soon have no workforce left. A place cannot wall itself off from the world while its own young are filing toward the airport.

Suppose the island managed it — every acre planted, every farmer housed, the container ship turned away at the harbor. The farmer would still rise each morning and search the sky. He cannot make it rain, or call up the sun. He cannot hold off the storm that flattens a field the week before harvest, or the blight that takes a crop overnight. He clears the ground and sets the seed and pulls the weeds, and then he waits on weather he cannot command. Rain comes as a gift or it does not come at all.

By all means, grow the gardens and let the land bring forth food. But whether food comes from the farmer’s market or the Matson container, we should bring it to the table with gratitude that God has fed us again. We ought, then, to let go of the oldest and proudest illusion there is: that the aim of man is to reach the point where he depends only on himself.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

I Stock Kauai

<title>Can Kauaʻi feed itself? Why food independence won't work</title>

Food independence is a luxury belief, says ASD columnist Sterling Higa, and it is most affordable to those who have never gone hungry.

Can Kauaʻi feed itself? Why food independence won't work

Lopaka and Tanya Kapanui

Lopaka Kapanui and Tanya Kapanui

Hawai‘i History

Imagine waking in the middle of the night, unable to move. Aside from your own breathing, the world is silent. Your eyes are open, and you’re fully aware of your surroundings, but for some reason, you can’t turn over, sit up, or even lift your head. You feel intense pressure on your chest as if someone is sitting on you. Then you feel something start to choke you, and you see a dark shadow that seems to be sitting on your chest. You begin to panic, and you try to scream or call out, but the sound doesn’t escape your throat. Just when you think the end is near, whatever is holding you lets go. You jump up, turn on the light, and look around your room, but you don’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Found in different cultures around the world, beliefs about the “choking ghost” or “pressing ghost” share similar descriptions. Almost all of these beliefs explain the terrifying experience as a supernatural attack. Some cultures believe the cause is a witch or a demon sitting on one’s chest to steal one’s breath, while others say a dark entity or spirit means to immobilize or suffocate its victim.

Scientifically, reports of choking ghosts can often be explained by a phenomenon known as sleep paralysis. According to well-documented studies, the brain releases two chemicals that suppress most muscle activity during normal sleep. This is meant to keep us from acting out our dreams. Generally, these chemicals wear off by the time we wake up. However, in some people, sleep paralysis typically occurs when the body remains temporarily paralyzed while the person partially wakes. When this happens, the person may find themselves unable to move, speak, or call for help.

Many people who have experienced the choking ghost have also reported difficulty breathing or feelings of pressure on the chest as if someone is sitting on them. As their brain is still transitioning between dreaming and waking, vivid hallucinations are common and include seeing shadowy figures, hearing voices, sensing a presence in the room, or feeling as though someone is choking them.

While the sensations can feel intensely real and frightening, sleep paralysis is generally harmless and usually lasts only a few seconds to a few minutes.

Whether the experience is attributed to sleep paralysis or something more mysterious, tales of a choking presence have persisted in Hawai‘i as well. Some of the most chilling reports emerge from the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center.

Completed in 1918, the Territorial Penitentiary was a 9-acre facility and consisted of an X-shaped building with a watchtower in the center, surrounded by 20-foot-high walls. The administration offices, laundry, and toilets were housed in separate buildings, along with the “incorrigible ward” that was added later. The buildings were completely demolished, and the prison site was expanded to 16 acres in the 1970s, replacing the large buildings with multiple smaller ones.

Today, the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center is famous for its notorious choking ghost. According to a 1984 newspaper column, guards at the prison recall the haunted guard’s squad room next to the execution chamber, where they were unable to sleep due to encounters (and fear of encounters) with the reported choking ghost. I’m sure it offered little relief to know that the choking ghost was not biased and reportedly affected the prisoners as well. 

When we posted a video about OCCC on our social media pages, a number of followers commented and messaged us about having experienced the choking sensation personally while either employed or incarcerated at the facility.

We know that science has studied this phenomenon and has explained sleep paralysis. Maybe the occurrence is common enough that it seems to happen more often in a place where so many people live and sleep in close proximity. But does it happen as often in school dormitories, or military barracks, or hospitals?

Aside from the choking ghost, OCCC seems to be home to other hauntings as well. One former Sargent there said that when he was working in the tower, he would hear someone coming up the steps, but when he looked, there was no one there. And a few times, when he leaned back and put his legs up to rest, something would unceremoniously knock them down. He quickly learned to remain vigilant.

