Explore Hyatt Regency Waikiki Farmer's Market

Nadine Kam photos
One of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Farmers Market vendors is Lincoln Vo, “the sugar cane guy,” who runs stalks of cane through a specialized cold-press juicer for a full cup ($4.50) of pure sugar cane juice, with a touch of calamansi. We've been taught to fear products associated with sugar, but according to the Livestrong organization, sugar cane juice keeps glucose levels constant. It’s also an alkalizing drink that decreases acid and is full of essential minerals.

As soon as Sven Ullrich took on executive chef duties at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki in fall 2011, he embraced all things local, and then some. He scoured markets for all Hawaii had to offer, from fresh seafood to artisan cheeses to tropical fruit including cheesy mabolos, puddinglike sapotes, mangosteens, jackfruit and dragonfruit, items not common on local tables.

A native of Hamburg, Germany, he sampled everything in order to fairly represent Hawaii on his menus. “It was very interesting for me. I had to try everything, Rainbow Drive-In, all the L&Ls. It’s been very fun and very educational.”


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That early experience has led to a new farmers market, introduced last fall, that takes place 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays at the Hyatt. The chef selects purveyors whose locally made products he loves and who aren’t widely known, understanding that these artisan food companies could use a boost to make their efforts sustainable. One of the newest products is a delicious Kona coffee butter spread made in Waimanalo by Eric “Fats” Gaspar and his wife, Kahea, infused with Kona coffee from Kuni Goto. It’s delicious spread on toast, bagels, pancakes, waffles or steak, at $10 a jar.

What's more, the Hyatt is also starting a boutique project of its own, introducing an apiary housing 20,000 honeybees, which by summer may result in enough honey to serve in its restaurants and to make available at the farmers market.

“We’re working on the bottles and labeling now,” Ullrich said. “It’ll be 100 percent sustainable for the hotel.”

A whirl around the market:

 Kalihi Corner's Tiffany Bracero, left, offers her local specialties ($8 per plate), including hamburger steak, beef stew, stuffed pork chops, and shoyu pork with turnips and black mushroom, ewith a touch of star anise.

What's a farmer's market without plenty of beautiful fruit and veggies?

Lilikoi from Frankie's Nursery.

There's fruit cream-, chocolate- and custard-filled malasadas for about $1.75 apiece.

Spun Paradise's yummy cotton candy is made from 100 percent organic cane sugar and contains no additives or dyes. Among flavors are lychee, pineapple, mango, coconut, sea salt caramel, macadamia nut and lili­koi. A 2-ounce container goes for $4. Don’t feel bad about eating it all — it has only 75 calories per container.

One of the market's fans, a hyacinth macaw. When I last saw him, he was eating a Thai summer roll.

Honolulu in running for FOOD & WINE Favorite Food City

For the first time, FOOD & WINE magazine is inviting the public to vote in the America’s Favorite Food Cities Survey, and Honolulu was chosen by its editors as one of 40 contenders.

Now through April 30, you can vote on which city has the best-looking chefs (Lahaina could be a contender!) the most adventurous eaters, and more.

Results will appear in the September 2014 print issue of FOOD & WINE.

For more information on the survey, follow FOOD & WINE on Twitter and Instagram, and join the conversation with #FWHonolulu.

Vote for Honolulu at http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/americas-favorite-food-cities

Here are the cities vying for the honors:
1. Atlanta
2. Austin
3. Birmingham
4. Boston
5. Charleston
6. Chicago
7. Cincinnati
8. Cleveland
9. Dallas
10. Denver
11. Houston
12. Honolulu
13. Indianapolis
14. Kansas City
15. Las Vegas
16. Los Angeles
17. Louisville
18. Madison
19. Memphis
20. Miami
21. Milwaukee
22. Minneapolis
23. Nashville
24. New Orleans
25. New York City
26. Philadelphia
27. Phoenix
28. Pittsburgh
29. Portland, Maine
30. Portland, Ore.
31. Providence
32. St. Louis
33. Salt Lake City
34. San Antonio
35. San Diego
36. San Francisco
37. Santa Fe
38. Savannah
39. Seattle
40. Washington, D.C.

