Do you Yelp?

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:36:32 -0700

In just a little over a week we’ll be moving off to the Bay Area. So, please visit http://www.yelp.com/honolulu for some good restaurant reviews. I’ve become addicted. I’ll be yelping in the Bay Area too.

Whole Foods

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:49:26 -0700

O.K. I know, that was the shortest retirement ever. But with Brett Favre & Lance Armstrong doing it, why not me? I couldn’t resist, especially after being yelled at for taking pictures for this post.

Whole Foods opened their first store in Hawaii yesterday at the Kahala Mall. New stores here always attract large crowds and yesterday was no exception. When I went back today with my camera in tow, it was a bit more normal, but still a good sized crowd.
 One of the biggest challenges I had to adapting to Hawaii when I moved here 6 years ago was finding the ingredients for recipes I found in Gourmet, Food & Wine and my favorite cookbooks. Over time I found R. Field inside a couple of Foodlands, Kokua Market & Down to Earth. I’ve even gone to Y. Hata the big wholesale food supplier, who also will sell to you retail. In the long run I’ve eventually found most everything I need. Sometimes it takes a trip to three different stores for everything. So, the opening of Whole Foods is wonderful.

I was thrilled to see so much local produce! The bright orange “local” was everywhere throughout the produce section. In some places they even tell you the farm they come from and a little about that farm. I saw local bananas, baby bok choy, papaya, limes, oh the list goes on and on.

Next to the produce section are all the health and beauty items, including vitamins and dietary suppliments. It was the least crowded area.
There’s an Olive Bar and Charcuterie & Cheese(i.e. Deli) section next.
The fish and meat counters are next on the back wall. Ever wonder what a monchong or opah looked like?
Wines and dairy are around separate the meat from the seafood. There’s also a seafood salad self serve station.
Interesting the way they stock the yogurt.
Smoked meat is next.
Then the meat counter, which includes humanely raised veal.
All around the outer wall continues with food stations with people to cook for you. There was a Noodle & Rice bowl station, a sandwich station, a plate lunch station, a pizza station, a prepared food deli station(where I was told “no pictures”) and the bakery station.

The salad bar is large and there is also a hot bar. All at $8.99/lb.
There's also a chocolate and coffee station, near the registers.

The isles are filled with all the normal Whole Foods goodness and at Whole Foods plus the Hawaii premium prices. It’s not Costco. In fact, a spy from Costco was writing down the price of meat while I was perusing that area. So, get out your big bucks and checkout this smallish Whole Foods Store. If you’re looking for quick and easy meals there are lot of prepared things to chose from all over the store, from chopped veggies to whole meals in a box.

I’m excited to have Whole Foods to shop at for my last weeks on Oahu. With Target coming, the last couple of stores Oahu needs are Bed, Bath & Beyond and Trader Joe’s.

Bye, Bye, Blog

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:19:33 -0700

Writing this blog for a year and half has been fun, but alas my time is done. Over the next couple of months I’ll be moving back to the Bay Area. So, my time writing about Hawaii’s food and entertainment is over.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog. Visit the other Hawaii blogs listed in Links above.

The Omnivore’s 100

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:30:15 -0700

Andrew at Very Good Taste kicked off a meme, listing 100 things every omnivore should try in their life. Things I’ve had are in Bold. Things I won’t ever try are crossed out. I’m 74/100.
1. Venison 2. Nettle tea 3. Huevos rancheros 4. Steak tartare 5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding 7. Cheese fondue 8. Carp 9. Borscht 10. Baba ghanoush 11. Calamari 12. Pho 13. PB&J sandwich 14. Aloo gobi 15. Hot dog from a street cart 16. Epoisses 17. Black truffle 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (raspberries, cherries, crab apple) 19. Steamed pork buns 20. Pistachio ice cream  21. Heirloom tomatoes 22. Fresh wild berries 23. Foie gras 24. Rice and beans 25. Brawn, or head cheese 26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche 28. Oysters 29. Baklava 30. Bagna cauda 31. Wasabi peas 32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl  33. Salted lassi 34. Sauerkraut 35. Root beer float 36. Cognac with a fat cigar 37. Clotted cream tea 38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O 39. Gumbo 40. Oxtail 41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (Honey ants. Not bad, not great.) 43. Phaal 44. Goat’s milk 45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (Lagavulin Distiller's Reserve ... swoon) 46. Fugu (I want to live) 47. Chicken tikka masala 48. Eel 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut 50. Sea urchin 51. Prickly pear 52. Umeboshi 53. Abalone 54. Paneer 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal 56. Spaetzle 57. Dirty gin martini (YUCK!) 58. Beer above 8% ABV  59. Poutine 60. Carob chips 61. S’mores 62. Sweetbreads (crisp-fried at a Brazilian restaurante) 63. Kaolin 64. Currywurst 65. Durian (disgusting!) 66. Frogs’ legs 67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (all of the above) 68. Haggis (surprisingly good!) 69. Fried plantain 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (not a fan) 71. Gazpacho 72. Caviar and blini 73. Louche absinthe 74. Gjetost, or brunost 75. Roadkill 76. Baijiu (but I’ve had shochu)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie 78. Snail 79. Lapsang souchong  80. Bellini 81. Tom yum 82. Eggs Benedict 83. Pocky 84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (French Laundry) 85. Kobe beef 86. Hare 87. Goulash 88. Flowers 89. Horse 90. Criollo chocolate 91. Spam (I live in Hawaii, after all) 92. Soft shell crab 93. Rose harissa 94. Catfish 95. Mole poblano 96. Bagel and lox 97. Lobster Thermidor 98. Polenta 99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee 100. Snake

La Mariana Sailing Club

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:27:24 -0700

Today we learned in the Honolulu Advertiser of the passing of Annette Nahinu at the age of 93. It’s been a couple of years since I saw her sitting at her table greeting guests. I had heard that she was too frail to sit there anymore. With luck her legacy that is the fabulous Tiki Bar style La Mariana will go on.

