skchai
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Posts posted by skchai
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Vikram makes a powerful case for why we should treasure shops like Swati Snacks that update traditional cuisine without stripping it of its identity. The ‘traditional-fusion’ term deserves to catch on! I would add that we should also treasure articles of the kind that Vikram writes - it's really the best kind of analytical food journalism, taking a single dish or establishment, but drawing out it broader implications in a totally convincing fashion.
Monica, moving posts from one thread to another is bit complicated. As far as I can tell, the only way to do it is to split the Tea thread, creating a new, temporary thread to "hold" the posts that belong here. You then merge the new thread with this one. The "moderatoin options" menu that allows you to this can be found at the lower left hand corner of this screen.
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Aren't "cutles" and "chaamp" actually Anglo-Hindi words, i.e. domesticated adapted English terms rather than misspellings?
Edit: just realized I mispelled misspell!
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India Cafe
2851-1 Kihei Place
Honolulu, HI 96818
808 737-4600
http://www.indiacafehawaii.com/
In many ways, it's hard to categorize the food served at India Cafe. Despite its rather generic-sounding name, the Cafe's offerings are very unusual, perhaps unique, within the U.S. context. Not only does it specialize in South Indian food, instead of the more common Mughlai / Punjabi synthesis, but its version of South Indian food is itself quite distinct, being a manifestation of the natural fusion cuisine that has risen amongst the Indian, primarily Tamil, immigrant community in Malaysia.
It's been open for about two years by now, and over that time, despite its unusual cuisine and a somewhat pared-down menu, India Cafe has developed into what IMHO may be the best Indian restaurant in the state of Hawai`i. Indeed, many of the strengths of the restaurant are a direct outcome of its decision to stick to the foods of its community, rather than bending over to adapt recipes in what may seem like a completely foreign environment. The fact that they seem to be making it work commerically is a testament in part to the adaptability and openness of the Honolulu palate, but also the familiarity of some of the ingredients (rice, coconut), if not the techniques used to prepare them.
While the recipes seem to me largely unmodified for local tastes, India Cafe does not attempt to present a large cross-section of Indo-Malaysian cuisine, but specialize in a focused part of it. In essence, it would be fair to say the much of the menu revolves around homestyle presentation of jasmine rice, nasi lemak, dosa, and/or roti pratha (paratha), surrounded or filled with curries, stir-fried vegetables, and / or sambhar. There is no fish head staring out at you from a banana leaf. No banana leaf either, for that matter, just very nice, functional rectangular ceramic platters.
I especially recommend the vegetarian versions of the dosa, roti pratha, or nasi lemak plates, which range from $5.50 to $7.50 for lunch, and slightly more for dinner. Each comes with three different vegetarian dishes, which will be discussed soon enough!
Nasi lemak is long grain rice cooked with coconut milk and flavored with pandanus leaf. In Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, nasi lemak originated as a nonya (assimilated Sino-Malay) specialty, and will typically be served surrounded by salty accompaniments such as ikan bilis (spiced anchovy), otak-otak (coconut fish paste), or fried chicken, plus sambal (chili relish). The India Cafe vegetarian version is completely different:
Here, a large pile of mildly flavored coconut rice is surround by the following: First (from left to right) is something simply called "cauliflower - stir-fried w/onions, red bell peppers & curry leaves". Besides being yellow with turmeric, the cauliflower dish has a noticeable tarka (spice oil infusion) of not only curry leaf but also black mustard, cumin, and some kind of whole dahl. Second is again prosaically named - "spicy eggplant". This has quite a kick, plus a mild sourness in the sauce (presumably tamarind?), plus a similar tarka to the cauliflower. The final accompaniment, "tofu sambal", is made from deep-fried firm tofu which has then been stir-fried with plenty of garlic and chilis. Each of the dishes offers up a different sort of textured spiciness, which you then offset by shoveling huge amounts of the nasi lemak into your mouth. What can I say - an excellent experience overall, but paradise for the inveterate rice eater. There is also a non-veg version of the nasi lemak, which I haven't tried, which allows you to pick two of the following: lamb masala, curried chicken, or spicy shrimp.
The dosa plates are available in bewildering, and somewhat unsystematic, variety. At lunch, you can choose from the "one plain dosai" (sic - isn't "dosai" plural?), "two plain dosai", "one sweet scrambled egg dosai", or "one garlic onion dosai" plates. At dinner, however, only the "two sweet scrambled egg dosai" or "two garlic onion dosai" plates are available - not a plain dosa in sight! Every dosai plate comes with coconut chutney and a split pea sambhar, which has within in an interesting mixture of vegetables which again shows some of the Far Eastern influence - carrots, onions, daikon (icicle radish), and long beans. For the vegetarian dosai, you can choose from three from six different accompaniments, of which three are the same as those which accompany the vegetarian nasi lemak.
