Nadine Kam photo Magnolia Bakery's chocolate banana pudding debuts tomorrow, with free samples while supplies last at the Ala Moana Center shop, no foolin'.
Fans of Magnolia Bakery's classic banana pudding will find a new treat awaits on April Fool's Day. A new chocolate version features layers of chocolate pudding, OREO wafers, banana slices and chocolate shavings.
The chocolate banana pudding launched earlier this month at Magnolia Bakery locations in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicaco, and to mark its arrival in Hawaii, the Ala Moana Center Ewa Wing bakery kiosk will be offering free samples April 1 to 3, while supplies last.
The chocolate banana pudding will be available at the bakery café in small ($3.50), medium ($5), large ($6.50) and 64-ounce party bowls ($35). For more information, call (808) 942-4132.
Kiosk hours are 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Cafe hours are 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Nadine Kam photos Makaweli Ranch tenderloin tartare with pickled ho'io, pecorino, Ululoa amaranth and truffle was my favorite dish of the evening at the "Hula Grill Digs Farmers" farm-to-table event, paired with Ocean Vodka.
Hula Grill Waikiki paid tribute to Hawaii’s ranchers and paniolo during "Hula Grill Digs Farmers," a farm-to-table event that took place at the restaurant on March 23.
Chef Matt Young's menu highlighted the Kauai-based Makaweli Meat Co., with five stations offering food and drink pairings at $65 per person.
A portion of ticket sale proceeds will be donated to the Royal Order of Kamehameha, which supports the Paʻu Riders of the King Kamehameha Floral Parade. June 11, 2016, marks the 100th anniversary of the parade that will begin at Iolani Palace and continue down Kalakaua Avenue to concludes at the Waikiki Bandstand.
Guests included several pa'u riders, including pa'u queen Gayle Fujita Ramsey.
The event is part of Hula Grill’s charitable Legacy of Aloha program, supporting local non-profit organizations that foster sustainability in our communities and/or preserve the Hawaiian culture and the culinary arts.
The view from Hula Grill.
For this paniolo-themed event, even the Lanikai Brewing Co. bottles dressed for the occasion. Excuse the spelling of "paniolo" on the inset caption. I was playing with Snapchat and the booboos are impossible to fix!
A snap of Ocean organic vodka. I promise to get a stylus so my handwriting is better!
A different kind of loco moco, made with burger topped with roasted Hamakua mushroom and bordelaise sauce, with 146-degree poached Ka Lei egg and rosemary arancini. Paired with Deep Island Hawaiian Rum.
Red curry-marinated Makaweli skirt steak was accompanied by coconut-braised taro, Ho Farms cherry tomatoes, and toasted peanuts. Pairing: Lanikai Brewing Co. Imperial Red Ale with Ginger.
Niihau lamb ragu with handmade pappardelle, tomatoes, melted leeks and Naked Cow Dairy feta. Pairing: Lanikai Brewing Co. Pillbox Porter.
Dessert came in a paper bag, accompanied by a Lanikai Brewing Co. Haupia Imperial Stout and Okole Maluna chocolate gelato milkshake. I promise to get a stylus so my handwriting is better. ————— Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.
Nadine Kam photos Kyushu is known for its hot springs and Beppu shiitake that contains potassium to help lower blood pressure, vitamin D to prevent osteoporosis and bowel cancer, lentinan used in Japan as an anti-tumor medicine, and eritadenine to lower blood cholesterol and help prevent arteriosclerosis.
The Hawaii Restaurant Association welcomed "The 5th Japanese Food Trade Fair" to the Japanese Cultural Center of Honolulu on March 24, showcasing products various companies want to introduce to the local market.
The event, geared toward retailers, wholesalers and restaurants, included more than 100 products by 20 Japan vendors. I'm hoping to see some of them on store shelves in months to come, such as delicate warabi mochi from Kyoto; plum-accented furikake, and vegetable furikake that can be folded into omelettes as well as sprinkled over rice; yogurt-and-strawberry, cream cheese and other wonderful flavors of mochi; and packaged spicy tuna to speed sushi-making at home.
The event was presented with support of the Japan External Trade Organization, and included a mochi tsuki demonstration and sushi-making demonstration.
A second, public "Sunshine Market" will take place March 26 at J-Shop, during which consumers will be able to purchase the products from 10 a.m. until they are sold out. The J-Shop grocery store is at 1513 Young St.
Local boy Travis Miyamoto now works for Hidecho Suisan Co., in Uwajima City, and taught their cooks how to make poke out of the company's fish, including samples of hamachi and tai that he was serving up.