La Mariana Sailing Club is a place I often take guests when they fly in and land anytime around lunch. It’s filled to the brim with old Waikiki Tiki style things. Nahinu loved to go to auctions when the old places were closing down or remodeling. Today La Mariana is the last place to see these bygone wonders. I’m surprised to find I don’t have a single picture of it.

Take the time to seek out La Mariana to experience that old Tiki Bar feeling. It looks it’s best at night when all the cracks are hidden in the shadows.

La Mariana Sailing Club
50 Sand Island Access Rd
Honolulu, HI 96819
(808) 848-2800

Alan Wong’s

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:29:12 -0700

Yesterday for my 49th birthday Howard treated me to a night at Alan Wong’s. It was our first time at this well known restaurant. It was a very special meal. Getting a prime time reservation ended up being a challenge, so ours was at 6:00. We were both surprised to see how full the restaurant was already. We were seated immediately and given menus. I thought it weird that my menu had all these doodles and pen marks on it. I looked at Howard’s menu and it didn’t. Then finally I noticed that it said Happy Birthday Scott, June 19, 2008 at the top. My own special menu. Cool.
The view from our table.

The menu is quite extensive and we had trouble choosing. We settled on both having the five course tasting menu with wine parings($105). We were served a nice warm delicious roll with garlic chili aioli. What better on bread than seasoned mayonnaise? Our server brought us our first wine a rosé. I didn’t catch the wine names during the evening as it was a bit loud and are server a little soft voiced.

Our appetizer took a while to come out and our server was generous and poured us more wine. The pace all night was very leisurely, bordering on slow. I suspect that the kitchen was a little behind. Later in the evening I heard the table next to us complain about it. We just relaxed and enjoyed each course and the respite between courses.
 When the appetizer arrived it was a thing of beauty. It was a crispy, crunchy poke filled deep fried piece of heaven. On the other side of the plate was a little sandwich of kalua pig, fois gras, atop some crunchy parmesan, all balanced above a martini glass of red and yellow Hamakua tomato soups. We were encouraged to sip the soup with bites of the sandwich. I choose to dunk. It was really fabulous. Boy were we off to a great start.
Appetizer duo

Next came a white wine, and the Lobster, Shrimp & Clams Ragout in a Kim Chee Coconut Curry Sauce. It was perfectly cooked. The lobster was juicy and not at all tough. The sauce was great and the whole dish worked wonderfully together. It was a good sized portion too, for a tasting menu. This was true of all the courses.
Lobster, Shrimp & Clams Ragout

A Riesling came next with the Ginger Crusted Onaga with Hamakua Mushrooms, Kahuku Corn and Miso Vinaigrette. The fish was really wonderful. Flakey and moist and perfectly seasoned. Howard and I detected hints of lemongrass in the crust of the fish, but maybe it was just the ginger. Either way it worked. Neither of us are big fans of Riesling, but it did compliment the food. The sauce and fresh corn and mushrooms underneath were very tasty.
Ginger Crusted Onaga

A shiraz blend from Australia accompanied the Twice Cooked Shortrib, Soy Braised and Grilled “Kalbi” Style with Ko Choo Jang Sauce. Wow. This dish was amazing. The sauce was perfect, the meat falling apart tender with a nice crust from the grilling. It was one of those moaning out loud at the first bite moments. A variation of the recipe is here. Get it now though as it’s on defunct Aloha Airlines’ website.
Twice Cooked Shortrib

A sweet riesling that was quite delicious came with our dessert. Of course Happy Birthday singing servers came too. The Dessert Duo was Chooclate Crunch Bar and Coconut Tapioca. Both were really good, but neither of us could finish as we were stuffed. Although I made room for the chocolate macadamia nut that came next.

If you’ve got a very special night coming up, call and make a reservation at Alan Wong’s. It certainly lives up to the hype. The only surprise of the night was a lack of an amuse bouche. It’s become so expected at high level restaurants. It makes you feel good when they bring you something that the chef sent out to you. It doesn’t matter that everyone gets one and the chef is currently on tour promoting his new cookbook. Well, maybe this trend is going away. So, now I’m not ending on the very positive note that I’d like to. So, I’ll say it was an amazing dinner to rival some of the best of my life. Well worth the expense for a special treat.

Alan Wong’s 949-2526
1857 South King Street
Third Floor

Mermaid Bar, Neiman Marcus

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:09:58 -0700

When I’m at Ala Moana Shopping Center and want to treat myself just a little I go to Mermaid Bar at Neiman Marcus. It’s more casual than Mariposa, but I always still feel a little under dressed in my shorts and t-shirt. I soldier on as if nothing was amiss. I’m usually alone and sit at the counter that looks out at the parking lot, the beach park and beyond. When the winds are right I can watch airplanes go zipping by shortly after takeoff.

I’m ashamed to say that even though I’ve been here close to a dozen times, I’ve only ever had two things. My favorite is the Duke of Windsor Sandwich ($10). It’s smoked turkey, real off the bone turkey, mango chutney, cheddar cheese spread, and pineapple on grilled egg bread. It’s a great panini. The accompanying kettle style chips are wonderful too.

Then there’s that little ramekin of corn relish. It’s really the reason I go to Mermaid Bar. It’s delicious. The sandwich is very good too.

