HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – This Friday, August 9, marks Singapore’s National Day, and to celebrate, Kailua business Cafe Kopi joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about their international cafe and authentic Singaporean dishes.
Co-owners Jeanne Ng and Ernest Shih, both originally from Singapore, bring a taste of their homeland to Hawaii with a special menu that includes laksa, kopi and kaya toast.
Laksa is a flavorful, spicy noodle soup with shrimp and tofu in a rich, creamy coconut base with a blend of herbs and spices, such as laksa leaf and belachan (fermented shrimp paste). It can be served with rice or wheat noodles.
This dish is a signature offering at Cafe Kopi, available only Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Ng and Shih show their Singaporean breakfast: their rich robust coffee and sweet pandan jam with freshly baked bread and salted butter.
They also showcased their traditional kopi, a robust coffee brewed with Robusta beans roasted with butter that’s traditionally pulled by hand and served with condensed milk, offering a rich and unique caramelized flavor.
A classic Singaporean breakfast — kaya toast — is made of kaya, a sweet and creamy jam made with coconut, eggs and pandan (a fragrant herb abundant in Southeast Asia), with freshly baked bread and salted butter.
“We use [pandan] in place of vanilla essence for a lot of our cooking,” Ng said.
“Kaya” means rich in Malay, originates from Malacca in Malaysia and is eaten throughout Southeast Asia.
Ng says Cafe Kopi is not just a place for international food but also serves as a community hub, art gallery and event space, blending Parisian and Italian traditions with Singaporean and Asian influences.
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They offer a variety of flavors of croissants including sweet and savory: ube, matcha, blueberry, guava, chocolate, lilikoi, cinnamon, almond, even spam!
Ng says Cafe Kopi is the only bakery on the Windward side serving freshly made croissants that come in a variety of sweet and savory flavors, from Spam musubi to ube. They also have a wide range of pastries and samosas.
Located at 45 Kihapai St. in Kailua, the cafe operates daily from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with dine-in and outdoor seating.
For details, visit cafekopihawaii.com, call (808) 262-9050 or email info@cafekopihawaii.com.
They’re also on Facebook Cafe Kopi Hawaii and Instagram @cafekopihawaii.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
The highly anticipated Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matchup for the University of Hawaiʻi football team was the focus of the latest episode of Hawaii Football Final, which premiered Sunday night on the KHON+ app and featured KHON2 Sports Director Rob DeMello and analyst Rich Miano.
DeMello and Miano, a former UH player and coach and 11–year NFL veteran, discussed the Rainbow Warriors’ upcoming appearance in the Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl against California, answered fan questions in the “HFF Mailbox,” and broke down the next steps for the program. An extended version of the show is also released Sunday nights on major podcast platforms, including Spotify. A television rebroadcast airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on KHON2.
Earlier in the week, bowl officials announced the 2025 matchup, which will feature Hawaiʻi against California of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Christmas Eve at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Mānoa. The game has already generated significant interest locally and nationally, fueled in part by a headline coaching storyline, a meeting between two former UH quarterbacks.
Hawaiʻi head coach Timmy Chang will lead the Rainbow Warriors into his first bowl game, opposite former UH quarterback and one-time Warriors head coach Nick Rolovich, who will serve as Cal’s interim head coach.
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On the field, the Hawaiʻi Bowl will showcase two Hawaiʻi-born quarterbacks. UH freshman Micah Alejado, recently named Mountain West Freshman of the Year, will face Campbell High School alumnus Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the 2024 Mariota Award winner.
The matchup is one of several storylines surrounding Hawaiʻi’s return to postseason play, all of which DeMello and Miano examined as the Rainbow Warriors prepare for their Christmas Eve showdown in Honolulu.
Kilauea, on the Big Island of Hawaii, erupted again on Saturday, December 6, 2025, in spectacular fashion.
The fountains erupted from both the north and south vents, spewing lava more than 1,000 feet (300 meters) into the sky and destroying one of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) live cams.
In addition, an enormous plume of gas and fine glass particles extended up to 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) above sea level.
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The 2026 EarthSky lunar calendar makes a great gift. Get yours today!
Kilauea began its new series of eruptions last December, and they have continued off and on throughout 2025. You can watch the current status of Kilauea on the USGS live cam at the top of this post, or on YouTube.
Keep up with Kilauea at this USGS page
Kilauea volcano in Hawaii, erupting on December 6, 2025. Image via USGS live cam.
Bottom line: Kilauea volcano erupted spectacularly on Saturday, December 6, 2025. Watch a live cam here.
Deborah Byrd
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About the Author:
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky’s website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She’s the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.
Cal State Fullerton’s Nicole Steiner made two free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining and Hawaii couldn’t get a final shot off after a timeout as the Titans defeated the Rainbow Wahine 82-80 today at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.
Steiner, who gave Cal State Fullerton an 80-78 lead on a cutback with 36 seconds remaining, finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds to help the Titans (4-5, 2-0 Big West) snap a 12-game losing streak to Hawaii (4-5, 0-2), which lost its fifth straight game.
Cristina Jones had a game-high 22 points and six steals for the Titans, who forced 27 UH turnovers.
Bailey Flavell, who shot 4-for-7 from 3-point range, had a team-high 17 points and Kyra Webb added 15 points off the bench for Hawaii.
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UH has had 20 or more turnovers in four straight games and is 1-4 when reaching that mark this season.
Hawaii will return home to play Hawaii Hilo on Thursday.
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