To speed food prep, silver salmon from Aichi prefecture is marinated in mirin lees and miso and packaged. At home, just grill and eat.
The packaged and finished salmon.
One of the most intriguing products is an all-natural liquid that allows caterers or food preparers to freeze sushi and preserve it for a year. Without freezing, use of the preservative will allow sushi to sit for two hours without refrigeration. The quality, when thawed, he said, would be comparable to grocery store sushi.
Sushi made from packaged spicy tuna and salmon.
Popso extra virgin olive oil is spiced with sansho pepper and contains natural rock salt comprising seven to 10 minerals. It contains no trans-fatty acid and no cholesterol. In the background is the spiced oil and popcorn shrimp sautéed in the oil.
Furikake with dehydrated vegetables and the red of plum.
Fresh mochi was made on the spot, starting with the pounding of the rice, shaping and dredging in kinako.
This cheese manju was delicate and delicious.
A guide to flavored mochi ranging from chocolate to custard cream cheese.
————— Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.
Historic photos courtesy Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa The Moana Hotel after its completion in 1901.
The Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, celebrated 115 years since its opening on March 11, 1901, with a March 11 concert by Makana on the Banyan Courtyard stage, where guests have been entertained for more than 100 years.
And, taking place on the Diamond Lawn that night, a peek at the hotel's future with an enhanced edition of "LOL: Love of Libations," with food and drink pairings by the Beach Bar at the Moana Surfrider, RumFire from the Sheraton Waikiki, Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop, The Pig and the Lady, Koko Head Café, MW Restaurant, MAC 24-7 and Square Barrels. Part of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Life Foundation Hawaii Chapter.
Gathering around the Moana's banyan tree in the early 20th century.
Nadine Kam photos Partying 2016 style, during "Love of Libations" on the Diamond Lawn.
In a friendly competition among participants, with guests voting by dropping one coin each for their pick of best dish and best drink, Koko Head Cafe's lemongrass pork, by chef Lee Anne Wong was voted as best dish, and "Ode to 1989" from Jesse Suderman from Beach Bar at the Moana, won the best cocktail honor.
“Ode to 1989” toasts the year the Moana Surfrider reopened after a renovation project. The cocktail will continue to be offered for $12 at the Beach Bar, and is similar to Moana Sands, a signature cocktail that was served in 1989.
The Moana's Beachhouse restaurant will continue to offer, through the end of the month, a $115 Birthday Dinner Special for two that includes a baby romaine Caesar salad and a wagyu tomahawk steak with the choice of two side dishes.
Koko Head Cafe chef Lee Anne Wong's lemongrass pork belly was named best dish via the evening's popular vote.
On the drink side, Koko Head Cafe served up a light and refreshing Moana 2.0 Ocean Vodka cocktail.
The Beach Bar's "Ode to 1989" cocktail earned best drink honors by popular vote. Based on the hotel's 1989 Moana Sands cocktail, it's made with Ocean Vodka and modeled after a piña colada.
The Beach Bar's food offering was a crowd-pleasing poke of ahi, hamachi, salmon and ikura, with crispy ogo and spiced guacamole.
Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop's 40-hour sous vide shortribs over aged cheddar grits with red eye gravy, and below, the restaurant's kim chee bloody Mary.
MAC 24/7's Ocean vodka-cured kiawe hamachi with ginger-lime vodka quinoa, fried shallots, micro shiso and vodka popcorn glaze.
Vodka tom yum sauce in pipettes that accompanied MAC 24/7's dish, which I thought was the most inspired of the evening.
Square Barrels was serving up a Bishop Sunset cocktail of Ocean Vodka, California Common, Aperol, simple syrup and lemon juice with mint and grape accent.
Also marking the anniversary, the Moana Lani Spa is offering a 45-minute $115 “Birthday Special” treatment that includes a macadamia nut scalp treatment with additional focus on the neck and shoulders, followed by a warm stone foot massage. The “First Lady of Waikiki” package includes a head-to-toe experience with an express hydra facial, pedicure, shampoo, style and champagne for $240. Reserve at (808) 237-2535.
Sometimes referred to as The First Lady of Waikiki, the hotel was built with an investment of $150,000 and well-heeled guests at the time paid $1.50 per night for a room.
To mark the anniversary, guests who stay at the Moana Surfrider at least four nights will get the last night at $115. Guests who book this package will also receive a $115 resort credit (applicable toward dining or spa services), as well as a welcome basket with a Moana Surfrider historical book and other gifts. The package is good through Dec. 25. To book, visit moana-surfrider.com and book rate plan 115AN. Or, call the hotel at (808) 922-3111.
————— Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.
Nadine Kam photos Spareribs in black bean sauce was cooking when June Tong presented a cooking demonstration for the See Dai Doo Society.
