Do your food photos reflect optimum deliciousness?

Maybe you need a few tips. The Eyes of Hawaii Photography Club is opening its Nov. 12 workshop at Wahiawa Botanical Gardens to anyone in search of advice on the topic.

The instructor is club member Milton Hee, who teaches macro photography.

Member Luther Chong, a home cook with an interest in Chinese cuisine, will provide the subject matter, preparing parchment-wrapped fish, meatballs with onions and mushrooms, and shrimp with calamari in black bean/oyster sauce. The class will cover photographing the demonstration and the finished dishes.

Chong says the quarterly club sessions normally focus on the plants of the botanical garden and draw hobbyists of many skill levels with all types of cameras, from cellphones to “very high-end.” They cover both the basics and the specifics. Then again, he said, “a lot of people come to our meetings just to eat.”

Hee suggests bringing a tripod if you have one and a macro, standard zoom or prime lens. Also, bring a dish to share (both to photograph and to eat).

The workshop runs from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and is free, but reservations are required. Call 522-7066.

Kalapawai in Kapolei — it’s got a nice ring to it

Kalapawai Deli & Cafe on Kamokila Boulevard — Kapolei’s main drag — opened quietly last month as the West-side cousin to Kalapawai’s restaurant and market locations in Kailua.

The Kapolei restaurant is twice the size of the cafe on the Windward side, with an indoor-outdoor bar. It has a striking green exterior, reminiscent of the Windward-side originals.

Special to the Kapolei menu are lunch plates of baked lemon chicken, hamburger steak, lemongrass shrimp, a furikake-crusted catch of the day and Italian sausage angel hair pasta. Prices run $12 to $15. A Kapolei club sandwich is $13.

For those who know Kapolei: The cafe is diagonally across Kamokila from the Kmart parking lot.

Hours are 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. Extended hours and dinner service are planned for later. Call 674-1700.

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Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser