skchai
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Posts posted by skchai
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Cendrillon considered to be one of the best Filipino restaurants in the world, if not the best. It's menu is actually very inventive and original, though it's not really in a self-consciously "fusion" sort of way. Never been there, though.
Tunku Varadarajan used to write a cricket column for the online version of CNN / Sports illustrated. . .
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O.K., here's the next installment:
QUICK BITES: Mixologist joins Halekulani
Well-known drinks expert Dale DeGroff, author of the award-winning "Craft of the Cocktail" and Bon Appetit's Beverage Professional of the Year, is the new "director of beverage arts" for Halekulani Hotel.FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Site serves up school recipes, by Wanda A. Adams
Kamehameha Schools cafeteria has its own website, right here.
So says UH's Center on the Family
By Request: DIY dinner is fun and easy for whole gang, by Betty Shimabukuro
Here's how
QUICK BITES: Graze on goodies and help educate Hawai'i's future chefs
Benefit for Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program at Kapi'olani Community College, October 8
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Would love to hear more of your thoughts about the local restaurant industry, Chef A. , including the training and atmosphere at Angelo's.
Will writedown Ichiman as another must-try Ramen spot.
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Kapuliperson, the best "traditional" Kim Chee fried rice in town is at a place called Elim in the Samsung Plaza on Ke`eaumoku (there's also an Elim II, with basically the same menu, right next to the former location of SGD Sundubu). I'll post a report once I figure out how I want to deal with the new image archiving system at eGullet.
Big City Diner has a very good version of Kim chee fried rice as well (see here for a report) but their version is more "local-style" than "Korean-style".
Receipes? I have to say I don't know of a single recipe that has been written down. I guess this is because kim chi fried rice is one of those dishes where you make use of whatever is on hand. Some kind of processed meat is essential - Spam for instance. You squeeze the kim chi before stir-frying in the spam grease. Then the rice goes in, seasoned with some of the squeezed out kimchi juice and soy sauce. You add the green onions last. If you're using egg, there's all different schools of thought about that. . .
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Yeah, maybe someone should contact the Barrio Fiesta management and ask why they haven't opened up a branch in Waipahu or someplace!
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That's right, though it is possible to find quite a bit of excellent turoturo style food here. The problem is the lack of somewhat more upscale, sit-down restaurants, and the made-to-order food that is associated with them.
When I lived in the Bay Area there was a Barrio Fiesta branch in Daly City with its crispy pata with a special fork stuck in, as well as the banquet-size <a href="http://www.titorey.com/">Tito Rey of the Islands</a>. There is nothing that ambitious here . . . I'm not sure why. The population would seem large enough, but perhaps is not quite as prosperous on average as that on the West Coast.
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As I kind of alluded to (also in a flippant manner) earlier, I believe the problem of explaining the mission is one of what in Japan would be called "tatemae" and "honne", or loosely translated for this context - "formal mission" and "de facto mission". As a non-profit, the Beard House must present itself on the surface as an organization engaged primarily in charitable activities. On the other hand, the informal understanding of many who engage in its activities is that it is a promotional vehicle for the culinary industry. And with regards to the de facto mission, it has served the industry very, very well, which is why many people, including myself and presumably most on this board would be sad to see it disabled or go under.
However, trying to clarify its mission leaves the organization in an untenable position, since it would have to starkly expose the uneasy coexistence between its formal position as a non-profit and the actual activities it undertakes. This in turn could undermine support for the organization from all sides. . .
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Your summary has got me almost mental, Kapuliperson. Why can't we have these kind of places in Honolulu with our large Pinoy populations? My sense is that we have several places where you can get the standard turo-turo items - pancit, lumpia shanghai, pork and chicken adobo, dinuguan, pinakbet, caldereta, etc. And Golden Coin does have a pretty good selection of bakery items.
But where are the made-to-order and made-to-order items? There's one place that sells good PI-style chicaron. But other pork items are harder to find - I still haven't been able to locate a good crispy Pata.
I think the one thing we need is are a few good mid-range sit-down restaurants, especially those selling regional specialities. . . I
But more later!
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Thanks for the info and welcome to eGullet, katkit - hope to hear more from you in the future!
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One reason why the Beard House managements may feel it can get away with such pallatives is that the source of its influence has never been about scholarships, outreach, or other charitable works. It has been a very successful trade organization for the high-end restaurant industry, specializing in networking and PR, one that has taken advantage of loose federal standards to adopt the guise of a non-profit. Hence few people were willing to show public concern, despite the fact that it was obvious for many years that main things the Beard House had to show for all the money coming in, besides great food for those lucky enough to attend a dinner, was a lot of schoozing and glitz. Presumably many people already realized at some level that this was the "real" mission of the Beard House.
