Due to some interest on Twitter, I'm posting the entire release about Open Table's pending acquisition of one of my favorite food social media sites, Foodspotting.

I didn't like the site's redesign, which complicated what started as streamlined and easy. Who knows what this new partnership will bring, but this is the company's rationale:

1. "SAN FRANCISCO – January 29, 2013 – OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN), a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Foodspotting, an app for finding and sharing great dishes at restaurants, for approximately $10 million in cash pursuant to a stock purchase agreement. The completion of the acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.“We’re proud to welcome the talented Foodspotting team to the OpenTable family,” said Matt Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of OpenTable.   “The Foodspotting team is as passionate about dining as we are, and we’re looking forward to leveraging their unique expertise in the areas of imagery and social sharing to enrich the OpenTable experience for diners and restaurants in new and exciting ways. By adding more visually compelling content to help people decide where to dine and discover dishes they’ll love, we hope to make it even easier to find the perfect table for any occasion.” (more...)

Nadine Kam photos
Fourteen of Hawaii's Rising Star chefs and their mentors share a stage at the Halekulani Ballroom before heading to the lawn to plate up their specialties.

Since 2003, StarChefs.com, the online magazine for culinary insiders, has criss-crossed the country with its StarChefs Rising Stars Revue, showcasing up-and-coming chefs.

Each year, StarChefs.com selects four American markets in which to name its Rising Stars. Candidates are nominated by the StarChefs.com Advisory Board, previous winners, local media,and the StarChefs.com website, as well as through editorial research. Winners are then chosen by the StarChefs.com editorial team.

On Dec. 4, StarChefs members descended on the Halekulani Hotel, where executive chef Vikram Garg had been instrumental in pitching Hawaii as home to dozens of up-and comers. And on stage, StarChefs.com CEO said, Hawaii chefs "blew our minds," as the website's advisory board sampled cooking of 60 candidates on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii island, over what she told me was two 12-day trips over the summer, sampling from about five restaurants per day. The winner's list numbered 14, though the cutoff age to win an award is 40, and they couldn't find a winner for their sommelier award.

Also conspicously missing from the list, to me, was Christopher Kajioka, whose current home at Vintage Cave Honolulu was not yet open at the time of the sampling. But I'm sure there will be many other accolades ahead for the young chef.

During the gala tasting event at the Halekulani, hosted by Garg and co-hosted by Chai Chaowasaree of Chai’s Island Bistro, with beverage pairings from host sommelier Kevin Tomaya of Halekulani, each of the 14 winning chefs presented the dish that won them their award.

After a night of noshing, diners at the event picked their favorite dishes, and the winners, with Michelle Karr-Ueoka, center, pastry chef for Alan Wong's restaurant, named the winner for her dessert of a quadruple-layered Hanaoka Farms Lilikoi Brûlée. StarChefs.com CEO Antoinette Bruno, left, said Michelle has the distinction of being the first pastry chef to win top honors at any of their annual Rising Stars competitions, held in different cities nationwide. The award was well deserved. Coming in second was Mark Noguchi, right, of Pili Hawaii Catering and Taste Table, and in third, next to him, was Andrew Le of the Pig and the Lady. Presenting the Jade's Best Dish Award is Lex Poulos, VP Sales and Marketing at Jade Range.

The 2012 Hawaii Rising Stars Award Winners are:

CHEFS
Christopher Kulis: Capische? (Maui)
Featured dish: Australian Beef Carpaccio, Horseradish Aïoli, Radish, Lemon Oil, Fried Capers and Parmigiano-Reggiano

Andrew Le: The Pig and the Lady (Oahu)
Featured dish: Pho with Betelnut Leaf-wrapped Pork Sausages

Cameron Lewark: Spago (Maui)
Featured dish: Onaga Ceviche, Green Papaya Salad, Kaffir Lime, Coconut, and Passionfruit Flower

Nick Mastrascusa: Beach Tree at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (Big Island)
Featured dish: Gnocchi with Oxtail Ragout

Wade Ueoka: Alan Wong’s (Oahu)
Featured dish: Oxtail “Soup” of Oxtail and Corned Beef Roulade, Boiled Peanuts, and Shiitake Mushrooms

Jojo Vasquez: The Plantation House Restaurant (Maui)
Featured dish: Australian Lamb Rack, Eggplant Purée, and Chickpea Cake

PASTRY CHEFS
Michelle Karr-Ueoka: Alan Wong’s (Oahu)
Featured dish: Lilikoi Brûlée

Elizabeth McDonald: Honu Seafood & Pizza (Maui)
Featured dish: Vegan Chocolate Mousse Cake