First course: 2 new tenants at Shirokiya Yataimura

Nadine Kam photos
All sukiyaki bowls—regular, large and extra large—will be one price, $4.90, on Jan. 22, to celebrate Matsuzaka-Tei's grand opening at Shirokiya's Yataimura.

Shirokiya's Yataimura welcomed two new tenants this morning, Kitanoya, specializing in Hakkaido king and snow crab, and Matsuzaka-Tei, offering inexpensive comfort meals of sukiyaki.

Both will celebrate their shared grand opening on Jan. 22, with an all-day special.

At Matsuzaka-Tei, all sizes of sukiyaki bowls—regular, large and extra large—will be $4.90. The regular prices are $4.90, $5.90 and $6.90. There probably won't be many orders for the small size tomorrow!

In Japan, sukiyaki is available as an inexpensive comfort food, and it comes as a complete meal here with miso soup (the soup is not available for take-out). The tender slices of beef and onions, also called gyu-don, is marinated in a mildly sweet sauce and served over rice. It's juicy and satisfying.

Add-on toppings are also available for $1 each. They include ontama (half boiled egg), cheese, green onions, kim chee, natto, okra and tororo (Japanese yam).

Kitanoya will be offering a 10 percent discount off all its crab and rice bentos on Jan. 22. Regular prices range from $9.85 to $26 depending on the amount of crab offered. After opening day, only 50 $9.85 bentos will be offered daily.

Kitanoya specializes in crab imported directly from Hokkaido, renowned for its seafood, farm and dairy industries.

You can't miss the sign indicating Kitanoya crab.

Only 50 of these $9.85 crab bentos will be available daily. Options are shredded crab with ikura, or shredded crab with a larger piece of crab leg.

Much more crab is offered in the $26 bento.

A steer marks the site of Matsuzaka-Tei on the mauka side of Shirokiya's second floor.

After the main course, cross the aisle to 5&2 Yogurt for dessert. Here, frozen yogurt is buried under fruit, nut and candy options. A smaller sampling of acai-flavored yogurt, below. One plain, one covered with chocolate yogurt, M&Ms and gummy candy.

First course: Cake Envy opens in downtown Honolulu

Nadine Kam photos
A vast selection of cheesecakes awaits at Cake Envy, which opened this morning in downtown Honolulu, next door to the Fighting Eel boutique.

Otto Cake's departure for Kaimuki left a cheesecake void in downtown Honolulu, which paved the way for the opening of Cake Envy Jan. 16, featuring fluffy confections baked up by chef/owner Amy Brookes, who's been baking for restaurants, events and TV productions since 2002.

This is her first storefront, at 1129 Bethel St., in a former floral shop next door to the Fighting Eel boutique.

Her refrigerator shelves are full of her 9-inch creations (enough for 12 to 16 people, according to her, though I'm sure some can eat more than their share), made with locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, such as Kona coffee and mango. Then there are classics by category, such as "Lust for Chocolate," including mocha and "Death by Chocolate" cakes, "Sinful Fruits," "Imposters" inspired by other desserts, and "Indulgence" such as Baileys, mojito and maple bacon flavors. Call ahead to see what's available on a particular day.

The 924-square-foot space has 25 seats for those who want to sit and enjoy dessert, whether after lunch, dinner or as a pre- or post-Hawaii Theatre treat.

A "Slice of Heaven," in any flavor, is $6. A whole cheesecake is $50. A sampler of three or four flavors is $60.

For special orders, allow 48 hours notice.
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Cake Envy is at 1129 Bethel St., open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. Call 599-8900, or visit www.cakeenvy.net

Chef-owner Amy Brookes with her Strawberry Silk cheesecake.