In Chinese four pillars astrology, my bazi chart is heavy on water. Water flows. Water can be as gentle as a brook or raging like a tsunami. It's one of the strongest of the elements, seeping into crevices to break rocks apart. In relation to the other elements, water douses fires, rusts metal, causes seeds to sprout from the earth, and nourishes wood.
Because water is an unstoppable force, I love freedom and hate being put in a box. I disdain authority, which is represented by metal.
There is no metal in my sign. So, the surest way to make me do something is to tell me I can't do it.
I was in Shanghai a few years ago and met a designer from Brooklyn who, after starting his business in China, became fluent in Mandarin. A disciplined sort in contrast to my free spirit, he dared me to learn the language and wanted to bet that I could not do it in a year.
Whoa, them's fighting words! So next thing you know, I started attending Mandarin classes offered by the See Dai Doo Society. Difficult, serious stuff, but it's not all about how hard work. The society's programs extend to other cultural pursuits such as Chinese cooking.
Start with three pounds of ribs that have been parboiled and lightly dredged in flour.
On March 20, the society welcomed "Popo's Kitchen" cookbook author June Tong for a demonstration of her black bean sparerib, mochi rice and dau lau recipes.
I was interested in the dau lau, or mochi balls, because it's something my mom made when I was a child and over the years, everyone got busy, moved away from home, and I forgot all about dau lau until my memory was sparked by seeing it again at a new year festival at the now-shuttered Grand Café.
It is a new year treat that can be enjoyed anytime of year. Unlike anything in Western cuisine, every element of the dau lau is symbolic, starting with the white of the mochi rice flour, representing purity, according to society member Sharlene Chun. Its spherical shape represents infinity, with no beginning and no end. The stickiness of the mochi rice also represents family cohesion, and toppings of coconut represent good health, peanuts stand for longevity because of the length of the vines and the nuts' enduring quality, sesame seeds reflect an abundance of sons and wealth, and the sweetness of brown sugar is equal to the sweetness of life.
There's a reason the "Popo's Kitchen" cookbooks have held up over time. The recipes are simple to make and delicious. For the spareribs, for example, all the ingredients went into a wok and simmered for 45 minutes, with all the magic happening while the cook rests.
Then, of course, the best part of the demo was the feast that followed. While Tong and her assistants demonstrated cooking in small batches, more work was being done in the society's kitchen, where volunteers humbly cooked up what they called a "snack," but the rest of us would call a meal, for about 50 lucky souls. Xie xie!
Recipes follow!
Leonard Kam prepares to add garlic and black beans to James Acopan's wok.
Cookbook author June Tong passes the finished dau lau to Dwayne Wong for sampling.
Dau lau in a coating of shredded coconut, peanuts and brown sugar. Each of the ingredients holds meaning. SPARERIBS IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE
3 pounds spareribs, cut up
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1/2 cup flour
Seasonings
1 tablespoon sugar
1 can chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cube chicken bouillon
Cornstarch mixture
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Parboil spareribs. Rinse and drain well. Lightly dredge in flour.
Heat oil in heavy pan. Stir-fry black bean mixture. Add spareribs and brown.
Add seasonings while browning spareribs. Add broth and bring to boil. Cover with lid, lower heat and simmer 45 minutes.
Thicken with cornstarch mixture. Place on platter and garnish with green onions and Chinese parsley.
DAU LAU Flour mixture
1 pound mochi flour
16 ounces water
Topping mixture
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup peanuts, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Combine flour mixture and mix well. Pinch dough to form approximately inch-size balls.
Boil a pot of water. Drop mochi balls into rapidly boiling water. When dough floats to the top, remove with a slotted spoon. Roll cooled balls in topping mixture.
STICKY MOCHI RICE Mochi rice mixture
4 cups mochi rice
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon hondashi
Filling mixture
1/2 cup dry baby shrimp, washed and hard-boiled
1 cup lup cheong, cooked and diced fine
1/2 cup smoked ham or roast pork, diced fine
1 cup black mushrooms, soaked, par-boiled and diced fine
1 cup green onions, diced fine
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon five spice
Cook rice in rice cooker according to directions. Heat wok, adding 3 tablespoons of oil. Stir fry filling mixture. Combine rice and filling mixture as soon as rice cooker shifts to "warm." Mix well and let steam 30 minutes or more. Drizzle on soy sauce to taste, if desired, and mix well.
————— Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.
Nadine Kam photos Soft-shell crab katsu over Waialua asparagus risotto with prosciutto, bagna cauda butter and katsu sauce, was an impressive offering on Mariposa's Localicious menu last week. New entrées are being introduced weekly through the end of the month for the statewide sustainability and agricultural education campaign.
