Alan Wong celebrates 20th anniversary

Photo courtesy Alice Inoue
Chef Alan Wong celebrated the 20th anniversary of his eponymous restaurant, with Alice Inoue.

Time flies when you’re having fun, and nothing makes me feel older than to witness the anniversaries of food movements and restaurants that I was writing about from their starts.

I was there when Alan Wong opened his eponymous restaurant in 1995, and I was in the room when he celebrated his 20th anniversary April 15, another tax day, just like Day 1!

It’s another landmark year for Wong in that, come summer, he’ll be opening his first restaurant in China.

As much as I get down on a new generation of chefs who seem to take a nonchalant, somewhat lackadaisical approach to running their businesses—often failing to keep regular hours or opening without training staff or opening with only an outline of a menu—Wong’s remarks on his anniversary evening reminded me that today’s pros didn’t start out perfect either, even if they had a more polished veneer.

He said he remembered being told to put out signs telling motorists passing by his nondescript King Street building that the restaurant would be opening soon. So he put out a sign that said, “Coming Soon,” with no indication as to what exactly was coming. And, after the restaurant opened, they forgot to take down the sign for a long time.

In an earlier interview for HI Luxury magazine, he told me, “To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what I was doing. The only thing I was envisioning was survival.”

Nadine Kam photos
This was one of my favorite dishes, so refreshing with a fiery kick. Kualoa Ranch poached shrimp wrapped in somen, with kochu jang Asian pear sauce, mint and basil.

Coming to Oahu after working at Lutece in New York City, and opening The Canoe House Restaurant at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows on Hawaii Island, he hoped his restaurant would last five years, knowing that within the industry, nine out of 10 restaurants fail in their first year.

Well, he made it, and with a celebratory menu of 14 savory dishes and 11 sweet bites, showed what keeps diners coming back for more. There were about five food and dessert stations set up around the restaurant and lanai, so I thought, “I can handle this.”

But, food kept emerging from the kitchen. Sadly, I was able to enjoy only about eight dishes, but they were all wonderful.

Some of the things I missed were a Keahole lobster summer roll, five spice pork with mustard cabbage chimichurri, kim chee porridge, and opakapaka with savoy cabbage daikon broth.

One dish I didn’t photograph was Kauai Makaweli Ranch “Flintstone Steak” accompanied by a decadent glob of roasted bone marrow. So silky amazing, I had to have seconds!

Here are some of the other dishes:

Niihau eland carpaccio with chili Parmesan and Nalo Farms arugula.

Kombu-cured Hawaiian kampachi with shiso ahi tartare, uni, opihi and ocean foam.

Niihau lamb shoulder moo shu with salsa roja and a choice of toppings from a condiment bar, below. I opted for fresh corn salsa, goat cheese and verde sauce.

Pork hash “katsu” slider with shredded cabbage and hoisin mustard vinaigrette.

Cambodian kampot black pepper surf and turf with Maui Cattle Co. beef, Hamakua mushrooms and king crab.

North Shore Aqua Farms misoyaki tilapia on onigiri.

 Macarons and Hawaiian Sun guava fruit jelly.

An assortment of cookies and castella cake with local honey glaze.
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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.

Beef tasting just an intro to Wong's aims

Nadine Kam photos
In advance of his next Farmer Series Dinner March 14, Alan Wong hosted a preview of some of the dishes on the menu, and when I requested to go into the kitchen, he was in the process of preparing glazed carrots and turnips.

Alan Wong started a media preview of his next Farmer Series Dinner, taking place March 14, 2012, with the presentation of two equal size beef patties, posing the question, "Which do you like better?"

The beef had been cooked sans salt, pepper or other enhancements for the side-by-side tasting.

Taste comes down to personal preferences, physiology and often, familiarity, so there is no right or wrong answer, but he must have been glad that most of the room preferred the patty on the right, which turned out to be Maui Cattle Co. beef that will be the centerpiece of his Farmer Series dinner, which will also start with side-by-side tastings, followed by appetizers, sous chef Shaun Gaines' "Shrimp and Grits," opakapaka, a tasting of Maui Cattle Co. beef and Hanaoka Farms Lilikoi "Creameux" for dessert, the latter two dishes pictured below.