SUSTAINABILITY CHEF
Quinten Frye: SALT Kitchen & Tasting Bar (Oahu)
Featured dish: Octopus, Chorizo, Olives, Potatoes, Compressed Grape Tomatoes, Almonds, and Kahuku Corn Purée

ARTISAN
Doug Kocol: SALT Kitchen & Tasting Bar (Oahu) for excellence in charcuterie
Featured dish: Pork Rillette and Soppressata

CONCEPT CHEF
Sheldon Simeon: Star Noodle (Maui)
Featured dish: Hapa Ramen: Roast Pork, Poached Egg, Bamboo Shoots, Kamaboko, Bok Choi, Mayu, and Spicy Miso

COMMUNITY CHEF
Mark Noguchi: Pili Hawaii Catering (Oahu)
Featured dish: Ho’i’o Fiddlehead Ferns, Dried Cuttlefish, Kombu, Octopus, and Tomatoes

RESTAURATEUR
Ed Kenney: Town, Uptown Events (Oahu)
Featured dish: Cervena Venison Pipikaula with Bud Bucket Ice

MIXOLOGIST
David Newman: Pint + Jigger (Oahu)
Featured cocktail: The Whiskey Thatcher: Rye, Mint, Lime, and Flamed Pernod Rinse

In addition, Alan Wong, whose kitchen produced two winners, and countless other young chefs around town, won the StarChefs Mentor Award.

In StarChefs.com’s long-running tradition, guests at the event were given the opportunity to vote for their favorite dish of the night. As the favorite of the evening's tasters, Michelle Karr-Ueoka will receive a Jade Range 18” commercial plancha. Because she's a pastry chef, wondering if her boss Alan Wong has dibs on the range?

Tickets for the event were $95 to $125, and a portion of the evening’s tickets sales will be donated to the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiolani Community College.

Next year, StarChefs.com will take their search for rising stars to Philadelphia in February, New York in April, the San Francisco Bay Area in June, and the Carolinas in December.

Christopher Kulis led his restaurant, Capische?, on Maui to win Steelite's Restaurant of Distinction Award. When I took this photo, I broke up the swarm of women around him, and they were like, "You have to be in the picture." I was like, "No, I can't be in my photos," and they were like, "Oh, you have to! He's so handsome!" Then they were all saying how good-looking he was and how he was the most handsome chef in the batch, then all the guys around started getting into it. Chris took it all with humor, and having set him up for that, I quietly slinked away.

Halekulani executive chef Vikram Garg was instrumental in bringing the Starchefs competition to Hawaii. To whet appetites prior to early award announcements, he prepared this Petrossian Royal Shassetra caviar and lemongrass panna cotta.

During the tasting event that followed the award announcements, Vikram also served this spiced sumac-marinated Australian lamb chop over hummus. A favorite with many, but as host chef, his dish wasn't eligible for the Rising Stars vote.

Christopher Kulis's Australian beef carpaccio with horseradish aioli, crisp radish, lemon oil, fried capers and Parmigiano-Reggiano. In addition to his work at Capische?, he recently started Stir, a personal chef company, and The Salt Box, a high-end picnic basket caterer.

Andrew Le's phó ga with slow-poached farm egg and bo la lot. Sublime and so well-balanced.

Andrew also offered a refreshing chilled cucumber salad over paiai.

Michelle Karr-Ueoka's winning Hanaoka Farms Lilikoi Brûlée features layers of lilikoi crémeux, lilikoi sorbet, lilikoi brûlée and cap of tuile sealed over the martini glass rim with a blow torch. But that wasn't all she offered. Sweet lovers also found assorted cookies, vegan chocolate and truffles at her table.

Michelle's husband Wade Ueoka, also with Alan Wong's, presented a risotto-like "oxtail soupe" of boneless oxtail and corned beef roulade, with boiled peanuts, shiitake and ginger-scallion oil. Being Chinese, for me it brought together the best of two worlds, oxtail soup meets cold ginger chicken sauce. Yum!

Nick Mastrascusa of Beach Tree at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai presented gnocchi with oxtail ragout below, with a display of the simple ingredients, above. It inspired me to try my own experiment with gnocchi for dinner today. I always enjoy it at restaurants, but never tried making it. The gnocchi has been shaped, and a beef ragout is simmering on the stove. Can't wait to see how it turns out in a few hours.

I had Nick's gnocchi at Beach Tree when I was at Hualalai for another event and it was so fabulous. Of course when you're at the restaurant, the plating is much more elegant than at a crowd event.

Quinten Frye of SALT Kitchen & Tasting Bar presented a fiery pupu of tako, chorizo, olives, potatoes, grape tomatoes, olives and Kahuku corn purée.

