Ms. Meliss

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner but Akasaka has great sushi as well as other Japanese dishes and is open till 2am. It's across the street from 24 Hour Fitness off of Kapiolani, kind of tucked away behind those adult entertainment places.

Just wanted to thank everyone again for the great suggestions. I believe we found a location!

Thank you for your great suggestions. I will certianly look into some of these locations. It's proving to be more difficult than I thought. Interesting that most of the aforementioned locations with private or semi-private rooms are Chinese. I am open to this but am afraid the rest of the group may not be. Something along the lines of Sam Choy's BL&C menu might be more agreeable for some. I am not familiar with Buffet 100 but will look it up. If anyone else has any additional suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

Can anyone suggest restaurants that might be good locations for a weekly business luncheon? I prefer that the location has a private room that will accommodate approximately 20 people or so. Also should be fairly casual, price ranging from $10-$15 or less, have decent parking, and central location in town (trying to avoid having to go as far as Kahala or Mapunapuna, etc. but those areas are not totally out of the question). Thanks!

Thanks for the tip. I've been wanting to try Bangkok Thai for some time now, glad to hear it's good!

When will they be back at Shirokiya? Any ideas?

Thickly sliced and sauteed in butter till crisp on both sides topped with vanilla ice cream and honey or fresh fruit. Also like it as gooey bread pudding with coconut syrup or hard sauce. YUMMM! Okay, I also like eating it straight out of the package (for some reason it tastes better when you tear as opposed to slicing)

I think you are correct. Sujiko, now I know what it's called. This has to be it and now that I think about it, I do believe sake was involved! Thank you. I can't wait to try this!

Do you have a Whole Foods near by? I used to buy the pineapple from there when I lived in CO and I gotta say, they were amazingly sweet and jucy (better than some I buy here). Worth satisfying the craving if you're willing to pay for it! Hi Lone Star. I know EXACTLY what you mean. One of my best friends in CO was from Texas. The foundation of our relationship was built eating at a place called "On The Border". Queso (with homemade tortillas), cheesey fajitas, and huge blended strawberry swirl margaritas from one of those mixer thingies! Took me long time to get over it when I moved back here and everytime I go back it's a priority! skchai - Thanks for the restaurant tip. I love that journal. Hopefully I'll have time to read through some of those. It's so me! I'm analytical about everything (although I often like to make up my own theories)!

Really? I can't believe it! Why do you think that is? The price, the process, is it just not that popular? In my mind (cloudy as it may be) I consider this to be a local favorite, no? Now I'm going to start craving it. Let me know if you do. I'd love to try that!

As a kid, I loved eating Ikura (salmon roe) particularly on hot rice. I remember my grandparents preparing it with miso and possibly some other things that I'm not aware of. I believe the process involved marinating the Ikura in the miso/miso mixture for a relatively long period of time, possibly a few days to a week or so? It was one of those instances where I'd ask if I could eat it everyday (driving my grandmother nuts I'm sure) and it seemed like forever from the time the Ikura arrived at the house to when I could actually slurp it up over hot rice. Anyway, after it was marinated it was strained and rinsed using a cheese cloth and then we'd eat it. Pretty simple but I never learned how to do it and I'm wondering if anyone knows what I'm talking about and could help me out with 1)what it's called and 2)how to make it!

I don't know if I"m really supposed to post 3 separate replies in a row! Is that bad gullet etiquette? Oh well. Anyway, I feel for you. There's nothing worse than a sudden craving while your're stuck at work with crackers! This is the story of my life (I work on a college campus) but usually it's crackers and a protien bar or shake. Blahhh! I used to get that Cadburry thing when I was a kid. I tried some not too long ago and haven't craved them since. I think someone should do some scientific studies on "Cravings Across the Human Life Span or "Growth, Development and Cravings". Really, isn't it funny how a year ago you couldn't get enough of something and now you barely remember what it tasted like?

Wow! Thats amazing! I think my craving would be gone after about 7th or 8th hour. I'm more of a periodic long-term craver myself (I think the APA classifies it as something different, ha, ha) but will need to eat a lot of it right away and fast, then won't crave it again for a week or two when the viscious cycle repeats itself again!