The other tasting option at the March 7 preview was generic supermarket beef that tasted like fast-food beef. The Maui beef was much sweeter, with better texture, and more interesting grassy, herbal character. The cattle is raised on a vegetarian diet of grasses, and according to Wong, pineapple and molasses, and no antibiotics, growth stimulants or other chemicals.

Wong's simple question of which beef patty one prefers raises all kinds of sustainable and economic issues.

Beyond raising awareness of the flavor profile of different beef, Wong talked about some of his pet projects, such as Aina in Schools, which addresses childhood health issues, nutrition education, agricultural literacy and garden-based learning.

"Things are disappearing in Hawaii," he said. Where once island farms satisfied 70 percent of our dairy needs, that number is down to 30 percent. Bees are disappearing as well.

Maui Cattle Co. beef will be presented four ways at the dinner. In front, braised shortribs with pomme purée of Twin Bridge Farms Patina Potatoes, with red wine glaze made from Wong's merlot. Moving clockwise, there will also be London broil with glazed Maui onions and port wine sauce, ribeye with roasted Ho Farms tomato cluster, and New York strip with glazed turnips from Otsuji Farms and arugula tapenade. The latter was my favorite.

Oceans are also being depleted and he's pushing to encourage people to do aquaponics "to supplement what get from the ocean."

"It's much more than 'which hamburger you like?' he said. "It's getting down to schools, helping kids learn to eat more healthy."

In turn, the children get to taste and appreciate differences between fresh and processed foods, learn to choose healthful foods over sugary snacks, and with the increased food literacy are helping to drive their parents' decisions in the supermarket.

Proceeds from the Farmers Series dinner will benefit Taste of the Nation, the fundraising arm of the national organization Share Our Strength, whose campaign, "No Kid Hungry" aims to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. To date, one out of every four children in the country does not know where his/her next meal will come from, and studies have shown that undernourished children are unable to focus in school and grow up to suffer emotional and health problems.

Among the local beneficiaries are 'Aina in the Schools, a program of the Kokua Foundation, and Hawaii Foodbank.

Polly Kauahi, director of Hawaii Foodbank, Inc., was there to talk about the Food 4 Keiki Backpack Program which launched in 2008 at Kaiulani Elementary School. The program aims to fight childhood hunger, starting by distributing bags packed with nutritious foods once a month to students from low-income families. Since then, the program is delivering the meals every Friday.

The cost of the Farmers Series dinner is $80 per person/$110 with wine. For reservations, call 949-2526.

Also coming up, Wong and 15 local chefs will partner with local farmers in Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation Hawaii, taking place April 29, 2012, at Bishop Museum, from 6 to 9 p.m., with a VIP hour from 5 p.m. Visit www.alanwongs.com for more details about these and other events.

Carrots need space in the pan to achieve an even, glossy sheen.

Chef de Partie Sonny Acosta Jr., will be the featured chef during Alan Wong's Next Generation Dinner taking place March 28, 2012. Among the highlights of this dinner will be his "Poulet au Vinaigre," which he prepared at the 2012 Bocuse d'Or USA Commis Competition at The Culinary Institute of America on Jan. 28. The chefs were invited to reinterpret Paul Bocuse's classic recipe in their style.

Drawing on his Filipino heritage, and growing up with the food of Thelma's in Waipahu, Acosta presented adobo style chicken three ways, including lumpia with ground chicken. It was delicious, could that be because I grew up in Waipahu, too?

After all the meat selections, pastry chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka's dessert was a light, refreshing delight. Her Hanaoka Farms Lilikoi "Creameux" comprised lilikoi curd, foam guava granite and foam coconut granite aerated in a canister to create a soft sponge effect, topped with white candied ginger meringue. That square toward far left comprises mango lassi, muddled mango, mango gelee and fresh mango. Amazing! The meal ended with amazake, a traditional unfiltered sake reinterpreted with Hanaoka Farms lilikoi juice, presented by wine director Mark Shishido.

Wong with new sous chef Shaun Gaines.

HFWF's grand finale

Nadine Kam photos
John Besh of the Besh Restaurant Group in New Orleans and James Beard Best Chef of the Southeast 2006, cooked up Molokai shrimp and andouille and served it over baked jalapeño cheese grits. I'd heard it was very good, but I was too full to try it.