Since we were already having the nasi lemak, and it was lunchtime, we asked for the other three vegetable preparations to accompany two plain dosai. From left to right: "Curried potatoes" seems to be the familiar masala potato "puttu" that you get inside a masala dosa, though a bit saucier than the norm. "Mixed vegetable masala" is also semi-wet, consisting of carrots, green beans, and yet more potato in a coconut-accented sauce. Finally, there is a "cabbage kari", cooked in rich coconut milk and mildly spiced. All excellent stuffings for your dosai. BTW, it was the waiter who balanced the sambhar precariously on top of the dosai - this was not my attempt at a dramatic photo composition.
The dosai themselves seem to be made out a conventional rice or combination rice / urad dal. There's a definite tang to the them, indicating natural leavening through fermentation, and the chef(s) at India Cafe do a wonderful job of cooking them to utter crispness. The ridged undersides of each dosa attest both the fermentation and the crispness of the final procuct:
Liquid accompaniments to the meal include Malaysian style "teh tarek" (tea tossed with condensed milk), as well as "kopi tarek" and watermelon juice.
If you want to just enjoy a solitary cup of tea or coffee and catch up on your Bollywood reading, India Cafe kindly offers you full range of publications for your viewing pleasure.
The Cafe is located in a tiny strip mall on Kihei St., off of Kapahulu Ave. It's really impossible to see from Kapahulu, though they have put up a banner on the fence facing the street. Just remember that it is in the same complex as Mr. Ojisan and is across Kapahulu from K.C. Drive-In. I hope they can continue to stay in business and grow - Hawai`i could certainly use more Indian and Southeast Asian restaurants, not to mention Indian-Southeast Asian restaurants!
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thanks for the report, lym. I agree that the sashimi is much improved due to the fact that it doesn't sit out on the buffet table. Service the time we went was also fairly prompt despite the fact that people seemed to be ordering everything in sight. . . .
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If the Amul Ghee exported to the U.S. is the same as that sold in India, then you may be able to find buffalo milk ghee at your local Indian grocery. Amul foods are distributed in the U.S. by Kanan Dairy Products. If your local grocery doesn't carry it, you can order it online at Namaste.com (scroll to the bottom half of the pages). Maybe I'll order some now. . .
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As to the color of the carrot puddng -- we're not just talking the orange color of carrots here. I mean like it was artificially enhanced, super day glo colored orange.
I could be food coloring you saw - but, as mentioned earlier, there would be none if you were to eat it at a decent restaurant in India. For the carrot halwa, artificial coloring would be unnecessary in Northern India because they use the red Punjabi carrot - which is a stunning scarlet color to begin with (not to mention much more flavorful). In the U.S., color is probably added to recreate the appearance of the original dish even though the all they have available are pale supermarket carrots.
A similar explanation can be used for the use of colorings in other North Indian dishes served in the West. Roghan Josh, for instance, is naturally a bright red in India because of the use of mild but colorful Kashmiri chilis, as well as cockscomb flowers. Since neither is available here, food coloring is used. . .
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Though you rightly point out that sundubu (fresh tofu) is made by cogagulating soy milk with calcium chloride, we actually experimented and found that you can make the deliciously fresh curds by using lemon juice as a coagulant. The curds remain very loose, almost like barely poached egg, and the citrus adds a sour touch that works well when added to a ferociously hot, chilli-spiked tchigae!
Marc, it's admirable that you make your own tofu! Lemon juice is also sometimes used to coagulate milk in producing paneer - Indian fresh cheese. . . I wonder if the texture is similar? I'm pretty ignorant about the chemistry of coagulation - I wonder if rennet would also work in making tofu. . .
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Thanks, Marco, for adding such rich detail to this thread with recollections of your halmoni's cooking. It would be great if all adaptations of foreign foods could provide such wonderful flavors.
I'd also like to add that the percieved "weirdness" of certain interpretations, at least in some cases, wears off and is followed not only by tolerance, but repatriation back to the home country. For instance, California Roll or the Spam Musubi must initially have seemed bizarre misunderstandings of Japanese food to those Japanese who came across them, but nowadays are finding their way onto menus within Japan itself. Likewise, tempura, tonkatsu, and teppanyaki were originally "weird" versions of Western foods, but are now accepted by many Westerners as
delicious Japanese food.
