glossyp

We dined the other evening at Chef Mavro in Honolulu. He has a new pastry chef and she created a wonderful dessert of a rosemary chocolate substance wrapped in a gelatin "canneloni." The chocolate was thick and rich yet creamy. It wasn't frozen and it wasn't mousse. What would you properly call this filling and is there a French term for it? Thanks for any and all assistance!

Actually, the Hawai`i meat jeon is different from "dong geu rang ddaeng", though I should have remembered the latter are sometimes called gogi (i.e. meat) jeon. Confusing! Local-style "meat jeon" (the English word "meat" is always used) is made from pieces of intact beef about the size of chicken-fried steak, which are dipped in egg and pan-fried (actually, sometimes deep-fried!). To those who haven't tried them, "dong geu rang ddaeng" are little egg-dipped seasoned meatballs that are pan-fried - one of those things that if I'm at a buffet party I'll just keep hanging around the table and take "just one more" around 50 times. Thanks SK. I knew if I waited a bit you'd clarify the confusion. BTW, I know what you mean about gorging on "meatballs"!

A bit off topic but...the infamous meat jun or jeon! When I first met my beloved (who is from Hawaii) he kept telling me about this great Korean dish called meat jun. Now, I adore Korean food, I lived in Korea for years, ate at Korean restaurants throughout Asia but I had never seen or heard of this meat jun. We moved to Hawaii and lo and behold there it was on every Korean fast food menu! A great example of cuisine adaption to local products and tastes.

Interesting discussion. My personal experience is all I can comment on and that is this: I myself spend a great deal of time thinking about, finding and preparing food but our household is just two adults. My brothers on the other hand have growing families. All of us siblings grew up in a house where our mother prepared all of the food from scratch including our breads. We had a garden and fruit trees as well. Soda pop, dried cereal and such processed foods were not part of our lives. My brothers do all of the cooking that happens in their households from breakfasts, school lunches and dinners. Both of my sister-in-laws are busy professionals and come from the "food is fuel" school of thought as opposed to "food as pleasure, passion or spiritual" school that many eGulleters do. As a result there has been a compromise in food areas which I wouldn't consider as they buy and use food products with an eye to convenience, economy of time and cost. The family activities are centered around school, church and community - not food. This is a choice they have made and which I cannot fault though it took me some time to accept that this is was a conscious choice they made.

If possible you should have her get some of the vanilla which is being grown on the Big Island by the Hawaiian Vanilla Company (link below). I grew up on Mexican vanilla (mother would make trips to Mexico just to purchase it) and more recently always used Tahitian vanilla. That was until I came to Hawaii and was introduced to the vanilla being grown here; it's truly exceptional. http://www.hawaiivanilla.com/

Thank you so much Rachel! I enjoy your posts over in the Hawaii forum. This trip to Mexico is my first in over fifteen years. When I was growing up we traveled extensively in Mexico and Guatemala and my parents would often spend a month or two in either Guadalajara or SMA so I am truly looking forward to it. I will definitely try the German restaurant, Berlin, and the carnitas up the road. Otherwise, I'll just snoop around and see what I find. This is a family reunion of sorts so I'm not sure of my schedule (my brother is the producer of this event as it were!) but if the opportunity arises I will certainly get in touch with you. Thanks again.

Hello everyone. I looked for a thread with specific restaurant recs for San Miguel but didn't find anything though I did see the one for the various markets. The visit is brief (only about week) so some guidance from the friendly and knowledgable egullet community would be deeply appreciated!

A bit of off topic but I didn't want to start a new thread. Wong and Mavro fans will be happy to know that Gayot has included these two Honolulu restaurants in their list of the Best 40 Restaurants in America. Wong gets 17/20 and Mavro 18/20. You can find the complete list at gayot.com. I was pleased about Mavro's recognition as I do consider him to be in a league of his own when it comes to precise execution of very creative yet palatable food.

I always think of mochi or sweet rice as well but I'm not sure either if that's what people mean when they refer to 'sticky rice'...

Completely agree with your conclusion that there is no way to know what these polls mean about the dining out culture of the state. In regards to your first point however, it would be quite simple for a motivated restaurant owner or manager to purchase large quantities of papers with ballots inside (ballots were available in several editions), fill them out and send them in. In fact, this was alleged by a restaurant person I was speaking with recently. This person actually claimed that the management purchased hundreds of papers and instructed employees to fill them out and then mailed them. I suppose an investigative reporter who was so inclined could do the research to verify or debunk this accusation - if a media outlet thought it was a worthwhile story. Somehow I suspect it's not!

