Hapa is the Hawaiian word for “mixed-race,” and is generally used to describe anyone of part-Asian descent. And at the Hapa Kitchen, we cook food that whimsically integrates Asian flavors and dining traditions with those of the rest of the world. Founded by Cathy Erway and Akiko Moorman in 2009, the club holds unique dinners, parties and events featuring original, collaborative dishes. Our goal is to create thoughtful and innovative food inspired by our mixed heritages, and meet other enthusiastic hapas in the process. Sign up for our mailing list to receive announcements.
What is “hapa food”?
Growing up, our notion of comfort food was often things that made other people uncomfortable — shredded char sui on white sandwich bread, or rubbery fishballs in chicken noodle soup. Now we embrace the unique, if somewhat scattershot, culinary repertoire of our multicultural households, and aim to elevate hapa food to soaring new heights. Although “hapa” may have been originally coined to refer to people of East Asian and Caucasian backgrounds, in our cooking, we’ll merge everything from Middle Eastern and Mongolian food with Mexican and American soul food with reckless and often historically nonsensical abandon. Come dine with us sometime and see!