Which is not to say that the organization won't be hurt severely by the revelations. However, it does raise a lot of doubts whether the Beard House can reform itself in the way that the United Way did. It's not simply a matter of differences in scale; the United Way, despite all its problems, still had its primary identity as a charitable organization. For the Beard House to orient itself to a charitable mission, it would have to change itself into a completely different kind of entity. Which may in turn impact on its ability to engage in PR and promote networking. Which may then render it irrelevant to many of its would-be "donors".
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Thanks Kapuliperson! Are you in Manila or elsewhere? When you have time, maybe you could tell us about the kinds of Filipino food that you find at restaurants there but that we're missing here in Honolulu.
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No, sorry, can't say I have. Rarely get out to Kailua side. Looks real good from the picture, though.
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I haven't been there yet, but will write a report once I have a chance! Kyoto-style ramen is generally defined (I think) as being lighter than Tokyo style and seasoned with salt rather than soy sauce.
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First, some stuff about the Okinawa Festival from last weekend:
<a href=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Aug/30/ln/ln28a.html>Okinawan Festival on tap</a>
<a href=http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/01/features/story1.html>The Oki Dog: Fusion cuisine to da max, by Betty Shimabukuro</a>
<a href=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/04/il/il01a.html>Okinawan Festival brightens weekend</a>
Now, back to our regular programming:
<a href=http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/01/features/request.html>By Request: Chinese restaurant shares recipe for artful taro duck, by Betty Shimabukuro</a>
Pah-ke's original recipe. . .
<a href=http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/01/features/ingredient.html>Key Ingredient: Chinese Taro, by Eleanor Nakama-Mitsunaga</a>
<i>bun long</I>
<a href=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/01/il/il30a.html>QUICK BITES: Daiei stores will celebrate local food producers this month</a>
<a href=http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/07/features/story1.html>Monster-sized mangoes are making an impression in the produce aisles, by Betty Shimabukuro</a>
Keitt variety mangoes have made their way to Hawai`i . . . as large as 5 pounds apiece. They're supposed to taste good, too, and have a high flesh-to-seed ratio. Crisp rather than juicy. Can this all be true? Anybody tried them?
<a href=http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/08/features/story1.html>40 years afloat: The Pagoda celebrates a milestone, by Betty Shimabukuro</a>
<a href=http://starbulletin.com/2004/09/08/features/story2.html>Baker takes wares
to new night market, by Betty Shimabukuro</a>
Jocelyn Benn, from military chef to professional baker. . .
<a href=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/08/il/il20ataste.html>
TASTE: Veering vegan, by Wanda A. Adams</a>
Mark Reinfeld of Blossoming Lotus café in Kapa'a has published "Vegan World Fusion Cuisine".
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Well, I can say I made it to the festival this weekend, but just barely. Got there around 6pm on Saturday. Bad choice - all the food was gone. Turned out that this year set the records for turnout. Ryan got there at 5 and told me that the food was gone by then too. Only things left were the "Okinawan soba" (looked like <i>hiyashi chuuka</I>), hulihuli Chicken, and the Andagi, which I guess they had in endless supply. And I had to leave right away, so I even didn't get to seen any of the Begin concert.
Oh well, I did get the requisite, standard picture of Andagi frying. Here it is:
<img src="http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1094615414/gallery_8294_43_1094629324.jpg">
And if you want to see some Begin stuff, check out their <a href="http://www.begin1990.com/">official site</a>.
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Chodang Restaurant
725 Kapiolani Blvd. C-1198
Imperial Plaza 1F
Honolulu HI 96813
808 591-0500
New challenger to SGD Sundubu opened a few months ago at the Imperial Plaza (Cooke and Kapiolani), right next to the Sino-Korean "Mandarin". Menu and recipes seem very similar to SGD, which is no surprise since the owner of CD Sundubu is the former chef at SGD.
The main difference is the physical surroundings, which are brighter and a lot less less "hole-in-the-wall", in keeping with the restaurant's location. Validated parking in contrast fighting for a space on Makaloa. Very friendly people when I visited.
The standard beef sundubu cchigae. . .
An LA galbi spread. . .
The entrance. . .
Should have posted this earlier - seems SGD has met the challenge by moving to newer and more spacious quarters. Not sure exactly where; will post a report once I've had a chance to try out the new place. . .
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Thanks, Burt. We've really got a lot of ramen restaurant choices here, for some reason, even more than other Japanese food. Not to mention saimin, whihc is a close cousin. . .