My own brother-in-law, who was a guard there, repeated the story about the tower stairs and said some guards have actually seen an apparition in the stairwell. He also shared that guards and prisoners would hear the trap door of the hanging room snap open, although they knew the door had been welded shut since capital punishment in Hawai‘i was officially abolished in 1957. 

One man stated that when he was employed at OCCC years ago, he often heard the trap door slam open, even though he knew no one was there. Once, he was assigned to the isolation cells, which were said to be painted all black inside. One night, he was curious to know what it looked like, so he decided to peek into an empty cell.

He slowly opened the door and leaned in, and saw an empty room. But as he began to back away and close the door, something caught his eye. He looked again, and there, in the back of the room, were several faces looking back at him. He slammed the door shut and continued his shift, avoiding that room as much as possible.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I am no longer curious,” he said."}]

While modern science points to sleep paralysis as the likely cause of a choking ghost in a place where it often occurs, it still can’t explain other ghostly phenomena reported in the same facility.

Oahu Community Correctional Center

<title>The Choking Ghost at OCCC</title>

As if prison wasn't scary enough, prisoners and guards alike at O‘ahu Community Correctional Center have many tales of a choking ghost stalking the facility, as well as other apparitions.

The Choking Ghost at OCCC

IMG 1445

Rick Hamada

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressing a joint session of Congress on December 8, 1941.

Those who lived in close proximity to that infamous date have vivid recollections of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. More contemporary generations leading to the present day do not. That's unfortunate. It is each proceeding generation's responsibility to perpetuate history and culture to the previous generations. Although there were attempts via the classrooms, film and TV, even here at home we have neglected to preserve a detailed and fact-based legacy of December 7 appropriate for perpetuity.

[{"type":"text","text":"There are exceptions."}]

I will cite The Pearl Harbor National Memorial, The USS Arizona Memorial, The Battleship USS Missouri, The Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum and numerous other sites that preserve and present our remarkable role in history in arguably the most globally impactful event in history.

[{"type":"text","text":"The question is, when is the last time you paid a visit?"}]

When is the last time you shared these experiences with your family, especially with your children?

When is the last time you reflected upon and shared this vital history with others? With yourself?

This is not a criticism, but it is a reminder of the wealth of history ensconced in our collective communities, and we should all become educated on this history because this is our home.

Along these lines there was one glaring component of World War II that virtually everybody was aware of — concentration camps.

A simple mentioning of centers of such barbarism, brutality and violation makes one cringe. The documented prejudicial rounding up of men, women and children because of their faith was as despicable as could be. Further documentation proved that these innocents were housed in Nazi concentration camps and subjected to such atrocities that their virtually inevitable deaths seemed welcome. This was the manifestation of true evil.

The invocation of Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec, and other concentration camps elicit understandable outrage and shame. However, WWII was rife with actions of great exploitation and violations. Seizure of land, properties, belongings, assets, irreplaceable heirlooms and basic rights and freedoms unfortunately had a permeating presence.

[{"type":"text","text":"Did you know that we were infected with grievous violations here at home?"}]

Honouliuli National Historic Site is near Waipahu on the island of O‘ahu and is the location of the Honouliuli Internment Camp, Hawaiʻi's largest and longest-operating Japanese internment camp, which opened in 1943 and closed in 1946. 

The internment camp held 320 internees. In Hawai‘i, where more than 150,000 Japanese Americans comprised more than one-third of the territory's population, only 1,200 to 1,800 were incarcerated. The site also became the largest prisoner of war camp in Hawaiʻi with nearly 4,000 individuals being held. Of the 17 sites that were associated with the history of internment in Hawaiʻi during World War II, the camp was the only one built specifically for prolonged detention.

Hundreds of Germans and Italians and other nationalities were also arrested and detained for months at a detention facility on Sand Island. Among them, Austrian-born architect 

, who would go on to design the USS Arizona Memorial itself.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was an attack on the United States. However, Hawai‘i was a territory, so authoritative control of the Islands was bestowed upon the U.S. military immediately via martial law. This facilitated unilateral authority with demands of unquestioned compliance. Severe consequences were meted out if deigned necessary.

I want to make clear that the inhumanity demonstrated by Nazi Germany and other Axis nations are mostly proprietary to them although the actions of others are indefensible as well. The same level of abject violence, death and more associated with Axis concentration camps were not elements that dominated Honouliuli.

But it was still an egregious set of actions taken against Japanese American citizens and residents of Hawai‘i.

Those actions were founded in the combination of racial prejudice and basic fear.

[{"type":"text","text":"The logic employed was simple."}]

The Japanese attacked us. You are or look Japanese. You are now the enemy, and you'll be treated as such.

