Nadine Kam, former features editor and writer for both the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Star-Advertiser and well-known for a career of spirited coverage of the local restaurant industry, fashion and music, died Tuesday night in Waipahu after an illness. She was 63.

Kam joined the Star-Bulletin as a copy editor in 1988, becoming a page designer and advancing to assistant features editor and then features editor in 1998.

But she likely was best known around town, both by the restaurant industry and the diners who supported it, not for these positions but for a role in which she hoped to fly under the radar as a reviewer unrecognized by the restaurateurs.

For years for the Star-Bulletin and later the Star-Advertiser, Kam wrote “The Weekly Eater,” a review column in which her byline ran with a photo of her face concealed by a hat and sunglasses. That anonymity enabled her to provide readers an assessment of the meal and service provided to the general public.

She continued to write about food and restaurants for the Star-Advertiser’s weekly Crave section until falling ill earlier this summer.

During her newspaper career, Kam also chronicled the developments in island fashion, music and myriad aspects of island living.

For example, Kam was a reporter and writer in a special project on the classroom climate, absenteeism and student discipline in public schools.

Her editors recalled that she capitalized on her petite stature and youthful appearance by going back to her alma mater of Waipahu High School to observe and report from a student’s perspective.

Frank Bridgewater, retired editor of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin before that, remembers Kam as “a valued and talented staffer for the Star-Bulletin and Star-Advertiser for many years.

“Her restaurant reviews and food coverage had a large loyal following, and her stories were written in a casual way that was always entertaining, interesting and informative.

“Nadine was also a great ambassador for the newspapers while she was out many nights each week gathering information about food, fashion and music for her stories,” Bridgewater added.

Betty Shimabukuro worked with Kam throughout her career in the Star-Bulletin’s Today Section and through her editing of the Crave section.

“Nadine had as much passion for fashion as for food, and for many years carried both her ‘Weekly Eater’ column every Wednesday and production of a lively Style section every Thursday. For a few years she even ran the entire Features section. She made music, too. And danced,” Shimabukuro said.

“She never became a snob about food and was as likely to champion a tiny shop in Chinatown as a fancy-pants restaurant in Waikiki. Maybe more so. She admired creativity, clean flavors and beauty on the plate. She respected chefs who respected their ingredients.

“Bottom line, she never stopped moving, and didn’t seem afraid of anything. As journalism changed, she went big with social media, taking up blogging and video production, building a brand with herself centerstage. Never shy. Never timid.”

Kam was married to the late Honolulu Advertiser writer Chris Neil. She is survived by her mother, Phyllis Kam; sisters Natalie, Darlene and Sandra Kam; and brother Nolan Kam. Funeral arrangements are pending.