The interior was done by Cathy Lee, of Cathy Lee Style, who turned some negative feaatures into positives, incorporating pipes into quaint decor, or covering them, such as the pipe shown, with the "L" in "Delish," which beckons passersby to stop in.

On opening night, Jan. 15, guests enjoyed small bites, including this Salted Caramel cheesecake. Truly delish, as the wall reads.

The earlybirds got the ramen burger

Keizo Shimamoto behind the grill at Taste Table, where he's cooking up his famous ramen burger. — Nadine Kam photos

People started lining up at 8:30 a.m. this morning for a taste of Keizo Shimamoto's famous ramen burger, which caught national attention when it debuted at Brooklyn's Smorgasburg last fall.

All of a sudden, my New York friends were emailing me stories about this new food phenom created by Shimamoto, a ramen aficionado who started his Go Ramen blog to document his tasting and cooking adventures. In fact, one of these friends just found out about the Honolulu event and reports that the ramen burger still has the longest lines at Smorgasburg, which is why she hasn't been able to try it, even though she's in a condo that overlooks the event!

Five months later, Keizo is in Honolulu, where he has family, to cook up 700 burgers for those who might never be able to travel to NYC.


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Of course, Hawaii diners (and shoppers) seem to have no problem with lines, and this one stretched around the corner from Taste Table, past Cocina, down to Ala Moana Boulevard.

Sadly, with about 400 people in line, and a three-burger per person limit, at $10 per burger—with many expressing the desire to pick up the maximum—not everyone will be able to get a bite, which is pretty much as you'd expect.

What's funny is that the first two women in line—Jean and Jane—both said they dreamed about the burger after learning about the special event, and when I asked Jane to describe her dream, she said she imagined soft cake noodles around a juicy burger, which is exactly what it is.

As an added treat, TT's Mark "Gooch" Noguchi added his own mashup of pork with gravy slaw on a ramen bun. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try this one. I was hoping to try it this morning, but after one look at the line, decided to go around the corner to Hank's Haute Dogs.

The line for the ramen burger stretches to Ala Moana Boulevard, about 400 people for 700 available burgers, and three burger limit per person. You do the math.

Keizo with his OG ramen burger, with noodle bun, grass-fed Kulana beef patty, shoyu glaze, green onions and arugula.

Got a chance to try the burger last night, which tastes exactly what it sounds like, hamburger between soft, toothy cake noodles.

Unpacking the Sun Noodle ramen "buns."

First course: Nagomi Teppan & Lounge

Nadine Kam photos
Chef Victor Jian prepares at dish of  Nagomi special soba, below, at the newly open Nagomi Teppan & Lounge.

The teppan restaurant is open; the bar and lounge is a work in progress, so I'm waiting to go back when I can see the complete package. In the meantime, you can check out Nagomi Teppan & Lounge.

Okonomiyaki and negiyaki are specialties here, but on a first look, I liked many of their appetizers and side dishes more, and the simplicity of teppan-grilled seafood. The menu is full of options for those who crave variety and izakaya-portioned grazing.

Note: Prices subject to change.
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The restaurant is at 1687 Kapiolani Boulevard, across from 24 Hour Fitness. Parking in back of the restaurant. Call 312-3534.

Nagomi special soba, $16.50, with calamari, shrimp, jumbo scallops, tiger prawns, thin-sliced pork, cabbage and onions.

 Garlic jumbo scallops, with crispy garlic bits on top. Yum!

Keizo Shimamoto brings his famed ramen burger to Taste

Keizo Shimamoto's famed ramen burger is coming to town.

The creation of the blogger-turned-chef became an instant hit when it debuted at Brooklyn's Smorgasburg last August.

In the beginning, 300 people lined up for one of his 150 ramen burgers. These days, he can sell 700 burgers in four hours.

You'll be able to get a taste at Taste Table in Kakaako, beginning 11 a.m. Jan. 15, until 700 burgers—at $10 a pop—are gone.