That treatment of Japanese American citizens included the rounding up and arresting those who may have had some status in the community. The presence of Japanese plantation workers along with immigration and, yes, naturalization, of Japanese over generations drove the Japanese American population into the 30% to 40% range. Imprisoning that vast number was logistically and financially impossible. Selective apprehensions took place and rarely entire families.

Let's not forget that individuals were separated from families, were corralled into makeshift prisons, were denied basic rights including due process, arbitrarily suffered public humiliation in a culture that holds honor as the definition of character, loss of income, revenue and assets with no knowledge or assurances of even surviving.

[{"type":"text","text":"These people, these families, were wronged."}]

In affirmation of this important statement, there were two post-war governmental efforts to clarify said wrongs, to offer redress and provide compensation.

On August 2, 1979, Hawai‘i Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced Senate bill 1647 to establish the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). In 1980, Congress passed and President Jimmy Carter signed that bill into law. The CWRIC gathered archival sources, scholarship, and personal papers that explained the government’s decision and process for incarceration.  On February 24, 1983, the CWRIC issued its report 

 “was not justified by military necessity, and the decisions which followed — detention, ending detention and ending exclusion—were not driven by analysis of military conditions. The broad historical causes which shaped these decisions were race prejudice, war hysteria, and failure of political leadership.” 

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 was signed into law on August 10, 1988, and implemented the recommendations of the CWRIC. Throughout his time in office, Senator Matsunaga supported civil rights for Asian Americans and was the primary advocate for the Civil Liberties Act. According to Leslie T. Hatamiya in 

Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and the Passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988,

 “Matsunaga’s efforts cannot be overemphasized.”

And signing The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 into law was President Ronald Reagan.

These legislative efforts do not exonerate the United States government of actions during World War II. But it is legal and public admission of wrongs committed and a small restoration of losses suffered by those who were innocent.

[{"type":"text","text":"This is the 80th anniversary of the closure of Honouliuli."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"I would recommend the following:"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"italic"}],"text":" "}]

Honouliuli

<title>Hamada: Commemorating Honouliuli</title>

Events coming up this weekend recognize the 80th anniversary of the closing of the Honouliuli Internment Camp, where up to 1,800 Japanese and Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. ASD opinion columnist Rick Hamada gives an overview of the history of the site, and the steps taken in the years after to attempt to right that wrong.

Hamada: Commemorating Honouliuli

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros Headshot

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros

Aloha Spirit

Arts & Entertainment

Goodwill Goes Glam! presented by Bank of Hawai’i Foundation — Goodwill Hawai

ʻi’s signature fundraiser that supports its workforce development programs 

— returns this year from July 16 to 18 at 

the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. Tickets are still available 

 on an exclusive "bucha bag," included with the purchase of a ticket for the Gala Dinner and VIP fashion show. The special-edition anniversary bag will be available for purchase as supplies lasts across the three-day event for $20, according to the nonprofit’s COO Casie Busi.

“It’s really exciting,” she told Aloha State Daily. “

The show itself is going to be a little bit different this year with a live Broadway-style performance by Kristian Lei and the Honolulu Broadway Babies, in addition to performances by Hawai‘i Krump Movement.”

Hawai‘i-based fashion and lifestyle designer 

, founder of POSHd, is producing the fashion show, as well as the “

curated home décor to view or purchase as a collection. She’ll also be doing styling sessions, including the viral color matching.

Looking back at the last 15 years, we are so grateful for all the support,” Bui said. “It’s also a

fun way to provide opportunities to local fashion industry and creatives. I think the main message is that we’re not just a thrift store. Donating to Goodwill and shopping in our stores make a direct impact to community.”

ʻi began setting items aside for the sale, which is free to attend for the public. 

Parking is available at McKinley High School for free, while at the Blaisdell costs a fee.

Close to 4,000 shoppers are expected to be in attendance in total, 

which has increased from about 2,800 shoppers when the event first started in 2012 and spanned four days, per the nonprofit. This year’s fundraising goal remains 

Monies raised from Goodwill Goes Glam! are “reinvested back to into our community,” Bui said.

“It supports programs for free job placements and services that help thousands of local people from backgrounds of low income, immigration, incarceration, those with any type of employment barriers and gives them the ability to become self-sufficient and empower them through work.

She notes that its mission is possible through partnerships with for-profits and nonprofits, alike. Not to mention, being a part of Goodwill’s nationwide network. Bui said that after the Kona Low storms in March, “everyone helped each other,” and they were able 

 across three islands for affected families to redeem at their stores through the end of the year.

“Similar to how things donated to our stores get a second life, our aim is to give people a second chance in life.”

