From now until March 15, 2010, enter the tweetstakes by downloading What Chefs Eat from the Apple iTunes App Store and then “Share” a restaurant on Twitter through the What Chefs Eat app. Retweets from friends count too. Some restrictions apply.

A winner will be announced on March 16, 2010.

The What Chefs Eat iPhone app provides and insider’s guide to the local dining scene by sharing with you what Hawai’i's top chefs eat on their nights off.

From only-in-Hawai’i favorites to the best spots for ramen and late-night eats, What Chefs Eat brings you the places and foods savored by Hawai’i's best palates.

“When a search for sushi gives you 50-plus results, making a choice becomes a chore,” says What Chefs Eat co-founder Eric Nakagawa. “I’d rather have a few options from folks I trust.”

The new app created by Nakagawa and Melanie Kosaka profiles Hawai’i's top chefs — culinary icons, those most watched and hot newcomers. It queries them on their favorite restaurant dishes and hangouts and brings users the complete details: what to eat, where, and why the chef loves it.

The best fried chicken? Roy Yamaguchi recommends Zippy’s diner in Kahala, far off the tourist track. The best pork chops? Alan Wong recommends Side Street Inn, where the chops are deep-fried and crispy.

Other featured chefs include Ed Kenney Jr., D.K. Kodama and Jon Matsubara. Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya contributed his picks, as did Dean Okimoto of Nalo Farms. Coming weeks will see top picks from chefs like George Mavrothalassitis (Hawai’i's only independent AAA Five Diamond recipient), Maui’s Bev Gannon, the Big Island’s Peter Merriman and more.

The idea was born in a conversation between Furuya and Kosaka, the James Beard Award-winning creator of Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter and Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi. Furuya proposed a website featuring chefs’ favorite foods. Kosaka loved the concept but thought it would work better as a mobile phone application.

She contacted Nakagawa, a tech entrepreneur who had co-founded and sold ICanHasCheezeburger.com. Like Kosaka, Nakagawa was born and raised in Hawai’i. Both were excited about combining their foodie and techie backgrounds to support eating local.

“Breaking down the digital divide between larger businesses that have the resources to expend on websites and mobile marketing, and small businesses that may barely have the resources to develop a website, was a key factor in deciding to do this project,” Kosaka says. “We think What Chefs Eat is a win-win: Chefs gain exposure for their restaurants, and smaller restaurants gain notoriety by having a top chef select them as a favorite dining spot.”

Users’ trust is essential to the app. Featured selections by chefs are not for sale. Products and establishments cannot pay to be recommended. Advertisers are featured in prominent positions.

Relevant to locals and visitors. “The beauty of What Chefs Eat is its relevance to both locals and visitors,” Nakagawa says. “Locals can use it to get a trusted recommendation for Thai food or find out where Roy Yamaguchi goes for ramen.

Visitors can enhance their culinary experience by tasting the foods that top chefs in Hawai’i really eat.”

“The support we’ve received from chefs speaks to the commitment and aloha they have for preserving our Islands’ culture and unique lifestyle,” Kosaka adds.

“We are deeply encouraged by their efforts and hope this can serve as a launch pad to other cities.”

What Chefs Eat will continue to provide app users with exclusive travel specials, deals on dining and early notification of cool events. Watch for fun new promotions to be unveiled in coming months. Stay tuned!

GO!STYLE (http://www.gostyle.org) sets the stage for the next generation of pan-Asian American performance. This show, the first large-scale variety concert this kind, will take place at 8pm on Friday, February 5, 2010, at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St, San Francisco. Brought to you by RAMA (http://gostudiorama.com) and viveSF (http://viveSF.com).

Enter here for a chance to win free tickets by 4pm Thursday:

http://foundasian.org/promotions/gostyle2010/

RAMA and viveSF are devoted to creating an Asian American Arts movement by bring a complete spectrum of the local, community-centric talent on stage at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. GO!STYLE is hosted by comedians Ali Wong and Sheng Wang, headlined by Hip Hop duo Magnetic North, and features singer/songwriter Goh Nakamura. Audiences will also be awed by a special performance by Michelle Martinez. Other artists include Tongan poet sisters Loa and Fuifui Niumeitolu and dance performances by Tattva and The Odds Dance Crew from The Funkbrella Dance Company.

GO!STYLE promises to inspire the audience as these performers celebrate their unique styles of music, dance, poetry, and comedy.

Tickets are now on sale at http://gostyle.eventbee.com, $30 general admission.

Here’s the event on Facebook and follow GO!STYLE on Twitter.