What a great challenge! Having enjoyed all types of bento from Hokkaido to Shimonoseki including the famous (sometimes infamous) station bentos, I will set forth to find great bento in Hawaii.

Just got the printed insert...I can now guess that the reason BluWater Grill got a Critics' Choice has to do with the large full-page ad. I agree with skchai that it's hard to know what to make of reader polls of good restaurants. There are some thoughts that spring to mind but I'm going to meditate on whether they're worth saying. Adding this link to recent review done by us (written based on a meal last Saturday and posted on-line Sunday.) The award is truly incomprehensible on several levels. When you read the blurb about why it was selected "affordable prices" is one of them and then they give it $$$ the same as La Mer and Merriman's... http://www.hawaiidiner.com/reviews/review.php?review=30

I've always enjoyed that Japanese classic of tuna and corn for an odd combo that works as pizza. SPAM luncheon meat chopped with onions and thai peppers tossed with a bit of lime as a pizza topping was enjoyed in Palau.

They've got to be kidding about the BluWater Grill...especially as a critics' choice.

Thanks for taking the time to check...I truly appreciate it!

A big mahalo to all who offered suggestions, advice and support. Especially, I want to thank Peter for being here. I have located a copy of The Bread Baker's Apprentice at the Kahala Mall Barnes & Noble (Borders doesn't even have it in their database???) and they are holding it for me. Hopefully, I will have a report on "enlightened" bread baking efforts before Peter signs off at the end of the week!

I tried calling their number and it is disconnected. I haven't been there for a few months so if anyone in that area knows or has heard please let me know.

My mother was brilliant at baking all sorts of bread and did so with deceptive ease. A few years ago I decided to follow in her footsteps (r.i.p. mom!) and have struggled to produce consistently edible bread. I live in a very high humidity climate (70-80% year round) and I know that has an effect. Which of your books would you recommend? I still consider myself a novice in spite of weekly efforts. I have been most successful with the milk bread and white sandwich bread recipes in the 97 edition of Joy of Cooking.

Could you describe what constitutes a perfect French Onion Soup? Also, where have you enjoyed superior French Onion Soup? Thank you in advance for answering.

Your point is quite right about expectations and in my experience one finds dishes or concepts specific to the master chef but, in the better places, they will also find variations on the theme. I believe in most cases it's a marketing decision and in specific cases it's possibly the egos (?) of the chefs involved which keeps the names the same. Japan in particular is such a lucrative market and the brand makes or breaks short term success - over the long haul though I think the quality of food is what gives staying power and the meeting of the diners' expectations of what the experience should be like. Off topic, but I especially appreciated your comments about French food. I am a newcomer to this cuisine (though in truth we are all familiar with many aspects of it even if we don't know it!) and I truly hope you are correct that French bistro fare is the next big trend. I just hope some one will open such a place in Honolulu.

In Hawaii and through travels around Asia, I've eaten at several of the Roy's, Sam Choy's and Alan Wong's. In my experience, it appears that the quality of the food in each restaurant rests more upon the abilities and sensibilities of the chefs running the day-to-day operations than it does on involvement of the chef with the "name" as it were. The best of these outposts (some are definitely better than others!) are manned with strong chefs who are guided by the celebrity chef rather than slavishly following a set of dictates. Just my opinion and, as I stated earlier, my only experience has been in Hawaii and Asia. Thanks to you, Mrs. Sheraton, for so graciously participating in this forum. It's an honor to read your responses, thoughts and insights.

I was fortunate to attend a seminar Dale was teaching for Halekulani staff. I wrote a short article about it which can be found at the following link: http://www.hawaiidiner.com/articles/article.php?article=312 An interview with the COO, Peter Shaindlin, will be forthcoming. Lots of changes planned for the hotel over the coming months but the interview focuses on the food & beverage aspect.

A bit off topic as far as local Filipino restaurants go but I came across the following article at OpinionJournal.com (on-line presence for the WSJ) and thought all of you might enjoy it. http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110005664 It's quite clear the writer, Tunku Varadarajan, is a bit clueless (calling it "Philippine food"!) but makes some interesting observations. I'm always surprised by the way cuisines I'm familiar with are described by "virgins" to use Mr. V's term.

As a haole who loves good filipino food and one who has enjoyed it in homes and restaurants from the Philippines and around Asia, the local restaurant I like the best is Thelma's. Golden Coin is the runner-up.