The other sandwich I love here is the Panini Antipasti ($11): prosciutto, sopressata, ham, provolone, olive oil, balsamic, and ciabatta bread. It’s also grilled and salty wonderfulness. Along with the chips it’s probably a couple of day’s worth of sodium intake. I certainly drink a lot of water the afternoon I have this sandwich.

The service is generally attentive, but as a single diner I still run into those moments when I’m ready to move onto the next step before the server is. Usually, it’s settling the bill when this happens. Still, I recommend Mermaid Bar for when the food court in the basement won’t do. All in all, it’s not much more expensive. In fact I’ve spent more downstairs and been way more disappointed.

Mermaid Bar 951-3428
Neiman Marcus 2nd floor
Ala Moana Shopping Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.

Hours:
M-Sat 10am-5pm
Sun 11am-5pm

Mr. Ojisan

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:29:26 -0700

When I lived in California and started going to Japanese restaurants I was always confused and perplexed when walking in and the entire staff yells at you. This didn’t happen back in Ohio. My mother and I would go to lunch at Otani but we never got that reception. I did figure out that it was some kind of greeting, but what they were saying remained a mystery to me until a couple of years ago when I took a Japanese class in Kaneohe. Irashaimasen is “welcome” and used only for places of business. You won’t be greeted at someone’s home this way.

Walking into Mr. Ojisan last night we were warmly greeted with irashaimasen from everyone. Then we were led to a table and seated. The table next to us was just a few inches away. It almost felt like I was dining with the couple next to us. It was about 7:00 and apparently they were already out of the special of the night, salmon three ways. I wonder if they were maybe just keeping some on the side for regulars. More about that later.

We both ordered two item combos at $19 each. I had the sashimi and tempura. Howard ordered the tonkatsu and soft shell crab. It’s a full meal, starting out with a salad, with the traditional miso dressing. It was pretty standard fare, as was the miso soup that came next. Before we had time to barely taste the soup our meals were descending on us. The kitchen is certainly quick, but this was rushed. I observed most tables being served very quickly though.
Howard’s tonkatsu was moist and tender with a light coating of panko. It was good, but doesn’t approach Kaffe Imperial’s katsu. The plate was rounded out with some tofu, rice, pickly things and potato salad. His crab came out a couple of minutes later along with my tempura.

My sashimi was fresh and tasty. It was ahi, octopus, and a white fish I couldn’t identify. The plate was similarly outfitted with pickled cabbage and the soft tofu. The tofu was very nice and when we asked if it was house made we got a funny answer. Our server said “No.” We explained that we thought it delicious and suspected it was homemade. Then she leaned over and told us we could buy it at Sam’s Club. That gave us a good chuckle.

The soft shell crab was crunchy and crabby. I still get a little freaked out eating the whole animal. I can’t say why. The crab flavor was very strong, bordering on too strong for me. It was perfectly cooked though and very pretty. The tempura was crunchy too, but the batter was a bit heavy. Once again it was pretty standard fare.

Dessert was either a adzuki bean soup or ice cream. I opted for the adzuki bean ice cream. I’m not a fan. Ice cream should be smooth and creamy, this was not. It had weirdly dry taste.

Mr. Ojisan puts out good solid Japanese food. It’s not a place I’d seek out again, but wouldn’t mind if we ended up there again. It has a faithful following of regulars. Many of the reviewers complain about bad service in deference to the regulars. I can’t say we experienced that. Our service was very good. That said, I did notice that the regulars got a extra level of reverence, which they should. Regulars are the mainstay of many a restaurant. They depend on them and treat them as valued customers. I’ll never know if the specials were only for the regulars last night and I would never have even suspected without reading Yelp reviews before going. It was curious that they were out already at 7:00.

Mr. Ojisan 735-4455
1016 Kapahulu Ave Ste 140 (Kilohana Square)
Honolulu, HI 96816

Macky’s Kahuku Sweet Shrimp Truck

Sun, 8 Jun 2008 19:15:14 -0700

I can’t believe I’ve lived in Hawaii for 6 years and just got around to having my first shrimp truck experience. I’ve guess I’ve been a little worried about the quality of food coming out of lunch wagons. A couple of years ago I ate out of some of these trucks in Tahiti and that really changed my mind. They’re a big thing in Tahiti, these mobile restaurants. I had great crepes, wonderful steak frites with blue cheese and one of the best pizza’s of my life out of what they call “roulettes.” Still, in my mind was stuck the image of friends who got sick eating shrimp out of one of these north shore trucks.

I’ve eaten my share of Kahuku shrimp though. When we lived in Kaneohe we would take visitors around the island and then stop on the way back and buy live shrimp and corn and boil everything up when we got back home. Fresh shrimp do taste better. I just hated that flopping noise they made in the bag all the way home.

Macky’s Hakuku Sweet Shrimp Truck was voted the best shrimp truck last year in Honolulu Magazine. A year or so ago I saw that they had moved into Haleiwa next to the 7-11. I thought about going. But still never did. After snorkeling today at Shark’s cove, Howard suggested a shrimp truck and I recommended Macky’s. I’m glad I did. When we arrived we were immediately enthusiastically greeted and explained our lunch options. The staff was very friendly.

I had the lemon pepper shrimp as did Howard. They were excellent. The lemon pepper butter sauce was very good. The two scoops of rice were nicely cooked too with a little of the sauce on them. A salad rounded out the plate nicely. There was just enough shrimp for most people, although big eaters will want more. Craig had the spicy shrimp and Susan the garlic shrimp. Everyone was happy. The shrimp were also perfectly cooked, not at all rubbery.