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Tenants gobble up Wal-Mart leases, by Dan Martin
Golden Coin Bake Shop and Restaurant, Hanazen, Coldstone Creamery, Starbucks, Jamba Juice and Supercuts will front Ke`e`aumoku. L&L branch inside the store.
E&O restaurant coming to Hawai'i, by Andrew Gomes
Southeast Asian-themed restaurant group led by Chris Hemmeter, Jr. plants it roots in the Hemmeter family's hometown.
Picture of a hulking suckling pig from this year's rituals.
LIGHT AND LOCAL: Mother's Hawaiian stew still 'ono without meat, some fat, by Carol Devenot
Kickoff of a new regular column focusing on healthy, light local foods (not an oxymoron?). First offering, local-style stew made with seitan (wheat gluten) instead of meat.
Go to Lyon Arboretum this Saturday to learn how.
The Hawaii Foodbank is replacing last year's "Wall of Spam" with a "Sea of Tuna" at Restaurant Row through April 24. Canned good donations, that is. Hey! What gives!
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Surprisingly, no Goldilocks.
For other readers: Goldilocks is a large chain of combination bakery and restaurants in the Philippines with outposts in California.
Norio, is the setup for the Goldilocks in California turo-turo (cafeteria) style, or more like a typical U.S. fast food place? What are their best dishes?
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I'm not familiar with the piree mango - could you tell me a little bit more about it. It take it isn't one of the more commonly planted varieties around here!
BTW, I'm suprised that no one has ever come up with something like a "local-style curry" different from the Japanese, Thai, Indian, etc. kinds. Maybe something with a little coconut milk and luau leaves, like a squid or chicken luau with curry powder spices. And served with mango chutney on the side. . .
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Sad to say Coco has stopped the sliced garlic addition for a topping. Was so disappointed when I went there last night. Had to settle for just shrimp and spinach.
Pake, sorry to hear about the garlic! They had it on the menu a few weeks ago - but probably they just haven't gotten around to changing it. . .
Mango chutney and curry sounds great. Especially green mango chutney - made with Haden mangoes. I can see how that would go with steak . . . or anything else for that matter. Great way of using up the grocery bagfull that you get from the neighbor with a tree. . .
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Turo-turo ("point-point" in Tagalog) is the indigenous fast food concept of the urban Philippines. It usually involves a cafeteria-style serving setup, with customers taking their choice of entrees to go with rice, unless they are eating a noodle entree such as pancit.
The issue of why there are not more Filipino restaurants in the U.S. is addressed in Soba's thread; I'm wondering more specifically whey there haven't been more attempts to create an local-style Filipino plate lunch here in Hawai`i based upon the turo-turo.
P.S. I haven't checked out Elena's or Golden Coin recently - want to see if there is anything on the menu which can reasonably be labeled "Hawaiian-style" Filipino.
rlivings, you're lucky you work close to Waipahu and all the places there (for non-Oahuans: Waipahu is the center of the Oahu Filipino community). Just wonder why they haven't spread out to the rest of the island. . .
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I like how you took the pic of the sundubu early enough to get it in mid bubble.
Pure luck. . .
It seems that SGD has now introduced five new "flavors" of sundubu (it always seemed like four was a little few for a restaurant that was specializing in the thing). The new choices are:
45. beef intestine
46. spam (mahalo!)
47. sausage
48. mushroom
49. clam
50. dry seaweed
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I've always wondered why there aren't more Filipino restaurants, particularly plate lunch places, in Hawai`i. Not only are Filipinos one of Hawai`i's largest and fastest-growing ethnic groups, they also have a long restaurant tradition that includes the "turo-turo" concept, which is quite consistent with the fast food n' rice mentality that so many local people find appealing. Yet Filipino or Filipino-style restaurants have not spread throughout the state like Japanese, Hawaiian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, or Korean-style restaurants. There is no Filipino version of L&L, Yummy's, or Ba-Le. After reading SobaAddict70's thread in the Cooking Forum, I thought we might discuss it here specifically with regards to Hawai`i.
What are your favorite Filipino restaurants? What do you think about Elena's and Gold Coin? What are some of the others that aren't well-known? What are your favorite Filipino restaurant dishes, and is there anything that could be called Filipino-Hawaiian food?