BY NADINE KAM
We're in the third week of the Localicious Hawai'i campaign, a statewide fundraiser for the Hawai'i Agricultural Foundation's education programs.
Nearly 70 Oahu restaurants, and nearly 50 more from the Big Island to Kauai, are participating in the monthlong event during which $1 from each "Localicious" dish sold will go directly toward funding nutrition and sustainability education in our schools.
You can find the full list of participating restaurants at LocaliciousHawaii.com.
Each restaurant has come up with one or two special dishes highlighting locally grown or raised produce and products.
Over at Neiman Marcus, executive chef Marc Anthony Freiberg was ambitious in coming up with new Localicious dishes each week, for each of the restaurant's dining facilities.
Last week, I was lucky to try a delicious shrimp and Kahuku corn salad and soft-shell crab katsu.
This shrimp and Kahuku corn salad with arugula, frisee, carrots, avocado, sunflower seeds and white balsamic vinaigrette was on the Espresso Bar menu last week. So yum!.
Here's the menu for the rest of the month:
TODAY THROUGH MARCH 20
Mariposa
Lunch: Mahimahi with spring pea risotto, citrus-caper butter, fennel confit and micro green salad; $26.
Dinner: Pan-roasted onaga with curry crab, haricot vert and jasmine brown rice; $36.
Dessert: Pineapple upside-down cake with Koloa rum caramel and Big Island macadamia nut ice cream; $8.
Mermaid Bar, Level 2 (closed Sundays)
Lunch: Hamakua mushroom pizza with smoked bacon, onions, sun-dried tomato pesto and goat cheese; $18.
Espresso Bar, Level 1
Tiger shrimp orzo salad with Ho Farms cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, watercress, red onions, cilantro-lime vinaigrette and feta; $18.
The one Localicious dish I tried that you can still get through the end of the month at Mariposa is this juicy pineapple upside-down cake, served with Koloa rum caramel and Big Island macadamia nut ice cream. Well worth a dietary splurge.
MARCH 21 THROUGH 27
Mariposa
Lunch: Grilled opah with squid-ink linguini, rock shrimp, pancetta and lobster bisque; $26.
Dinner: Dungeness crab chitarra with Ho Farms heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, capers, garlic olive oil sauce and parsley breadcrumbs; $34.
Dessert: Pineapple upside-down cake with Koloa rum caramel and Big Island macadamia nut ice cream; $8.
Mermaid Bar, Level 2 (closed Sunday)s
Hawaiian plate of laulau, lomi lomi salmon, Kauai poi or white rice, mac salad and haupia; $18.
Espresso Bar, Level 1
Cheeseburger wrap with Big Island beef, cheddar cheese, grilled onions, lettuce and tomatoes; $18.
MARCH 28 THROUGH 31
Mariposa
Lunch: Ahi steak frites with Big Island mushrooms, spinach, porchini fries, fennel jus and saffron-potato aioli; $30.
Dinner: Stuffed pork chops with salumi, fontina, Big Island mushroom faro "risotto" and fennel jus.
Dessert: Pineapple upside-down cake with Koloa rum caramel and Big Island macadamia nut ice cream; $8.
Mermaid Bar, Level 2 (closed Sunday)s
Pork Milanese with Ho Farms cherry tomato and arugula salad, fresh mozzareall and balsamic dressing; $18.
Espresso Bar, Level 1
Portobello mushroom burger with Big Island tomato, eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella and basil pesto; $18. ————— Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.
Nadine Kam photos Mofongo is one of the specialties available at Coquito's Latin Cuisine in Waianae. This one is topped with a veggie sauté, but diners also have a choice of proteins.
BY NADINE KAM
It's not often that I visit Waianae because I have no reason to be there. One of the last times I was there was to drop off a ring-neck parakeet that flew into my life and needed a good home with a couple who love and care for hundreds of birds, from chickens to macaws.
Farrington Highway from Nanakuli to Waianae is an arid stretch and the sights include all the usual suspects popular in any local community—burger joints, poke and seafood stops, drive-ins and bake shops.
Honolulu is large enough to accommodate other outliers such as the occasion Jamaican jerk, Peruvian and Middle Eastern specialists, but in the relatively insular Waianae community, Coquito’s Latin Cuisine stands out as the one restaurant that doesn’t belong.