All plates are $11 for a half pound of shrimp and for the quality I think worth it. I’ll certainly go back. They also have coconut shrimp, which I’m now anxious to try.

Macky’s Shrimp Truck, next to 7-11 at 66-632 Kamehameha Hwy, Haleiwa. 780-1071
KC & her pup nursing on the North Shore of Oahu.

Uncle’s Fish Market & Grill

Fri, 23 May 2008 19:29:31 -0700

I’ve been here twice, both times with really disappointing food. I went for lunch this week and had Fish & Chips. It should be called Fish Sticks and Fries. The fish of the day was Ono. I feel horribly sorry that a fish died to make this bad lunch for me. It seems almost sacrilegious to ruin Ono in this fashion. It was heavily breaded and then fried to hell and back. The result was a crunchy piece of dried up fish that required a sip of drink for every bite or gobs and gobs of tartar sauce. The fries on the other hand were under cooked. Limp and lifeless, fat and soggy. Exactly what I hate in a French fry. To add insult to injury the basket of food was $12.95 and not all that generous. As the joke goes “The food was terrible........and SUCH small portions.”

As far as I’m concerned two strikes and you’re out. I won’t be back to Uncle’s.

Uncles Fish Market & Grill 275-0063
1135 N Nimitz Hwy
Honolulu, HI 96817

Keo’s Thai Cuisine

Sun, 18 May 2008 11:55:17 -0700

Keo’s Thai Cuisine is a venerable institution in Waikiki. I first ate at Keo’s when it was down on Kapahulu Avenue many years ago. The current location has a much better atmosphere. It’s open and cheery. There are flowers everywhere, however increasingly silk ones, I notice. The economy has everyone economizing.

The problem with venerable institutions is that they often get complacent and let things slip. I’m not happy to report that Keo’s has indeed slipped. It hasn’t fallen in to the depths, but it’s not the superior Thai food I’ve come to expect.

We arrived at prime time on Friday night and were promptly seated. That was a surprise. I guess visitor count is really down. Our sever was prompt in greeting us and did a fair job all night, but I suspect he left most of our food sitting under the warming lights for a while. It wasn’t hot when it came out. Warm yes, but not fresh from the pan hot. Our spicy sea scallops weren’t cold, but not far from it. They certainly weren’t spicy either. A real disappointment. The penang curry was better and warmer. The chicken drumettes came out a few minutes later and were fresh from the fryer and piping hot. They had some spice on them that I don’t care for. The sauce was sweet and tasty.

I haven’t given up on Keo’s but I’d much rather go to his Mekong II on S. King St. On my recent visit there the food was much better than here at Keo’s. Plus, the entrees are a dollar or two less.

Keo’s Thai Cuisine 951-9355
2028 Kuhio Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii,96815

New Kapahulu Chop Suey

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:12:05 -0700

New Kapahulu Chop Suey is an unassuming place next to Ono Hawaiian Foods. They certainly get some of the overflow. Sunday night was my second time there and I must say the food is good. Friends from Washington, D.C. were in town and this was one of their favorites when they lived here. It was dark and hot when we walked in, but they quickly turned on the A/C and lights.

We ordered way too much food, but somehow managed to eat almost all of it. We started with a delicious and spicy hot and sour soup. It was really good. I don’t remember what order the rest came in but we also had very crispy mochiko chicken, beef chow fun, a really excellent steamed sea bass, ong choi, and pork with taro. I enjoyed it all. Our friends picked up the tab, but the prices here are really reasonable, even the menu says so on the front.
Mochiko Chicken, Beef Chow Fun (half eaten!) and in the back Steamed Sea Bass.

Pork with Taro. The sauce was really good.

New Kapahulu Copy Suey 734-4953
730 Kapahulul Ave

Tiki’s Grill & Bar

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 13:20:58 -0700

Having a bunch of friends with different culinary desires and needs sometimes limits us in choices of restaurants. Last night after not having been to Tiki’s for a year and half it’s where we ended up with the gang. Arriving at 7:15 on a weekend night a couple of years ago would have meant a long wait. Perhaps the airline collapse and declining visitor count is really taking it’s toll, as we got right in with our party of seven. Actually, the place never really filled up.

I have a very roller coaster opinion of Tiki’s. One time I’ll think “we should come here more often” and the next time I’ll think “why do we come here?” We had a great time and good food the last time; it was Halloween 2006. Staying with the roller coaster metaphor, I’d say last night we were half way down the hill. My major problem with Tiki’s is value. The prices are kind of high for what you get. If you are lucky to be seated outside then that helps add to the value, but I’ve never been seated outside.

I supposed it’s time to talk about food. I had the Cobb Salad ($14). It was solidly good, but nothing too exciting here. It was nicely composed, but it didn’t distinguish itself from any other Cobb salad. It’s pictured above.

Ed had the “local” plate of lau lau, kalua pork, etc. I think he enjoyed it very much. He kept mentioning how good it was. I know he loved the purple mashed sweet potatoes. John had some kind of fish and it looked wonderful. He was perplexed by the long beans surrounding it. A new experience for John. Tim had the Gnocchi with Kalua Pork without the pork. He enjoyed it. I tasted it and was glad I didn’t order it. Just not my thing. Howard had a house salad and fried calamari katsu steak. He didn’t notice that the calamari with a cream sauce, his achilles heel. So, this wasn’t a favorite of Howard’s.

I’d report on the remaining two diner’s dinners, but alas the seats were ultimately left for Elijah. The service was good throughout. Overall, not a bad experience, just nothing special for the price.