This special event features the production team and actors behind the upcoming Hollywood motion picture FORMOSA BETRAYED! A political action thriller set in 1980′s Taiwan, it follows a web of intrigue and surprise through the eyes of an FBI detective (played by James Van Der Beek of Dawson’s Creek) assigned to investigate the murder of a Taiwanese American professor and gives a glimpse of a democracy movement that shaped this island nation.

Starting the weekend of Feb 26-28, FORMOSA BETRAYED will begin opening in theaters nationwide! We are proud to present producer/actor Will Tiao, director/producer Adam Kane (Heroes), associate producer Jon Lee, actor Tzi Ma (Rush Hour), actor Adam Wang, and actor Henry Chu at our gathering. The event will be preceded by brief presentations on the history of Taiwan upon which the movie is set and an introduction by author Shawna Yang Ryan discussing Asian Americans and our emergence in the media.

Saturday, February 6, 2010
Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
Convention Center Ballrooms E & F
5101 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, CA 95054

Admission Fee: $10 adults / $5 college students / pay at the door / media passes available
If possible, please RSVP on our Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=284637400733

11:00 am – Arrival & check-in / pizza & refreshments (for limited time)
11:45 am – Program opening
12:00 pm – The Taiwan story behind FORMOSA BETRAYED
12:30 pm – Movie trailer & clips
1:00 pm – FORMOSA BETRAYED panel with intro by author Shawna Yang Ryan

For additional inquiries, contact organizer Ho Chie Tsai: hochie@hochie.net

Put this on your calendars! Join us for the Center for Asian American Media’s 30th Anniversary Gala (http://www.asianamericanmedia.org) and celebrate the organization’s 30 years of presenting the richness and diversity of Asian American stories.

Held during the heart of the SF International Asian American Film Festival, CAAM has partnered with the Asian Chefs Association to present signature dishes from some of the Bay Area’s finest chefs: Khai Duong (Ana Mandara), Lawrence Chu (Chef Chu’s), Dennis Wong (Le Soleil), Jackson Yu (Live Sushi Bar), Jeff Hubbard (Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion), Peter Chan (South Sea Seafood Village) and Hung Le (Three Seasons).

Guests will partake in a unique pan-Asian tasting event with Asian American film luminaries and community leaders.

Center for Asian American Media CAAM
30th Anniversary Gala
Monday, March 15, 2010
6:00pm – 9:00pm
Ana Mandara Restaurant
891 Beach Street (at Polk Street, Ghirardelli Square)
San Francisco, CA

Join this save-the-date FB event

Funds will go towards supporting CAAM’s ongoing vision of bringing the best new films and filmmakers to our annual film festival, serving schools and libraries with high quality documentaries, and innovating in digital media.

For more information:
Debbie Ng
CAAM Development and Communications Director
415-863-0814 x104
dng@asianamericanmedia.org

Host Committee Members (list in progress):
Dipti Ghosh & Meggy Gotuaco
Ken Ikeda & Catherine Huang
Bill Imada
David Lei & Linda Lei
Konrad Ng & Maya Soetoro-Ng
Susie Pak & Greg Pak
Ann Sung-Ruckstuhl & John Ruckstahl
Eddie Wong & Anna Whittington
Mona Lisa Yuchengco
Dien Yuen

Honorary Committee Members (list in progress):
Jeff Adachi
Mary Bitterman
Supervisor David Chiu
Representative Mike Honda
Mike Hsieh & Tom Hsieh
Keith Kamisugi
Michael Kang
Sung Kang
Spencer Nakasako & Laureen Chew
Amy Tan
Jay Xu & Jennifer Chen
Helen Zia & Lia Shigemura

Kollaboration is hosting its first annual show on Saturday, April 10, 2009, at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, where they hope to feature amazing local talent in all genres – dancing, singing, music, spoken word, comedy, etc.

There will be a grand prize of $1000. There will also be other cash prizes for audience favorites and freestyle competitions.

You can join the Kollaboration movement by:
1. Auditioning
2. Spreading the word to the community and local talent encouraging them to audition
3. Attending our April show and volunteering

For those who want to audition, they must to our website and fill out the form at http://kollaborationsf.org/audition.php by Jan 14th. For more details please refer to their website.

For those would like to volunteer in our various community service opportunities, they can sign up by emailing kaitie.wong@kollaborationsf.org.

Support Kollaboration:

Twitter – http://twitter.com/Kollabsfbayarea

Facebook Page – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kollaboration-SF-Bay-Area/119472599197

YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/user/kollaboration00

Kollaboration is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and an annual talent showcase specifically for the empowerment of the Asian American community. It originated down in Los Angeles and has since spread to NYC, Chicago, Houston, and more, and has finally arrived to the amazing SF Bay Area, home to the nation’s third largest Asian American population!