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To make an excellent Haupia, it's important to use very thick coconut milk, or what is referred to as "top milk" and "coconut cream". In Hawai`i, many people use "Mendonca's" brand, which is available frozen. If you can't get this and aren't willing to make coconut milk from scratch, the remaining alternative is to take unshaken cans of good canned milk (e.g. Chaokoh), open it, and carefully remove the creamy top layer, then thin to taste with small amounts of the watery bottom layer.
Arrowroot-thickened haupia is less stodgy than the cornstarch-thickened type.
If you're looking for more Hawaiian food recipes, you can do a google search for "luau recipes" and dozens of recipe sites will show near the top of the results. The gohawaii.about.com site seems to have a particularly long list, though I haven't looked closely at any of them. Most have at least some foods that some would not consider "authentic" Hawaiian food.
There are also a number of Hawai`i "local" recipe sites that cover both Hawaiian food as well as other ethnic foods that are popular in Hawai`i. Two the largest are Art Pollard's "Local Kine Recipes" and Alohaworld.com's "Ono Recipes".
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Just posted a report on sundubu jjigae (soft tofu pottage), and a restaurant specializing it in Honolulu:
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So Gong Dong Restaurant
1518 Makaloa St. #8
Honolulu HI 96814
808 946-8206
Of all the dishes in the Korean food reportoire, sundubu jjigae (soft tofu pottage) is one that is most likely to be found in restaurants that specialize in its preparation, rather than in "general" Korean restaurants. At first glance, this is hard to understand. The basic recipe seems fairly simple - a very spicy beef and / or seafood broth containing very soft tofu. However, as any fan of this cult-like dish will tell you, it's really hard to get the broth right. That's why you need specialization! Supposedly.
In general, tofu firmness depends on the extent to which the soymilk curd is pressed and drained prior to being placed in its mold. In your typical local supermarket, you'll tofu sold in rectangular plastic containers at soft, regular, firm, and extra firm levels, just like mattresses. The "soft" level corresponds to to Japanese kinugoshi (silken) tofu, in which a thick soymilk is coagulated with bittern (calcium chloride) and not drained at all. The last three are various kinds of momen (cotton) tofu, which are made from somewhat thinner soymilk drained at various levels of pressure.
Korean sundubu is another thing all together. As far as I can make out, it is made from non-thick soymilk and is not drained, leading to an extremely fragile product that cannot hold its shape. It's usually sold in plastic bags or jars, then poured directly into the dish that's being prepared. No point in cutting it with a knife, since the pieces will not remain square anyway. In Sundubu jjigae, the tofu, through the process of boiling and stirring, separates into irregularly-shaped quivering lumps that kind of slip and slide down your throat without need for chewing. It a kind of paradoxical food, one that combines a soft comforting texture (often abetted by a semi-poached egg) with enough red-hot chili to blow out even the most congested sinuses.
So Gong Dong is a sundubu specialty house similar to the ones that you'll find in Seoul or in LA Koreatown. In fact it shares the same name (but not transliteration) as the "Suh Gong Dong" (sic) restaurant on Olympic Blvd. in LA Koreatown, as well another "So Gong Dong" restaurant on Bryn Mawr Ave. in Chicago Koreatown, another in Santa Clara, and I'm sure others in just about every major city with lots of Koreans. No, this is not a chain, just a testament to a certain lack of originality that Korean businesses (modally speaking, of course!) seem to have in choosing names. Just like you see "Hyundai" and "Lotte" attached to little corner knick-knack shops everywhere. . . The original restaurant that all of the "SGDs" are emulating is the Sogongdong Ttukbaegijip (lit. Sogong Ward Iron Bowl House) in Seoul, perhaps the most famous restaurant purveyour of sundubu jjigae anywhere.
At the Hawai`i SGD, you can either order off a normal menu, or if that's just too disorienting, you can use a handy numbered pictoral menu that they have hanging on the wall:
The sundubu at Hawai`i's SGD comes in four varieties: beef and pork; beef, shrimp, and clams; oyster, shrimp, clams and mussels; and kimchee. The broth is the same for all of them, though you can choose the level of chili that you want added. The variations are in toppings that are added at the last minute. I'm mildly allergic to shellfish (though I like them), so I usually go with the beef and pork.
It comes bubbling in its own little iron bowl, along with the usual rices and panchans. The broth seems to be mostly beef broth, and is fairly beefy, though it gets hard to detect when you order it "hot" as most Koreans do.