Sushi King

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:31:27 -0700

Three years of living a half a block away from this place I can’t believe I’d never tried it until today. A hankering for tempura is what drew me here for lunch. The place was jumping with all the tables filled, so they put me at the sushi bar.

Sushi King is well known for their value. They have an early bird, late night and lunch deals. At lunch there are several items for $8.95 which come with miso soup, pickles, sushi, rice and your main dish. Tempura was my choice. First came the miso soup. It was delicious and filled with all kinds of veggies. I asked and my waiter said that there were carrots, turnips, daikon, onion and more.

Very promptly my tempura and sushi arrived. There were two pieces of shrimp and a few veggies. The tempura was extra crisp and crunchy. Just like I like it. The dipping sauce was also a bit different than I’ve had before and excellent. The salad dressing was also good, but I could have used a little more. I did have to flag down my server to get some wasabi as it was left off the spicy tuna roll plate. The tuna rolls were also top notch. Not too spicy and the tuna tasted of a better quality than I’m used to in spicy tuna rolls.

It was a lot to eat for lunch, but I managed, leaving some salad and rice. Sushi King is well worth seeking out, especially if you’re budget conscious.

Sushi King 947-2836
2700 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826

Sous Vide at home. It can be done.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:01:38 -0700

Sous Vide is a popular technique in fancy restaurants around the world these days. Sous Vide means “under vacuum” in French. I’ve been intrigued with the method for a couple of years now. Being a proud owner of my second Foodsaver vacuum sealer, I thought there must be a way for me use this method at home. Internet research turned up a lot of naysayers. Most of them are most worried about food safety. It’s a big concern of mine too. What cook wants to make people sick?

Early last week I stumbled across a blog that addressed the food safety issue for the home sous vide cook. It put me at ease and best of all linked me to a site for the relatively inexpensive($75) piece of equipment I needed: a Ranco Electric Temperature Control. The restaurants use an immersion circulator and they run several hundred dollars. I don’t have that kind of dough for experimental cooking techniques. Both of these devices are used to keep a water bath at a constant temperature. Sealed bags of food are cooked for long periods in the water bath.

I used the Ranco E.T.C. to control my crock pot. You plug it into the wall, plug the crock pot into it, fill the crock pot with water and place the temperature sensor into the water. After you set the desired temperature the controller turns the crock pot on and off. I found it worked best with the crock pot on the high setting. I let it go for a couple of hours as a test.

I decided to start out small and cook some tenderloin steaks. I had read about some other people’s experience and over seasoning, so I stuck with salt and pepper. The Foodsaver sealed the steaks up nicely.

Medium Rare is 130° F, so I set the controller to that. Once the water was at that temperature I put the bags in and let it go.

Frequently I checked the temperature of the water with a digital candy thermometer. The controller did a fairly good job, but is probably off by a degree or two. For the next three hours I heard the controller click, turning on and off the crock pot. As I checked on the bags, I noticed a bit of juice collecting in the bags. I was worried about the juices coming out; wondering if I was going to end up with some dry steaks. Of course I don’t really know how much juice comes out when grilling or frying as those juices don’t collect anywhere. They either drip away or caramelize.

One of the benefits of sous vide cooking is that the meat never goes beyond the temperature of the water bath. So, meat will be uniformly medium rare from edge to edge using a 130° degree bath. However, it will be missing that wonderful caramelization. As you can see to the left, the finished steak. This was after three hours in the crock pot. To make steak more appetizing I seared them in a hot pan on the stove. The final product is at the top of this article.

So, the big question is how did it taste? To be honest, it was under seasoned, bland. It was however, very, very tender. The steaks were perfectly medium rare from edge to edge.

Next time, I think I’ll try a tougher cut of meat and definitely use a seasoning rub. A big roast would be nice with this method, browning it in a very hot oven at the end. I also imagine a turkey breast would be juicy and nice. It’s fun to have a new kitchen toy to play with.

Rosie’s Cantina, Haleiwa

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:12:36 -0700

We were spending part of the weekend at friend’s condo in Waialua and decided to head out to Rosie’s Cantina for dinner. We’ve been to the other Mexican place before and much prefer Rosie’s.

The four of us were seated immediately and very soon after our server showed up to take drink orders. The obligatory chips and salsa showed up too. The prompt service continued throughout the evening. We all ordered and in the end we were all pretty happy with the food. It was good solid Mexican food. I found the guacamole particularly delicious. I had the carnitas, pictured above. The meat was flavorful, if a tiny bit dry. The rolled tortillas were warm and stayed that way atop the rice. It was an interesting and creative presentation. Everyone was pretty happy with their food. The real problem was with one of the margaritas. It was really sweet. Too sweet. When we asked about it we were told it was because it was a single shot, while the other one at the table was a double. Hmm....

What seemed to be very popular that I’ll have to go back for is the Fried Ice Cream. We saw many of them served, including a family of four that came in just for that. When you’re in Haleiwa, check out Rosie’s Cantina.

Rosie’s Cantina 637-3578
66-165 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712

Imanas Tei

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:48:31 -0700

Having read about Imanas Tei for quite a while we finally got around to having dinner there last night. It’s just down the street and tucked away, hardly seen from the street. We arrived in heat of the dinner rush, but didn’t wait for more than 15 minutes or so for a table. The hostess was very sweet and guided us to sit outside on benches for our table.

