Here’s part 2 of our Ten Questions with Reid from ‘Ono Kine Grindz; enjoy! Thanks again Reid!
6 – In your opinion what are the benefits of blogging, and are there any negative aspects that you’ve encountered?
The benefits are many and the negatives, or downsides, are few and far between. For me, it’s really great to get to know people through the blog. It’s a way for me to share my experiences with food (something I love) with a large number of people and it’s a way to bring “home” to those of you that are far from it. Believe it or not, many of those who leave Hawaii don’t come back as often as we’d like to think. Besides, for me this is a way to relax and unwind after a long day at work.
So far the only negatives have been the responses to some not so good reviews that I give to some places. Case in point, Baba Neo.
7 – Do you have any specific approach when selecting a particular subject? Basically, I’m asking, what is your style?
There really is no specific approach or style, but for a while I was just going everywhere and trying to be nice about it. I’m sure you can tell that by reading my earliest posts. Now, I’m more apt to be as honest as I can be without being too brutal. When I write on my blog, I’m basically listing my thoughts, so you might hear the same things over and over again.
I’m not like the food writer who has to come up with stuff that sounds good.
8 – Ever think that’ll you’ll run dry? With “tongue firmly in cheek” (because you seem to everywhere at once) – Do you ever go back to a restaurant? And what happens if you go back and the restaurant has changed dramatically from the original post, would you repost, or edit your former post?
Well, to tell you the truth, I read somewhere that there are 2000+ food establishments in the State of Hawaii and even if I did three reviews a week for the entire year, it would take me more than 12 years to get to them all. That said, I don’t feel that I’ll run out of ideas, but I might get sick of eating out before that happens.
To answer the second part of the question – yes, I do go back to restaurants, in fact many times. A lot of them are my favorites and the new places only make up a small minority of my dining out. In fact, I can eat through my three reviews on the weekends then visit my favorite places during the week. I don’t think I’ve ever been back to a place that I’ve negatively reviewed. Case in point, Green Door Cafe. A lot of the local food critics have given that place the thumbs up, but in my opinion, it’s not authentic and not worth the price I paid.
9 – What would be the earliest recollection(s) that you have of eating in a restaurant and do you think that had any impact on the way that you view food?
The first vivid memory that I have of dining out was at the Black Angus in Vancouver when I was 7 years old. I had taken a trip there with my grandmother, my grandmother’s sister, and my grandmother’s sister’s daughter. The entire restaurant was configured with walls made out of smoked glass. Add dim lighting to the mix and the whole place turned into a very dark maze.
But to answer the rest of the question, no, it didn’t have any impact on the way that I view food in general.
10 – Does your “dream job” have anything to do with food in any way?
It’s funny that you would ask this question because for the last several years I have honestly thought of quitting my job to take up the culinary arts program at KCC. It’s not going to happen 
anytime soon of course, but that is something that I’m actively considering. Other than that, a friend and I have tossed around the idea of opening up a small shop selling of all things nasi lemak, Malaysian coffee, kaya toast(picture courtesy ‘Ono Kine Grindz), and Nyonya kuehs. It would really be funny if it actually happens.
Thanks for your time Reid, and thanks for the great pictures and reviews on ‘Ono Kine Grindz. Keep up the great work!