The setting was simply a matter of convenience for Stevina Kiyabu, who hails from Puerto Rico but married local. Trained as a pastry chef at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, cooking was in her blood, and in looking at the demographics of Waianae, she saw there is a sizable population of Puerto Ricans. So, she opened Coquito’s in 2012. Since then, it’s become a popular stop for a military personnel from her native country in search of a homey taste of the Mother Land, as well as locals from all parts of the island eager to try authentic Latin cuisine. Last year, she opened Valentina's Ristorante, serving up Italian fare about a block away from Coquito's. I'll be checking that out some other time.
The restaurant is in a charming plantation-style house along Farrington Highway. If west-bound, look for it on the left side of the road.
The menu is manageable for a small kitchen, yet manages to pay homage to specialties of Cuba, the Caribbean and Argentina. Dishes tend to be heavy, so you would have to make several return trips to fully explore the menu.
The most novel of the dishes is mofongo, an African-influenced dish of mashed fried plantains studded with bits of bacon and garlic for extra flavor. (It's their equivalent to American mashed potatoes.) Atop this mini plantain “platter” sits your choice of entrée options such as sautéed shrimp ($16), grilled steak ($14), pernil (roasted pork shoulder, $14), or stir-fried vegetables ($12) that add juiciness to the dish. The mofongo dries out quickly and is best eaten when hot and the exterior is more crispy than spongy.
Each entrée comes with a choice of two sides. These are habichuelas, a mild stew of kidney beans; tostones; white rice; gandule rice; fried yucca; sweet plantains; and potato salad or mixed green salad.
The gandule rice is one of the dishes that differentiates Kiyabu’s cooking with that of locals who grew up with black olives in their rice.
“Local Puerto Rican food is very different from food at home,” Kiyabu said. “One old lady told me that when they immigrated here, it was hard to find certain ingredients, so used what they could find. To this day, they add black olives, but I use green, the Spanish olives.” ———————
Coquito’s Latin Cuisine is at 85-773 Farrington Highway, Waianae. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays to Sundays. Call (808) 888-4082. Costs about $25 to $40 for two for lunch or dinner; BYOB.
Camarones al Ajillo, shrimp sautéed with garlic and cilantro, is served over tostones, or double-fried plantains. The shrimp is yummy, but as an appetizer, it is so very very filling because of the deep-fry component. Recently, $14.
I'm not a big fan of carbs, so even though the beef-and-potato Colombian empanadas are also delicious, they leave me too full to enjoy the entrées. It's lightened with a side of tomato salsa.
A juicy pork-filled pastele comes with two choices of sides. Here, it's gandule rice and sweet plantains.
Nadine Kam photos Angry Korean Lady Won Nam shoots me a dirty look because my phone is in her face.
Stopped by Feb. 26 for a last supper at Ah-Lang, a k a Angry Korean Lady, as the restaurant came to be known over the years due to the fiery nature of proprietor Won Nam. I'd heard she planned to close at the end of February, but fans are in luck, as she now puts the date somewhere between March 15 and 31.
Sorry. At the risk of a slap on the head, I wasn't about to pressure her into being more precise.
The restaurant opened in 2007, and Nam, though hot-tempered, wasn't particularly angry at the time. "Stupid" customers who didn't understand food and inundated her with hundreds of basic questions, brought out her explosive temper.
The graffiti artwork of one of Won Nam's many fans.
When I interviewed her in 2010, she said, "I love to cook and I want people to enjoy it. I don't want people who only want to fill up their stomach. It's not worth my time. I want to tell them, 'Get out!'"
And so she did, developing a brand identity before self-branding went mainstream. Instructions on her table read, "I'm already angry...don't make me more angry." And in my review of the restaurant at the time, I said, "Those who expect four-star service from restaurants would be best advised to take their prissy, soft hands and delicate hides elsewhere. At this small restaurant in the Imperial Plaza, there is no one to greet you, no one to take your order or bring you drinks."
In this one-woman shop, it was all about self-service and BYOB, and keeping those stupid questions to a minimum. This was before the age of restrictive diets, so you can imagine what would happen if, heaven forbid, someone walked in and requested food substitutions.
Beyond the cult of personality, Won is a terrific cook, so the restaurant was not merely about gimmick. Her kalbi, seafood pancake and chicken wings will be missed. The wings are saturated with flavor from having been marinated 48 hours, fried, then finished with a spicy garlic sauce.
She may be back after taking a break from customers who vex her so much. I'm hoping the hiatus will be brief, but the bruised may be thankful for the recovery period.
We had no idea what to expect for the $50 per person meal, so didn't know how to pace ourselves, and no one was brave enough to ask what or how much food was coming. We were at Nam's mercy, and here's what she served:
Veggie and egg gimbap.
Potato and chicken stew.
Stack of kalbi.
Stuffed mushrooms served with the chili sauce below.