Inside it’s a warm, cozy and convivial atmosphere. Some tables are shared our foursome got our own table. Very promptly we were greeted and got started trying to understand what we should order off of the extensive menu. I had heard that they were know for their Shabu Shabu style things. After a lot of consultation with our server we ended up ordering the minimum of two orders of the Chanko Nabe ($20 per order) some sushi and small plates. A very thin flounder sashimi, (picture to the right) which was quite good came first. It was followed up by a delicious seaweed salad. Next up was a fried tofu, with a wonderful dark sauce that made the whole dish. In fact we dipped other things in the sauce it was so good. Fried chicken came too, which was good, but not my favorite. Everything came out very quickly, rapid fire. The kitchen and sushi chefs are a well oiled machine.

Andrew ordered some nigiri and insisted that I taste the uni (sea urchin). I’ve never had it before and liked the taste, but not really the texture. It tasted a little smoky and as Andrew said: of the sea. Precisely, you can taste the ocean. He raved about the quality and taste of all his nigiri.

All the little plates were cleared out of the way and a portable burner was brought with a copper bowl on top. Into it went a dashi broth and it was turned on to heat up. When it was bubbling away our server reappeared and began assembling the dish from the large beautifully prepared platter of ingredients. In went pork sausage, all kinds of seafood, cabbage, two kinds of tofu, cellophane noodles, Korean mochi, watercress, bok choy, burdock, chicken chunks and finally some thinly sliced beef. We were told it would all take about five minutes to cook and the server would be back to let us know when it was ready. We could hardly wait and took the opportunity to taste the broth to keep it from boiling over.

After the five minutes was up the waiter appeared and told us to dig in. We did with gusto. It was excellent. All the different flavors and tastes worked well together. Our biggest surprise was the Korean Mochi. It was like a noodle in the broth and really good. We had to ask what it was. After we finished off the bowl our server re-appeared to make the rice soup. I read this morning that it was supposed to be made with the broth leftover in the bowl. However, we had drank the broth. So, our waiter brought more, with rice and egg. He made a soupy rice and egg dish that was quite delicious, but we couldn’t eat it all as we had already eaten plenty.

It wasn’t a cheap night out, but for the quality and quantity of food and drinks it was worth the $50 per person. We certainly could have ordered a lot less and not left hungry. We had three large Sapporo beers, a small bottle of sake and another glass of premium sake.

The parking lot is small and Imanas Tei is set back from the street, but do look for it. It’s right next to Puck’s Alley at the corner of King & University.

Imanas Tei Restaurant 941-2626
2626 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96826

Buca Di Beppo

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 11:33:26 -0700

I usually eschew big chain restaurants, but sometimes don’t fight the will of the crowd. After the movies last night our group of 8 went to the conveniently located Buca Di Beppo at the Ward Center. They’re quite popular on a Saturday night and we had to wait about 40 minutes for a table. Happily that was 10 minutes less than what we were told. We were seated at big long booth in the bar area.

The menu and placemat are one in the same. Most dishes come in “small” and “large.” The small serving 2 or more and the large serving 4 or more. There’s also a limited number of single serving items. Some of us shared, some had the single servings. We ordered two appetizers for the table, the fried mozzarella ($10.99) and garlic bread with mozzarella ($10.49). The fried mozzarella was just right and I didn’t even burn my mouth as I usually do on fried cheese. I didn’t try the garlic bread, but is disappeared quickly, so I think it must have been good.

Next came a large caesar salad for the table, with anchovies. It was delicious. The dressing was tangy and had a good garlicky anchovy taste. The large size was enough for all of us to have a small serving. Soon after finishing our salad the entrees arrived. Howard and I split the small lasagna ($16.99). It was large and plenty for two and we ate it all. However, and it’s a big however, it wasn’t very hot. So, we sent it back to the kitchen. Our server apologized profusely and even had the manager come over to apologize. They handled the situation very well. They actually took it off our bill. The service throughout was excellent. When the lasagna came back out of the kitchen it was hotter than before, but still the center was just warm. I have to say it was delicious, but I can’t wholeheartedly endorse it.

All in all, everyone had a good time and liked the food. It was a solidly good meal, with great service and good company. With tip it was $33 per person with two bottles of wine and a round of limoncello for dessert.

Update: One of our party who was at the other end of the table and I didn’t get a chance to talk to hated the place. Absolutely refuses to go back there ever again.

Buca Di Beppo
1030 Auahi Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: 808.591.0800
Fax: 808.591.0990

Hours: Monday - Thursday: 11-10 Friday: 11-11 Saturday: 11-11 Sunday: 11-10

Kilauea Lodge, Volcano, HI

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:51:44 -0700

We’re staying in Volcano on the Big Island for the weekend and started it off with dinner at Kilauea Lodge on Thursday night. This charming place is right in Volcano Village, very close to the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The room is cozy, comfortable and nice looking.

We arrived with a 6:30 reservation and were seated immediately. We were soon greeted by our server and told about the several specials. The menu includes several kinds of game and it was hard for me to choose between rabbit and venison. I choose the Hasenpfeffer which is braised rabbit in a hearty hunter's wine sauce($27.50). Howard chose the Ostrich Schnitzel ($27.50). All entrees come with a choice of soup or salad. We both choose soup. There were three to choose from.

A house made mini loaf of bread was brought to the table. It was a hearty wheat bread. It was alright, but seemed to lack salt. Half of it was left at the end of the meal, which for this bread lover never happens. Next came my creamy potato leek soup. It was thick and tasty and a light green in color. It was about a cup and just the right amount. Howard had the duck vegetable soup. It too was delicious. The broth was a particular standout.