Sheldon Simeon of Star Noodle on Maui, offered his Hapa Ramen. Again, the presentation left something to be desired when compared to the actual dish, below, which I enjoyed at the restaurant in May. First of all, there's no clue as to why it's called hapa.

Star Noodle's Hapa Ramen features one side black sesame mayu, one side white Star pork dashi topped with roast pork, kamaboko, bok choy, poached egg, bamboo shoots, Napa cabbage and spicy miso.

Pastry chef Elizabeth McDonald of Honu Seafood & Pizza on Maui shared her vegan chocolate mousse cake, made with garbanzo flour and potato starch, with mousse layers of chocolate and silken tofu.

Straight from his win for "Best Casual Restaurant" in our 2012 'Ilima Awards, Robert McGee of The Whole Ox Deli has made the Zagat Blog as one of its "Destination Delis: 8 Sandwich-Slingers Worth Traveling For."

I got the heads up from a reader who happens to be vegan and said, "I don't eat there, but am proud of our food culture."

I am always so grateful for the day that Bob decided to leave Portland, Ore., and settle here.

Read the article by Linnea Covington, here.

The Whole Ox is at 327 Keawe St.

Nadine Kam photos
Pacific Gateway Center executive director Dr. Tin Myaing Thein, left, and chef Aye Aye Maw, right, welcomed Eden Grinshpan, host of the Cooking Channel program “Eden Eats” to PGC's Lemongrass Cafe March 15 for a taping of a Honolulu episode of the show.

I admit to selective hearing sometimes. Invited to a popup dinner at Pacific Gateway Center's Lemongrass Café on March 15, I heard mainly "Burmese food," and maybe something to do with the Cooking Channel.

Dinner will start at 6, I was told. Two-and-a-half hours later ...

Beyond simply enjoying a cuisine I'd never tried before, the event was made-for-television, meaning a lot of delays and waiting. I felt like an actress, prepared to smile, perk up, animate and be excited on cue. Not one to emote, that's not easy for me. Put it this way: When my Kailua house was robbed of jewelry, all the contents of my dressers strewn throughout the bedroom, I overheard the police officers talking outside, saying they didn't believe me because I was too calm and rational. What was I supposed to do, cry, be hysterical? That's not me.

Le Cordon Bleu-schooled Eden prepares to dig into the mohinga, a breakfast staple in Myanmar.

The crew of "Eden Eats," hosted by Eden Grinshpan, was delayed getting to the restaurant after filming malassada action at Agnes' Portuguese Bake Shop in Kailua. By about 7:30 p.m., other diners were allowed to start eating, but not the head table, where I was sitting and most of the filming would take place. Sitting next to me, Makana Shook said she was prepared to eat my arm. I was actually grateful for the delay because I had eaten lunch at Chun Wah Kam, and was still sated eight-and-a-half hours later.

The other diners paid for their earlier start, though, when at 10 p.m., those who wanted to leave were asked to stay for the sake of keeping the restaurant filled from beginning to end. We were released at about 10:30 p.m., easily a 12- to 14-hour day for most of the guests. People may have been tired or nervous because there were at least three incidents of tipped glasses over the course of the evening, though none while cameras were rolling.

The premise of the show is to peek into the sometimes strange world and kitchens of immigrants across the nation rebuilding their lives in the United States, recreating their cultures through food. It's a great concept, and you can get a taste of it at director Samantha Schutz's projects site. That is, if you don't mind a few bloody bits. True foodies wouldn't flinch.

The Honolulu show will air sometime in August.

The TV crew had the option of Ethiopian fare or Burmese, but Aye Aye Maw's Burmese cooking won the day. Her menu of ginger salad, shrimp fritters, cucumber salad, mohinga—a fish sauce and rice noodle soup that is the national dish of Burma—and tapioca dessert did not disappoint. (Read more in my column coming up March 21.) After a month of popups, she'll begin offering Burmese meals every Sunday from 6 p.m., at a very reasonable $20 per person.

"It's not for profit at all," she said. "I just want people to know what is Burmese food."

Mohinga, a thick rice noodle soup that is the national dish of Myanmar, is brought before the camera.

Cucumber salad.

Shrimp fritters accompanied by an herb-filled tamarind-fish sauce and Burmese black tea, for sipping, not dipping. Unbelievably yummy!

Cameras roll as Eden speaks with Dr. Thein, who also hails from Burma, and the chef.

Potato chips and shrimp chips kept hungry diners fueled before dinner started. Diners who said they never eat potato chips, finished off every bowl offered.