Kelli Shiroma Braiotta
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta connects readers with the local food and dining scene, focusing on new restaurants, market expansions and accessible ways to try new dishes and treats. She is a Food & Dining Reporter for Aloha State Daily, with coverage that combines vivid descriptions of food with clear, practical details about how and when to visit each spot. Her work stands out for its service orientation: every story helps people decide where to go, what to order and how a restaurant or promotion fits into everyday eating.
Restaurant openings and expansions
Much of Kelli’s reporting tracks the growth of restaurants and food businesses, translating openings and expansions into actionable guidance for diners. In her coverage of Supreme Dumplings’ new location in Ala Moana Center, she introduces the brand’s authentic Taiwanese soup dumplings, explains how each xiao long bao is precisely weighed and assembled, and lays out the full operating schedule and reservation options so readers know exactly how to plan a visit. A story on Taste of Aloha’s expansion to a second market location similarly explains what the new site adds, while pointing to items like Naks Pan salt bread that anchor the experience for shoppers. Across these pieces, she consistently includes addresses, hours, reservation policies and contact information, making her restaurant-opening coverage a reliable reference rather than just an announcement.
Value, specials and community-minded dining
Kelli pays close attention to how restaurants design experiences around pricing, access and community support, spotlighting concepts that go beyond a standard menu. Her story on The Pig & The Lady’s pay-what-you-can dinner experience explains the flexible pricing model, outlines the lunch and dinner hours, and gives readers enough detail to understand how the restaurant is opening its doors to a broader range of guests. In her wider work, she highlights specials and promotions that speak to value and generosity, such as coverage of a pizza spot launching deals to support those affected by local crises, and short-form content on potluck-friendly dishes for gatherings. She also features dessert-focused offerings, including National Ice Cream Day promotions at Hammond’s Gourmet Ice Cream, where she has documented limited-time scoop and flight cone specials that encourage customers to celebrate with affordable treats. This strand of her beat emphasizes how food businesses use pricing and events to engage the community, and Kelli’s stories consistently spell out what the offer includes and when to take advantage of it.
Visual, social and on-air coverage
Beyond her reporting for Aloha State Daily, Kelli extends her food coverage across social and broadcast channels, reinforcing her role as a media personality as well as a reporter. She hosts a recurring “Local Flavor Fridays” segment on 94.7 KUMU, where she shares food and dining stories on air every week, bringing her restaurant coverage to radio listeners in a compact, conversational format. On TikTok, she describes her work as “HAWAII FOOD + LIFESTYLE” with restaurant recommendations and foodie tips, and posts videos that walk viewers through seafood-focused meals, new cafes and practical food ideas for gatherings. Her Facebook and YouTube profiles present her as a food blogger and media personality, with a specific focus on the dining scene and dessert, and feature short videos that mirror the openings and specials she covers in print. This multi-platform presence means her stories often live in more than one format: a new restaurant may appear in a detailed article, a fast-moving reel and a radio segment, all carrying the same emphasis on what to expect and how to participate.
Background in food and lifestyle writing
Kelli’s current reporting builds on years of work in food and lifestyle journalism. She previously wrote for Honolulu Magazine and its Frolic Hawai‘i team, starting as a freelance contributor and later joining full-time, where she covered restaurants and dining culture for a dedicated food vertical. She has been featured as a local food influencer and writer in collaborations such as a Japanese fusion cuisine project with the Consulate-General of Japan, where she explored dishes that combine local ingredients with Japanese techniques. Industry listings recognize her as a food and dining reporter and influencer, underscoring her dual identity as a newsroom reporter and a prominent voice in the regional food community. Together, these experiences inform her current beat: she brings magazine-style attention to detail, influencer familiarity with social formats and a reporter’s focus on clear, usable information to every story she publishes for Aloha State Daily.
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