Goodwill Hawaiʻi served about 9,000 individuals statewide thanks to $22 million in revenues from its retail stores, among grants and other philanthropic funding, according to its 

are typically funded via capital campaign. On Oʻahu, the expansion of the flagship Goodwill Store and Donation Center on Beretania Street cost $11 million over 2.5 years. Last month, the Kāneʻohe store reopened after major renovations, 

She joined the nonprofit, which has approximately 485 full- and part-time employees, in July 2024 after a nearly 20-year career at Aloha Petroleum. 

When making the career shift, she said that besides from looking to give back, she grew up thrifting and continues to enjoy it.

“I’m seeing it from all angles now. Doing great work and running like a business — operationally we have the same struggles from rent to wages,” Bui said. “What resonates with me is whenever I come across people who have got help from our programs, just seeing that effort, the fruit, of how we made a difference in their lives.”

Goodwill Goes Glam

<title>Tickets still on sale for Goodwill Goes Glam!</title>

Sip, shop and watch a fashion show produced by Valerie Joseph at the 15th annual Goodwill Goes Glam! — Goodwill Hawaiʻi’s signature fundraiser set for July 16 to 18 at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. All proceeds stay in the Islands to help bolster the nonprofit’s workforce development programs.

Tickets still on sale for Goodwill Goes Glam!

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

 is opening its third location this weekend. The new store is in ‘Aina Haina Shopping Center (in the former spot of 

), and will be celebrating its grand opening at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 13.

This new store marks the brand’s third Oʻahu location and second opening in less than a month following its recent 

Waikīkī expansion at Park Shore Waikīkī Hotel

“We wanted to capture something in east Honolulu,” says operations manager Zayne Chong. “This space opened up in 

‘Āina Haina, and we thought it would be a good fit for Oakberry on the East side.”

The business is known for its natural acai that features no dyes, corn syrup or artificial preservatives. Customers can choose from popular items like the crunchy bowl — acai with chia pudding, granola, strawberry, blueberry and cacao nibs — and the matcha bowl, which comes with acai, double matcha chia pudding, strawberry, goji berries and honey. Acai smoothies are also available.

Create-your-own acai bowl options are also available. Choose from toppings like peanut butter, almonds, chia pudding, cacao nibs, honey, granola and more.

Customers who join the business’s email list can get a free, classic-sized Fruity bowl on grand opening day.

‘Āina Haina store will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.

Open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends

Oakberry Aina Haina original 061226

<title>Oakberry Hawaiʻi is opening its third store in ‘Āina Haina</title>

The new store — located in ‘Āina Haina Shopping Center, in the former space of Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha — will be celebrating its grand opening at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 13.

Oakberry Hawaiʻi is opening its third store in ‘Āina Haina

When it comes to the dining experience at 

, which recently opened on Sheridan Street, Zishan Hameed — whose mother, Shahnaz Hameed, is the business owner and chef — says the business was inspired by Lahore, the cultural capital of Pakistan.

“We chose to emulate the style of street food in Lahore,” he explains. “If you go to Lahore, it’s a food destination. Street food in Lahore is like Dotonburi in Osaka. You show up to a vendor and you eat it (their dish) the way the chef makes it; it’s how they want to express themselves. It’s like an art; my mom wanted to do the same thing here at Biryani King.”

Biryani King opened in the former spot of a Thai restaurant in the beginning of May. The eatery offers a fast-casual, cafeteria-style concept, in which customers can create their own plates from the available entrees and side dishes.

“We named it ‘Biryani King’ because we wanted something that people would know and be able to recognize,” Hameed says, referring to the popular layered rice dish. “This is soul food, Punjabi food; people from India and Pakistan will recognize it. People who are new to the cuisine will take away an understanding of the region as well.”

Everything is made from scratch by Hameed's mother, known as "Mama Hameed" to customers. 

“She blends the spices herself; she makes the ghee herself,” he says. “It’s the most authentic, homestyle food you’re going to have. The people that grew up in Pakistan and India are going to find a lot of comfort in the food.”

He explains Punjabi cuisine is a blend of both Indian and Pakistani flavors. Punjab refers to the region straddling eastern Pakistan and India’s northwestern border, according to Hameed.

“The state and culture of Punjab existed way before there was a Pakistan and India,” he says. “Pakistan, India and Bangladesh were all part of the British empire for a period of time, but before the British were there, there was Punjab. The culture of Punjab is the same because it was there before the border even existed.

“That’s why we chose to put ‘soul food from the heart of Punjab,’ as our slogan — because that’s really what this food is,” he adds. “It’s not Pakistani or Indian food; it’s older than that.”