With 15 chefs, plus winemakers, mixologists and dessert purveyors stationed on the lawn at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort for "Mauka to Makai: Hawaii's Sustainable Future," on Oct. 1, the finale of the spectacular three-day Hawai'i Food & Wine Festival, there was more than enough food and drink for the evening's 1,100 guests to handle.

I say "handle" because for those who took in two or all three days, could barely manage to sample six or seven more plates, much less sample all the chefs' creations.

The inaugural festival—one of, if not the biggest food festival held on Oahu—was a major feat for James Beard Award-winning chefs and co-chairs Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, and executive director Denise Hayashi, who drew on their international cred and connections to draw their illustrious roster of chefs. Usually, festivals with this caliber of talent have taken place on the Big Island.

Evening 1 at the Modern Honolulu drew 800 for its focus on "Streets of Asia: Morimoto and Friends, Evening 2 gave way to a Halekulani Master Chefs Gala Dinner Series aimed toward the 270 elite diners who could afford a $1,000 ticket or two. During the days there were chocolate and wine tastings, a food-oriented fast-pitch session with Dave McClure of 500 Startups which provides seed money for entrepreneurs, and discussions of the 21st century table in Hawaii and innovations in the food and farming industries.

When it got dark, Rick Moonen's fiance, art director turned photographer Roni Fields, guided me to the light for this photo.

Moonen served up striped marlin poke with tropical vinaigrette, hearts of palm, Waialua onion, inamona and lemon balm.

The Hilton's Great Lawn could barely contain the event, with reserved tables in the center forcing those without tables to crowd the perimeter. I finally got smart and crossed through the central area whenever I had to move quickly. In trying to get photos of all the visiting chefs, I think I sampled just five or six dishes that night, and even had to pass on some of my favorite foods, I was so full. I was amazed when skinny people told me early they had not only made a complete circuit, but tried everything!

I did make it a point to try town's pig's feet though, after being told by a couple of people, including L.P. "Neenz" Faleafine how good it was, "and I don't even like pig's feet!" she marveled.

To promote sustainability, all the chefs were provided with local ingredients to use in their creations. In addition to the host chefs, the night's roster featured:

John Besh, John Besh Restaurants, New Orleans
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles
Celestino Drago, Celestino Drago Restaurant Group, Los Angeles
Dean Fearing, Fearing’s, Dallas
Michael Ginor, Hudson Valley Foie Gras & Lola, New York
Ed Kenney, Town, Hawaii
George Mavrothalassitis, Chef Mavro, Hawaii
Peter Merriman, Merriman’s, Hawaii
Rick Moonen, Rick Moonen's rm seafood, Las Vegas
Michel Nischan, Dressing Room, Connecticut
Philippe Padovani, Padovani’s Grill, Hawaii
Jeffrey Vigilla, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hawaii
Marcel Vigneron, "Top Chef Bravo," Marcel's Quantum Kitchen TV, Los Angeles

Marcel Vigneron, who gained national notoriety in season two of Bravo's "Top Chef," and now with his own reality series, "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen," presented Big Island moi and pork belly with pineapple poi, sea asparagus, hon shimeji and micro shiso, below.

Marcel accommodated several fans who wanted photographs.

Host property Hilton Hawaiian Village executive chef Jeffrey Vigilla with the wok-fried Kauai shrimp tempura that crowned the kiawe wood-smoked Kahua Ranch beef he was also serving with Hawaiian brown sugar-black rum BBQ sauce, Surfing Goat cheese and kabocha puree, micro arugula and radish. The assembled dish, below:

It was hard to track down Roy Yamaguchi, who was all over the premises as event co-chair, along with Alan Wong. Finally caught up with him as he greeted Deena Nichols, senior vice president of Macy's West, right, and Laura Townsend, also of Macy's.

Alan Wong served up Keawa Nui Farms sweet and meaty Molokai shrimp with Sumida Farms watercress, below. He is one busy guy, who will be giving a culinary demonstration and signing copies of his cookbook, "The Blue Tomato: The Inspirations Behind the Cuisine of Alan Wong," from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Williams-Sonoma store at Ala Moana Center. He'll also be hitting the road with food historian Arnold Hiura on a "Taste Hawai'i" tour of the San Francisco Bay area from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, with culinary demos, tastings and book signings. Details are at thebluetomato.net/tastehawaiitour