In a press release statement, Shimamoto said, "My grandfather was born in Hawai’i and many of my relatives from the Shimamoto family tree still live there, so it was only natural that I take the Ramen Burger to Honolulu."

The ramen burger comprises a burger patty sandwiched between fried Sun Noodle ramen noodles, with a secret shoyu-based sauce and spiced arugula.

Shimamoto, who's second-generation Japanese, began exploring his culinary roots by sampling ramen everywhere he went, and writing about it on his Go Ramen blog.

When the subprime mortgage crisis hit, he quit his mortgage company job and moved to Japan, where he worked at noodle shops and saw people eating a ramen sandwich with chashu pork, fueling his idea for a Japanese take on an all-American classic.

Can't wait to try it!
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Taste Table is at 667 Auahi St.

Jamba Juice introduces Whole Food Nutrition smoothies

Jamba Juice photo

On the heels of my juice cleanse, Jamba Juice is celebrating the new year with the unveiling of its new Whole Food Nutrition™ smoothies.

Whole Food Nutrition smoothies are made with whole food ingredients including kale, carrots, chia seeds and Greek yogurt. With 10 to 14 grams of protein, these smoothies were created to provide balanced nutrition and serve as a convenient breakfast, lunch or snack on-the-go, and are available in three flavors:

Kale-ribbean Breeze: A tasty blend of mangos, kale, passion-mango juice, Greek yogurt and chia seeds, delivering protein and fiber, Omega-3s and a full serving of kale.

PB Chocolate Love: A blend of chocolate, peanut butter, bananas and 2% milk for protein and fiber, plus a full serving of whole grains.

Carrot Orange Fusion: A blend of fresh orange juice, whole carrots, Greek yogurt, soymilk, mangos, bananas and chia seeds that works as a good source of protein, fiber and Omega-3s, with a full serving of veggies.

Post-detox: Return to normalcy with new year

Nadine Kam photos
The table was set with beautiful lacquerware at Kensei Takeda's Japanese new year dinner.

New Year's Day marked Day 2 of my return from Blue Tree Cafe's five-day "Renew" juice cleanse. I'd been slowly introducing solid foods back to my diet, and after starting the morning with a banana, another handful of raw, unsalted almonds, and lunch of more of my homemade chicken soup, dinner would mark my return to normalcy.

I had been invited to a friend's home for what was described as "a little traditional Japanese New Year's food." Knowing Kensei, it probably would not be a little, but it would be healthful, and delicious. It sounded ideal for my return to social dining.

"Creation namasu" of cauliflower and Japanese cucumber marinated in ume and rice wine vinegar, topped with turkey bacon and cracked black pepper.

Of course his idea of "traditional" involves what he calls "Creation," a bit of fusion and contemporary interpretation. Traditional foods and ingredients such as ozoni, mizuna and mochi, were not to be found, for instance. He explained that every year in Japan, people die after choking on mizuna and mochi so he wanted to offer alternatives.

The resulting meal numbered eight courses presented on a mix of antique Wajma, Imari and Noritake porcelain, Japan Imperial household lacquerware, European crystal and ceramic ware by the artist Nanzan, whose work also inspires meals at the Pensacola Street restaurant Nanzan Giro Giro.

It was a lot of food, though the meal comprised mostly vegetables, and I rationalized that most of it would have filled only two of the 16-ounce juice jars I was ingesting over a two-hour period the past few days. With dinner spread over three-and-a-half hours, it worked out fine.

Did I overeat? I would say yes, by five dishes, but it was worth every bite on this special occasion.

Second course of steamed edamame potsticker topped with a light Middle Eastern style sauce of tomato, onions and cumin.

New Year Osechi platter including kuro-mame (black soybeans) signifying good health, datemaki (sweet rolled omelet), kamaboko topped with uni, kazunoko (herring roe) with a touch of yuzu, and chestnut purée.