Page 8 - MidWeek - Oct 26, 2022

8 MIDWEEK OCTOBER 26, 2022
Park left the company in
shares Kwok. “We both agreed on an Australian en-
by Ginger Keller
What started as a pandemic project for two longtime friends has blossomed into one of Honolulu’s trendiest brunch spots. It all started when Yim Kwok and Jackie Park merged their talents — Kwok with her culinary expertise and Park with her magic marketing touch — to create Fig & Gin- ger Honolulu, a chef-crafted bespoke grazing board busi- ness. Offering cheese, char- cuterie, appetizer, vegan and seasonal boards, the biz took off on social media (check out @fig.gingerhonolulu on Ins- tagram).
“We thought this is what we
Licensed & Bonded BC-16446
World Travel Inspires This Restaurateur
like to do — talk and hang- out over charcuterie boards with good food, good friends and good times,” says Kwok about the company’s concept. “We were like, ‘Why don’t we share this experience with oth- er people?’”
2021, which led Kwok to tap another old friend, chef Palm Amatawet (now a co-own- er as well), an established globe-trotting restaurateur, to open a brick-and-mortar store in McCully Shopping Center (1960 Kapi‘olani Blvd. No. 103). He crafted a brunch menu featuring fresh, mod- ern dishes including an array of “house toasties,” which is essentially tasty ingredients piled on top of a crispy piece of sourdough.
The name — which I love for reasons that are obvious — symbolizes Western (fig) and Asian (ginger) cuisines.
“Fig represents the Western world, it’s the key ingredient in the Italian/Mediterranean coast, and ginger is the key ingredient in Asian cuisine. It kind of represents both of us,” shares Kwok.
Fig & Ginger Honolulu is owned and operated by (from left) Yim Kwok, her husband Edmond, and chef Palm Amatawet.
Besides the fact that Kwok and Amatawet hail from Thai- land, the duo also share an af- finity for Australia after spend- ing time there on separate
PHOTOS COURTESY YIM KWOK
occasions. Amatawet worked at his auntie’s restaurant in Sydney, while Kwok frequent- ed Melbourne as a flight atten-
dant for Japan Airlines.
“I fell in love over there,”
vironment and vibe for the restaurant — the food, the culture and the lifestyle. We feel like the food is always
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