MidWeek East - Mar 16, 2022

FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 16, 2022
NEW YEAR, NEW NAME
East O‘ahu’s spay/neuter center has been renamed. SEE PAGE 6
GREAT DISPOSITION
Learn about this cool Greyhound in Pet of the Week. SEE PAGE 12
Local Chef Cooks Up A Culinary Career
A PUBLICATION OF
AN EDITION OF
Kaimukī’s Erik Leong creates delectable dishes as the executive chef at Mahina & Sun’s.
LAWRENCE TABUDLO PHOTO
EBY JACKIE PERREIRA
rik Leong’s career gained momentum through some of the most buzz-wor- thy restaurants in Honolulu, amount-
ing to his position now as executive chef at Mahina & Sun’s in Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club in Waikīkī. However, it all began with a love for his mother’s home cooking.
“It always brought our family together. Growing up in Hawai‘i, finances could be a little difficult, but whenever it was time to eat, it was always like nothing else mattered. My mom’s attitude of putting her love for the family first was what resonated into my adulthood,” Leong says.
The Kaimukī native remembers how she used to have recipe cut-outs from the news- paper, and how she would write little adjust- ment notes onto them.
“She would always change parts of the recipe just to fit our family’s taste profile. I always thought that was pretty cool,” he says.
This isn’t far off from what Leong and his team execute at Mahina & Sun’s today. SEE PAGE 3