Our entrees arrived quickly after we were finished with our soups. The Hasenpfeffer was very good. It was served with mashed potatoes, braised cabbage, and steamed veggies. All over the rabbit was the hunter’s wine sauce. It was good, but the rabbit could have held up to a bit richer sauce. I became a bigger fan of the sauce as I ate more and added just a tiny amount of salt. Howard’s Ostrich Schnitzel was delicious. It was lightly coated with bread crumbs, fried and topped with a lemon caper sauce. The portion was quite generous; he couldn’t finish it. It also came with steamed veggies and braised cabbage. Instead of mashed potatoes he substituted rice pilaf which was a little bland and needed some salt.

I guess there’s a theme there. Perhaps we’ve gotten used to the fairly salty local cuisine in Hawaii and our palates expect more salt. Or maybe Kilauea Lodge doesn’t use enough. I don’t know which.
The dinner over all was very good, the service great, the experience fun. I’d definitely go back. It’s certainly a special occasion place, our total bill was $120 with a low end bottle of wine and tip.

Kilauea Lodge 808-967-7366
19-3948 Old Volcano Rd
Volcano Village, HI 96785

Toritos Mexican

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:51:07 -0700

The other night after much wrangling about which Mexican restaurant to go to we ended up just down the street at Toritos Mexican Restaurant at Market City. I’ve been here a few times before, but not since I started this blog.

I’ve always had at least good food here if nothing too memorable. It was much the same this time. I decided to branch out and try something new: chicken
mole (about $10). It was good, but a bit oily. A puddle was on the right side of the plate. The menu says it’s two piece of chicken, but it came with three. The beans on the side were delicious. They were somewhere between whole and refried. They had to have lard in them to be that good. The tortillas were warm and nice. The rice was, well, rice.

Alan had two enchiladas which he enjoyed. Pictured above is JP’s steaming fajitas plate(about $17). Howard liked his spicy caesar salad (about $10). Andrew enjoyed his two tacos al pastor, which is slow cooked pork. The strawberry margaritas were preferred over the mango. The mango didn’t have a lot of mango flavor. The chips weren’t my favorite as they were too thick.

The service was very good and the prices reasonable.

Toritos Mexican Restaurant
Market City Shopping Center
2919 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 735-7991

The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 19:56:30 -0800

Tuesday night was our 15th anniversary. We decided to spend our Macy’s gift cards to pay for our dinner. I hadn’t been to The Pineapple Room for a very long time. In fact it was well before I lived here. That time I sat looking out into Macy’s at women’s undergarments. Nothing like eating fine food while looking at lacy bras. This time the view was better.

My memories of the dinner long ago are vague, but definitely favorable. Alan Wong’s main restaurant consistently vies with Chef Mavro or best restaurant on Oahu. So, I know the guy can cook. (like he’s in the kitchen, ha!)

Tuesday was rainy and perhaps that’s why the restaurant was fairly empty when we arrived for our 7:00 reservation. We were immediately seated. Shortly, our server showed up. She ended up being a delight all night long. It was nice she had time to chit-chat a little. We ordered a bottle of my favorite Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay. Always fabulous and reasonably priced for a restaurant.

The appetizer ordered was the Hamakua Tomato Tarte.. It was delicious, if not quite hot enough. The crust was a tad tough to cut through too. But still I thought it good. A lot of good flavors, working well here.

Howard started with the Escargot (snails!) in Thai Curry Sauce. It was a recommendation of our server. She said she had never tried Escargot before and thought them delicious. They were soft and tender with a nice flavor in the sauce. Still, after killing so many of them when I lived in San Francisco I still have a problem eating them. (They were imported from France to San Francisco as a food source and consequently took over. A docent at Filoli Garden told me to collect them in a terrarium and feed them corn meal for a few weeks and eat them, rather than kill them. As if!)

After a short reprieve our fish entrées arrived. I had the Crab Crusted Mongchong. It was most delicious; the lobster curry sauce was incredible. The dish was light, but pretty rich too. I was very happy with it. Howard had the onaga. It also was crusted and topped with a crunchy tapioca sized rice cracker (pictured above). The crunch was great and the fish was perfect. The presentation on both dishes was impeccable; the flavors outstanding.

The host asked when making the reservation if it was a special occasion. I told him that indeed it was an anniversary. So, after dinner they brought us a special dessert of chocolate ice cream and coconut sorbet with “Happy Anniversary” written in chocolate on the plate. It was very pretty and tasted as good as it looked.

An added bonus is that this special occasion was that we were treated warmly and enthusiastically by most everyone. I thought at first that maybe the buss person had a problem with us, but after observing him at other tables it wasn’t us. He was just kind of nervous talking to all guests. And our server couldn’t have been nicer.

O.K. now here’s the weird part: I don’t feel any need to go back. I had a very good experience with good food, great service and a fine atmosphere. (the bras are gone, BTW) For a fine dining experience it was reasonably priced too ($155 for two with wine). I can’t put my finger on why. Maybe it’s just the idea of it being inside Macy’s. If it was still Liberty House, maybe I’d feel different. Still, I’d recommend it in a heartbeat. Perhaps only to find out if others feel as I do.
 I am, however, convinced that I must visit Alan Wong’s on King Street. I’ll post if I do.

The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong 945-6573
Macy’s Third Floor
Ala Moana Shopping Center
Breakfast
Sat: 8:00 am to 11:00 am
Sun: 9:00 am to 11:00 am
Lunch
Mon–Sat: 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Sun: 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Dinner
Mon–Sat: 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Tenkaippin Ramen

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:50:07 -0800

Sunday night a group of us needed to find something to eat while walking home from Waikiki down Kapahulu. We happened upon Tenakaippin Ramen. It wasn’t busy so they could accommodate our table of 6 easily. The place soon filled up after we sat down. With good reason.

