Jonathan Mizukami presents pasta pop-up at MW

Nadine Kam photos
Chef Jonathan Mizukami created a Pasta Cafe pop-up in MW restaurant’s private dining room, with an assist from his 13-year-old son Nalu.


BY NADINE KAM

It’s a shame that more people were not able to experience chef Jonathan Mizukami’s food while he was at Vintage Cave, but prices there are prohibitive for most people.

The 99 percent had their opportunity to sample a smidgen of his wide-ranging capabilities when the chef presented a pop-up Pasta Café in the special events room at MW restaurant on June 22.

The Maui-born chef started his career at Roy’s Nicolina, then Alan Wong’s Restaurant before finding his into the world’s top kitchens, including The French Laundry; Ferran Adria’s El Bulli during that restaurant’s final year in Rosas, Spain; New York’s Per Se; Chicago’s Alinea; Gordon Ramsay in London; and Petrus (now Marcus), in London.

I had a wonderful birthday dinner at Vintage Cave last year, and among the dishes that blew me away was an elegant matsutake royale with juniper brown butter, black trumpet mushrooms and rosemary that conveyed the fall essence of a forest floor. Without knowing Mizukami's background at the time, I was impressed by his intellectual, well-considered approach to food. Hawaii rarely sees this level of mastery and artistry, that goes beyond the purely visual.

Photo courtesy Jason Kim
Jason Kim, a k a @Turkeyboy, lived up to his Twitter name by bringing in his own ground turkey, due to dietary limitations. Chef Mizukami obliged by preparing a simple, but wonderful pasta Bolognese for Kim, below. Of course I couldn’t resist taking a bite!

Guests were delighted by simple but well-executed dishes of gnocchi, hand-cut spaghetti and some dishes we’d never seen offered here, such as pillowy ricotta gnudi that turned out to be a new favorite of many, and toasted semolina cavatelli, a hot dog bun-shaped pasta that—without referring back to the menu—had people thinking they were mushrooms, as I was told.

I tasted it and was like, “This is not mushroom, it’s pasta.”

Sadly, everything was so good, and because it's hard to keep track of just how much you're eating when multiple small plates are involved,  I ate until my stomach hurt.

Hopefully, the next time Mizukami does something like this I’ll have more lead time to get the word out.

Mascarpone-enriched sweet pea ravioli with accents of mint and chopped pistachios was among my favorite dishes of the evening.

Also loved the spiciness and light crispiness of bacony guanciale topping hand-cut spaghetti with San Marzano sauce.

For now, one of the next MW events to put on your calendars is “Brunch!” The collab event will feature b. patisserie San Francisco’s Belinda Leong and Michel Suas, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 1 and 2. The cost is $50 per person and reservations are being taken at (808) 955-6505.

It is one you shouldn’t miss for the James Beard Award-nominated Leong’s divine confections. The two also recently opened B. On the Go cross the street from b. patisserie, to expand production due to popular demand for their kouign amanns and other pastries, as well as grab-and-go sandwiches.

My experience of the kouign amann, was being asked to bring some home from my last trip to San Francisco. I was like, WTF! Such a pain to stop here and there for stuff and bring them home, right?

The 'Secret' is out

Nadine Kam photos
MW Restaurant’s Secret Menu dinner that took place Jan. 22 started with a quartet of hand-passed canapes.

Foodies are a restless lot. While others are content with their teri beef plates, loco mocos and poke bowls, the foodie is constantly prowling about, sniffing out the best new thing to put in his or her mouth.

Instead of waiting for things to happen, foodie Sean Morris seems to enjoy prodding chefs to make things happen. He’s a fan of secret and hidden menus, full of dishes chefs are capable of creating apart from their regular menus, and arranged such a meal at MW restaurant for 10 of his fellow food enthusiasts.

But when he found out Thursday’s dinner would be held in the restaurant’s new, adjoining private dining room, he thought it might be a waste of owners Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka’s time, so to make it worthwhile, he promised to fill the 40-seat room. A simple post to Facebook did the trick, with fellow foodies shelling out $70 apiece to partake in the special dinner.

MW Restaurant’s Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka introduced the dinner and their secret ingredient.

In the spirit of fun and with a little bit of showbiz flair, the Ueokas introduced the dinner with a mystery brown paper bag containing a secret ingredient that would permeate the meal. And, ta-da, from out of the bag, they pulled a foodie favorite, foie gras.

Beyond the main courses, details like housemade Naked Cow milk butter, with its marvelous straight-from-the-farm stinky cow aroma, were well appreciated.

My aim here is not to tease, but inform, so I wanted to let you know you can enjoy any of the secret menu dishes with 48-hour notice. You might also want to note the Kona lobster cannelloni was the consensus savory-side hit of the evening.

Smoked tako canape, and below, arancini. Before dessert’s arrival, we were also treated to airy potato beignets.

Kabayaki unagi over foie gras fried rice was the first of the main courses.

Kona lobster-filled cannelloni was also crowned with the shellfish and served with a tomato ragout, the savory-side hit of the evening.

Smoky Kurobuta pork loin in an upscale dish of kalua pig and cabbage was the most filling dish of the evening.

Beneath the chocolate tuille was “one way” of Waialua chocolate mousse served “two ways.” The one in the cup was in standard mousse form, although at first glance I thought it was a souffle and was surprised when I slipped in my spoon. The other “way” was dehydrated mousse.

The evening left many asking when the next secret dinner would take place. There are at least five restaurants interested in hosting the next dinners, and right now, one every other month seems to be a workable goal. And of course they will take place at restaurants Morris — whose taste is most in line with mine out of everybody I know — loves.

You can stay informed by following Sean Morris on Facebook or @incurablepicure on Twitter.

First Course: MW restaurant First Course: MW restaurant

Nadine Kam photos
Ahi poke with ikura, uni and crispy rice crackers, $18, at the newly open MW restaurant by Alan Wong alums Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka. 

mw1One of the most highly anticipated openings of Fall 2013 is the arrival of MW restaurant from husband and wife Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka, both long-time alums of Alan Wong's Restaurant, he as chef de cuisine and she as pastry maestro. Both won Rising Star accolades last year from StarChefs.com.

They've set up house in one of the refurbished spaces in the former KGMB building at 1538 Kapiolani Boulevard, with valet or self-parking entrance on Makaloa Street.

Alan Wong has always given those in his kitchen room to shine, putting team members in the spotlight through his Next Generation dinner series, but when someone leaves, there's always a question of how close a protégé's new endeavor will hew to that of his mentor.

In this case, MW appears to a whole different creature, with a casual temperament and novel twists on comfort food.

The Ueokas hosted three days of soft-opening dinners, and quite bravely, invited every food writer in town. I pretty much never get invited to these things because most restaurateurs wisely believe in working out all the kinks before throwing themselves at the mercy of a critic. But, they've prepared well, and I had the opportunity to sample much of the menu. Below are a few dishes you can expect now that the restaurant is open to the public:
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MW Restaurant, 1538 Kapiolani Boulevard. Call 955-6505. www.mwrestaurant.com