Sorry, but in my life I just have constant cravings (I bought the k.d. lang production just for the title; the genius of the work was a bonus). Three kids in school. Debt over my neck. College and wedding expenses looming. So we could talk about everything under the sun. Bluefin Chu-toro. Hairy crab from Hokkaido. Bison filet. Chiu Chow goose. I hear you! I know, I just started to think about kumomoto oysters yesterday and the mandoo from Sis Kitchen which I guess I'll never have again! Although I don't share your love for ox-tail stew (sorry). Maybe it's cause I was raised on my grandmother's and any other is just not as satisfying. But I would imagine you can get ox-tail stew at many places. I Feel like more people I know prefer the soup instead...hummm now you got me thinking stew...like tripe mmmmm! It can't be as difficult as finding good Mexican maybe someone else will be kind enough to help you out. Happy Hunting!

Thanks for the helpful info!

This thread caught my attention so I'm reviving it! I love Kabocha but I tend to hit or miss when it comes to selecting a good one. Anyone willing to share tips on selecting a kabocha? FYI- I use it for many things but in particular to make a special kabocha dessert which requires the kabocha to be just right or else the texture of the dessert is off. I've purchased the really little ones, med. sized, and larger one's. I find that the larger one's (I'm assuming because they are more mature) are a little too dry for my purpose and even if I add H20 to it, it causes the texture of the dessert to be somewhat...gritty or starchy I guess. I need the finished product to be nice and smooth. On the other hand it can't contain too much H20 or the dessert does not set. And I also prefer the kabocha to be on the sweeter side so I don't have to add as much sugar which tends to take away from the already subtle flavor of the kabocha. Any tips on what to look for would be greatly appreciated! I tend to go for the med. sized ones with no blemishes or bumpy growths and sometimes I get lucky and get a good one but sometimes I don't

Will give this a try also! I too get frustrated with the little tins. I'm kind of in that inbetween stage. Use quite a bit but not quite enough to order massive quantities...not to mention I have absolutely no storage space!

I will give this a try. I've never made a version with corn syrup before. Thanks!

What? No body wants to share? Come on guys. It's kind of funny and nice to know you're not alone don't you think?

I must commend everyone of you on such fabulous creations! Such tremendous talent. I aspire to be able to create such complex and intricate pastries one day. For now, I'll just stick to cookies (not nearly as sophisticated) although it was nice to see that ohmyganache included decorated cookies. This is why I love baking and pastry so much, it's fun and creative and the best part is that you can eat it! Thanks for sharing. Maybe one day I'll muster up enough courage to post some cookie pics. But for now I'll leave it to you pros!

Acutally, I don't think $15 for 4 is all that bad. Especially if they are decent quality. I bought some from K-Mart (Martha brand) and they seem to do okay. I believe they were $12-13 for a set of 4 white ones. Have you tried any industrial restaurant supply stores in your area? I find that many are open to the public (no membership fee, etc.) and often sell in small quantities. Usually the quality is very good and the price is much better than you'd find in any retail store. It's worth a quick internet search or flip through your phone book. Warning: You'll probably end up buying more than just ramekins if you find a good supplier!

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I do always use Wilton brand meringue powder it's more convenient for me than storing fresh eggs and I've tried other brands of meringue powder and have generally felt that they are not quite as good. I will try the lemon juice and see how it works!

I desperately need some professional advice here as I am getting very frustrated! I love to decorate cookies but when I want to frost the cookie with white icing it becomes slightly dingey and mildly yellow-ish after a couple of days. Why is this and what's the trick to keeping the white bright? Is it best to add white coloring? Is it the brand of meringue powder I'm using? What is it? I feel like I've tried everything! Please help me! Please! I'm take pride in my cookies and want them to look their best.

I tend to go through cycles of craving random foods. I'm not talking about the usual cravings that occur from time to time for certain things but recurrent cravings for specific things that I just can't stop thinking about until they are statisfied (and I'm not pregnant). For example, lately it's been those dried apple bananas (the kind that cost a small fortune from Kokua or Down to Earth, go figure!), plain old Vanilla Yami Yogurt (even over good ice cream), and anything eggplant that's spicy. What are your wacky and/or unexplainable cravings? Or is it just me?

Are the owners the same people who own the Great Hawaiian Hot Dog stands? Matzoh Ball has got to be one of my favorite soups! Was hoping they would serve that as well. I usually cheat and use box mix when I have my periodic cravings. The custard part of the cheesecake was great. The only thing I really didn't like about it was the crust, it was somewhat charred and thought it was a little too thin.