If you're not into spicy quivering tofu, then So Gong Dong also has a full array of typical Korean restaurant grilled meats and soups, as well as a number of Korean-Hawaiian plate lunch favorites such as meat jun. Our daughter is definitely not into anything spicy, and she likes kalbi that she can hold with her hands. You can get kalbi either of two ways the "plate lunch" (e.g. LA kalbi) style, cut across the bone, or the more traditional butterfly style, which comes in "King" (e.g. Suwon kalbi) size. We got the plate lunch style because it's cheaper - it's been dipped in a fairly sweet local-style marinade.
You can't expect the same variety of panchans at a sundubu place as you would get a fancy-schmantzy course menu restaurant, but, as you can see, you do get the usual chinese cabbage and daikon kimchis, as well as beansprouts, watercress, and fiddlehead ferns.
So Gong Dong qualifies as a hole-in-the wall - it's among a little row of small restaurants across Makaloa Street from Tower Records near Ala Moana. With the usual trilingual signs that you find on ethnic restaurants where Japanese tourists might hang out. There is a microscopic parking lot - if you don't have luck there, you can usually find street parking close by. If worst comes to worst, you can always park at Ala Moana Center and walk over.
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I'm maintaining a SpamBlog in the Hawai`i forum, wherein I've posted some links to stories about last year's Waikiki SpamJam. For those who have a special relationship to the pink queen of canned meats, I'll eventually have a report there about the this year's event, too.
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As the 2004 SpamJam beckons on the horizon, here are some links to old news stories about last year's event.
Amateur’s Spam Mochi among winners in Waikiki
Spam Jam honors maligned mystery meat
Waikiki will get Spammed as Hawaii's vice goes public
And if you are yet unsated, there's additional stuff at the Waikiki SpamJam website.
I'll keep things updated, and will post pictures here after the great event . . .
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There's a SpamJam thread over in the Food Media forum:
It is really puzzling why Filipino food is not better-known in the U.S. There are certaintly more people of Filipino descent here than people of Thai or Vietnamese decent, yet Filipino restaurants don't have nearly the same level of visibility as Thai or Vietnamese restaurants.
Moreover, of all SEAsian cuisines, Filipino cuisine reflects the strongest level of Western influences. Also, the turo-turo concept would seem to fit in well with American fast-food sensibilities.
Examining the success of Thai or Vietnamese restaurants, however, it may be possible to single out the importance of the localization process to American tastes, as well as to American expectations about ethnic cuisinese. Both Thai and Vietnamese foods have strong images as "healthy" and "light", yet "accessible" cuisines - in part because the kinds of dishes that have shown up in U.S. restaurants have been chosen to emphasize that aspect of these cuisines. For instance, Vietnamese foods featuring caramel sauce or pork skin / fat are largely ignored on restaurant menus.
On the other hand, Filipino restaurants in the U.S. feature home-style dishes like adobo, dinuguan, karikari that don't fit the image of what the typical U.S. urban middle-class person is looking for in an ethnic restaurant. Too "heavy" or too "strange". Not that Americans won't eat heavy foods, but this is presumably not what most Americans are looking for in Asian ethnic cuisine.
Indeed, it may be the case that, at least in the Thai case, the necessity for restauranters to rely on non-Thai clientele to a much greater degree from the beginning may have actually been advantageous in that it quickened the localization process. . .
Anyway, stream of consciousness, so this may not make a lot of sense. . .
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QUOTE (meguroman @ Mar 23 2004, 10:19 PM)
. . .
Salsita
Ebisu-Nishi 1-3-2
5489-9020
Have never been there, but I noticed their website a while back because it was so impressively detailed in the way that it describes of Mexican cuisine and its regional variations. The owner has clearly traveled around Mexico quite a bit and done a substantial amount of research. It's the best site of any kind on Mexican Food that I've come across in Japan or the rest of Asia for that matter. If the restaurant reflects this, then I'm sure it's excellent . . .
Here's the link:
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This year's Waikiki Spamjam has been set for April 22-24.
Yellow Truffle has posted some interesting info in the Spamjam (the restaurant) thread. . .
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You're right. I just get a picture of Yoda when I click on the old site. Thanks for the updated url.
You definitely know your spam, yellow truffle!
Unfiltered Hawaii Spam
in Hawaii: Cooking & Baking
Posted
Ryan,
I found this in the Star-Bulletin:
However, it's quite likely that there were Spam musubi around long before then, possibly since the days that Spam first got imported into the islands. It's one of those ideas that are obvious enough that many people have independently "invented" it over the years. However, I don't doubt that Michan's Musubi may have be responsible for popularizing it. . . just that I never got to eat there!!