BTW, a new Kyoto-style ramen place just opened on the second floor of the McCully Shopping Center, next to Tiffany's Hair Salon. . .
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This is the part that worries me the most:
In 2001, the last year for which tax records are available, about $3.5 million of $4.3 million in revenue came from dinners and events. The foundation reported that it spent almost $3 million to put on those events.. . .
Chefs who cook at the Beard House are offered a $15 to $25 reimbursement for each guest, which many chefs say they donate back to the foundation. The chefs are required to cover all other costs, including food, wine, travel and lodging. Additionally, hundreds of chefs work free every year at the foundation's May awards gala and other fund-raising events, such as a coming benefit on Sept. 21st sponsored by The New Yorker magazine.So, if I'm adding things up right, cost to Beard House of food production at the dinners and events amounts to between 0-25% of revenue, yet the total cost to Beard House of putting the events is about 85% of revenue. So where is this remaining 60-85% of revenue going to? Not administration or publicity, since these are apparently accounted for separately. . .
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Thanks, kaukaukane, for rescuing us on the requests for Kauai information. Hope to hear more from you in the future and to learn about the kind of grinds that are are available on the Garden Isle.
The one time I was over there for a weekender I had the privilege of eating at the "infamous" Hamura's. About four meat sticks and one big bowl of saimin was about right. . .
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Isos! I did not even know that there was a Golden Coin in Liliha - I have been trying to plan a side trip to the N. King St. location for quite a while but there is something much closer! Didn't notice it last time I was in the Liliha area.
The Liliha-Kuakini corner has always been one of the great spots for finding classic local grinds - in addition to the aforementioned, there's Liliha Bakery, Masu's Massive plate lunches, and Jane's Fountain for great saimin.
. . .
O.K. I just went to the Golden Coin website and realized that the address for the Liliha branch is the same as for Jane's Fountain. Does it mean that Jane's Fountain has closed down? Or has it relocated?
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I was browsing through noodlepie's excellent foodblog from Vietnam and found this reference to Bánh Cuốn at a place called Stall 1006. Looks remarkably similar to the Bánh Cuốn I had at Bắc Nam. Noodlepie says that it originates just outside of Hanoi - so now we know where it comes from! BTW, looking through his posts gives you some idea of the wide universe of Vietnamese restaurant food that rarely makes it to the U.S., except in places like Bắc Nam.
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Just to remind everyone that the annual Okinawan Festival is taking place at Kapiolani Park Saturday 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. , Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The highlight is the concert Saturday evening by the pop / roots-music band Begin, but there will plenty of food highlights as well, including much Andagi and the infamous Oki-Dog.
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Welcome to the forum, Kapuliperson. I take it from your monicker that you are a displaced kama`aina of pinoy/pinay ancestry? Tell us a little more about yourself when you have the time.
My experience is that the Filipino turoturo-type places are totally concentrated within those areas that have become de facto enclaves, such as Waipahu and Kalihi/Palama. This is itself surprising since Honolulu has a much more checkerboard or complete mixture pattern of residency among ethnic groups. Korean plate lunches have over the past twenty years jumped out of that are found all over town. Hopefully the same will happen for Filipino places over the new years.
One of bright spots arising from Wal-Mart's invasion of the long-vacant Ke`eaumoku superblock is that a Golden Coin is going to move into one of the "satellite" street-facing spots that will surround the main building. No need to drive out towards Ewa side any more for us city folks. . .
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O.K., I finally got up the courage and ordered the PK Pork Chop Gratin at Kit n' Kitchen. Hey . . . it was actually really good. . .
First of all it's not XO Sauce and cheese, it's Hong Kong-style black pepper sauce and cheese, so it's perhaps a little bit less of an East-smashes-against-West mixture. But still, black pepper sauce contains soy sauce and ginger, normally not things you would associate with a gratin. But whatever.
It turns out that the PK Pork Chop has only a small amount of very mild white cheese on top, which wouldn't clash with anything, not even XO sauce. But it does have LOT of butter. In fact, the noodles are swimming in butter. Anyone who has had steak "batayaki" would tell you that shoyu and butter is a natural combination, unlike shoyu and cheese. So the whole thing turned out very nicely - pork chop was not overcooked, nor were the mushrooms, and the black pepper sauce added just the right amount of heat to the butter-soy combination. In fact, it may be my favorite Italian-Chinese dish so far. So live and learn.
2 foodies visiting the big island
in Hawaii: Dining
Posted
andrew, you might try this thread:
Hawaii - Big Island recs sought for a lot of recommendations.
Don't know about the fresh uni out of the sea though . . . other than trying a wholesale market or finding out about someone through a friend. But perhaps someone else here has a better answer than I do.