Hameed explains that Punjab’s geography makes the cuisine different from Nepali-style food.

“The geography of Punjab is kind of like Hawaiʻi in the summer — it’s hot, it feels tropical,” he says. “The other Indian food on the island is mostly Nepali-style, so you’re going to find more creamy dishes, it’s a little heavier. It’s good for the mountain type of climate — the air’s a little thin, it gets cold for a long time.

“Sometimes the spices can be more bold (in Punjabi-style) because it’s hot,” he adds. “People who love spicy food know that the closer you get to the Equator, the spicier things get, the bolder the flavors get.”

Customers can opt for one- or two-choice plates to try a variety of dishes. During the week, the daily menu features options like meat biryani, butter chicken, oxtail, vegetable biryani, chana masala and more. A typical daily plate costs $14.99 for vegetarian options; $16.99 for a mixed plate and $19.99 for meat plates, according to Hameed.

Nihari is a slow-cooked meat stew that’s known for its gravy, according Hameed.

“This is super, slow-cooked beef; it’s got that rich gravy,” he says. “The chana masala always has cumin and onion. Lamb nihari is made in the same way as the beef nihari; it’s super savory.

“We put butter chicken on the daily menu because everybody recognizes butter chicken,” he adds. “We are hoping butter chicken will bring people in and introduce them to some other types of food that are also interesting.”

There’s also a chef special, which rotates every Friday. According to Hameed, previously featured specials include lamb korma (tender lamb in a fragrant sauce infused with cinnamon and cardamom), daal gosht (a hearty lentil and meat stew), aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes sauteed with coriander and cumin) and chicken pulao, a classic rice dish featuring chicken cooked with aromatic spices.

The eatery also offers a Sunday brunch menu with different entrée choices. It’s available in the same cafeteria-style format, but with dishes like samosas, chana chaat, pakora and more, according to Hameed. At the end of the counter are a variety of garnishes, chutneys and raita. The green chutney will be the most familiar to customers, according to Hameed, who says it’s made with mint, fresh cilantro and garlic. Garnishes comprise cilantro, limes and peppers.

“Pakora are a kind of snack; they are fritters made with onions, chickpea flour and spices,” he says. “Samosas — which have a veggie filling — and pakora are for people who are looking for something a little bit lighter, but want something crispy. Chana chaat is like a chickpea salad.”

“Our brunch, as far as we know, is the first and only Punjabi-style breakfast on the island,” adds Nikki Hameed, Zishan’s wife. “We started doing it because we had so many people in our Desi community — Indian and Pakistani people — asking for this kind of food. We basically have the classics that any Desi family is going to have for breakfast.”

She explains that many customers ask about the eatery’s featured curries, which they call “handi.”

“We use the term handi because that (the dish) is named after the big pot that it’s cooked in,” she says. “Curry is a dish that has curry leaves in it. Lamb and beef nihari are some of our handis; they have a specific spice blend and a specific way that they’re slow cooked.”

During brunch, each plate comes with a base of halwa — which is like a pudding made with grains, brown sugar, white sugar, coconut and raisins cooked in ghee, according to Hameed — and puri ($3.99 each), which is airy, deep-fried flatbread.

“My favorite for brunch is lamb nihari with halwa and puri,” Hameed says. “It’s sweet and savory, and then you get the puri. Halwa is a staple of Punjabi cuisine.”

The eatery has a tandoor (a cylindrical oven) in its kitchen, which is used to make naan and tandoori roti.

“The tandoor is the heart of our restaurant experience,” Hameed says. “When you go to eat Pakistani or Indian food, in order to get the naan and tandoori roti to taste the way they do, they have to come from a tandoor.”

He explains the big gas burner heats the walls of the clay, and dough balls are patted onto the walls.

“The wall is so hot that, as soon as the dough slaps (onto it), it sticks on there, but the air is passing over the outside of the naan or roti,” he says. “As it cooks the outside, it makes it bubble. It’s a pretty cool technique.”

Hameed says his family is excited for the community to try his mom’s cooking, which features recipes she grew up with and learned to make from her mother.

“We feel so lucky to be here; the people of Hawaii are so supportive,” Hameed says. “My mom is living out her dream. If you want to come and eat food from someone who uses food as a means of art to express themselves, this is the place to be.”

Open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays

Biryani King business owners 060226

<title>Biryani King serves Punjabi-style soul food</title>

The eatery, which recently opened on Sheridan Street, offers a casual cafeteria-style dining experience in which customers can create their own one- or two-choice plates with options like butter chicken, meat biryani, samosas and more.

Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026

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Daily Smile: Friday, January 30, 2026

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