Tenkaippin Ramen is an outlet of a chain in Japan. Their menu boasts a list of items imported to make the authentic ramen. Their specialty is a thick Kotteri Ramen. I’ve had it before and opted for the ramen made with pork broth with 3 gyoza. I’ve forgotten the name, but was really delicious. Andrew loved his Kotteri Ramen as well as fried rice and gyoza. Justin’s crispy chicken was also good. John & Ed had the miso ramen and they also were very happy. We shared an order of steak too, which everyone like but me. I found it dry. Howard like his ramen too, which I forget which one he got.

The service was good, although a table seated after us got their food first and the food was great. We will be back.

Update: I’ve been back twice. The ramen I really like is called Paitan Ramen. Pork and chicken based slightly creamy broth. I like the Miso Ramen at Sumo Ramen better than the one here. The one here was in fact more complex in flavor, but lacked the miso punch that I like. Maybe I need to order it with extra miso.

Tenkaippin Ramen 732-1211
617 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816

Gazen Izakaya

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 10:47:06 -0800

Gazen Izakaya is just around the corner from my home and as regular readers will know it’s a recurring theme here to stay close to home. Especially with the way traffic has been lately. It’s been around for probably over a year and we finally got around to trying it last night. When we walked up at around 6:30 we found the parking lot completely full. That’s always a good sign.

Gazen is a Japanese style pub, Izakaya. They have a full bar and it’s a cozy, warm and nicely appointed place, but not small by any means. It’s a bit loud with after work drinking and eating, but not so loud that you have to yell to others at your table. The two of us were seated between to big parties of after workers, which made for great people watching.

The menu is long and extensive and is centered on small plates. We ordered three, which was just barely enough. I could have eaten more, but didn’t need to. The kitchen got slammed right when we got there as several tables had just been seated. Consequently, they were a little slow, but our server was timely.

The first dish to arrive was the three choices of sashimi (chef’s choice). It was hamachi, ahi and snapper. They were all very fresh; the ahi particularly buttery. The hamachi was good, but the snapper was even better. It was about $23 for this nice looking plate the best quality sashimi.

Gazen is known for their house made tofu. So, we had to order something tofu. We got the tofu steak with chicken miso sauce and it arrived next . The dish was tasty, but not extraordinary. I couldn’t tell that it was homemade tofu, but I’m no tofu expert. The tofu had a medium firmness.

Our third dish was the deep fried scallop roll sushi. It was amazing. The took small chunks of scallop or small bay scallops and deep fried the to be the center of this roll. Also inside was asparagus, nori and probably other things I didn’t look for. Howard called this one a definite re-order. I have to agree. It came with a sauce that looked like miso, but I also like it with soy sauce and wasabi too.

I was a bad boy, not noting the prices of each dish, but our total bill, with tip came out to $55. Not a cheap night out, but for the quality of the food it was worth it.

Gazen
2840 Kapiolani Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96806
(808) 737-0230

New Year’s Ohana Festival Japanese Cultural Center Hawaii

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:13:01 -0800

Today was the Japanese Cultural Center’s New Year’s Ohana Festival, just down the street from where I live. We can hear some of the performances from our lanai. I had read that they would be serving Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki and I wanted to try this other style from the two okonomiyaki places in town (Kansai).

By far the longest line at the food booths was for the okonomiyaki. The line moved at a good pace and someone came through and gave us the recipe. The booth was being run by the company that makes the sauce. I asked about MSG, based on my other two experiences and was told it was only in the sauce. The two grills they had were pumping out 6 okonomiyaki at a time, each. Pretty impressive. I waited about 10 minutes and they cost $7 in scrip.

This style of okonomiyaki has noodles inside as the main difference from the Kansai style. I was in such a hurry to taste I didn’t get a picture of it in the styrofoam carryout box. You can see them sauceless in the picture. It had the same flavors as the others I’ve had, but not as complex and delicious as at Chibo. I liked the noodles in there too.

We watched some taiko drumming while we ate and then walked around the rest of the festival. Little girls dancing ending our trip to the Ohana Festival. I had a little bit of an MSG reaction, but it wasn’t too bad.

Comment from old site:
alan
Somehow I totally missed that this event was happening until it was already over. Too bad too, as I've wanted to try Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki for some time, having only ever tried Osaka style at Chibo or from my mother-in-law. Maybe next year...
Monday, January 14, 2008 - 09:28 PM

Café Kaila - Market City

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 14:40:04 -0800

Café Kaila is a newish restaurant in the Market City Shopping Center. It’s in part of what was the Blockbuster. It’s a cheery, welcoming space. The menu offers all day breakfast as well as lunch items and some entrées that look like possible dinner items. It’s a good sized menu, with something for everyone. The menu also has a carefully worded warning at the bottom: “ALL ENTRÉES ARE MADE TO ORDER FROM SCRATCH. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. THANK YOU.” It really stands out in all caps like that; basically saying: our kitchen is slow, but for a good reason. I’m not sure it’s a wise idea to advertise that. But then again, the kitchen acted as promised and I knew what to expect.

I ordered the Kaila Salad($7.50): mixed greens, dried cranberries, walnuts, feta cheese, cucumbers and shredded carrots with a raspberry vinaigrette. It’s served with focaccia bread, which was on the dry side, but somewhat mitigated with some butter. The salad is a tasty combination of flavors and the only thing holding it back from being a complete success was too much dressing.

I’m so glad to have a new lunch place in the neighborhood with reasonable prices. Their sign says dinner coming soon. I’ll certainly go back.

Café Kaila
Market City Shopping Center
2919 Kapiolani Boulevard 
Tentative hours are:
Mon. - Fri., 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat. & Sun., 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.