MW hosts tea pairing with Kathy YL Chan

Nadine Kam photos
Food writer and tea specialist Kathy YL Chan was in town to join Michelle Karr-Ueoka in presenting a tea and dessert pairing event.

BY NADINE KAM

The art of tea is relatively new in the West and it’s only within the past two or three years that Asian-style tea shops began springing up around town. Even so, sipping on oolong, white, pu-erh and green teas continues to be a standalone experience as we get to know the flavors, chemistry and benefits of the teas.

We have yet to embrace the idea of tea sommeliers that exist in China. Here’s one of my earlier blog posts about such an experience: http://takeabite.staradvertiserblogs.com/2012/05/01/opening-the-senses-to-jin-xuans-tea-experience/

Kathy YL Chan is trying to change that. Born and raised in Hawaii, the tea connoisseur now lives in New York and travels the world as a tea consultant for restaurants and hotels, and as a writer and speaker focusing on teas. Somke of her clients include Lady M Confections, Eleven Madison Park, and The Peninsula Hotels.

 

The first pour of Mi Xiang oolong tea, which was a hit of the day.

She teamed with fellow Alan Wong restaurant alum Michelle Karr-Ueoka for an afternoon tea and dessert pairing event that took place Dec. 27 at Michelle’s MW Restaurant.

Wine pairing with her desserts is nothing new to Michelle, but she said the event marked her first attempt at pairing teas, a ritual that will no doubt grow in popularity—like beer and sake pairings—as people become more familiar with the teas themselves.

Guests eyes, and palates, were opened as they bit into Michelle’s first offering of a Ka’u orange and tropical fruit “Pop Tart,” noting how it meshed with the creamy, honey notes of China’s Mi Xiang oolong.

Kathy said oolong is her favorite category of tea because it offers the biggest variety and most complexity.

She is currently consulting with a major restaurant set to open here next year.

Michelle’s dessert of Ka’u orange and tropical fruit “Pop Tart” with orange cheesecake, fresh fruit, lilikoi sorbet, and Hawaiian honey over yuba “puff pastry” boosted the tea’s creamy, honey notes.

A selection of Hawaiian Island Goat Dairy cheeses accompanied by housemade tea leaf lavosh and Da Hong Pao oolong.

b. patisserie pops in to MW restaurant

Nadine Kam photos
My friends and I are addicted to San Francisco’s b. patisserie maple-bacon kouign amann, and even with a change of venue and climate, Belinda Leong did not disappoint.

BY NADINE KAM

Not everyone has the good fortune to be able to travel to San Francisco for a taste of b. patisserie and the work of its James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef Belinda Leong, so MW restaurant brought a taste of b. patisserie to Honolulu.

Leong and her cafe/bakery business partner Michel Suas joined MW chef/owners Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka in the kitchen for their tea service brunch! Aug. 1 and 2, which never ceases to be a wonderful excuse to get together with friends or family.

MW was recently featured on Eater.com as one of “6 Killer Afternoon Tea Services From Around the World,” in the illustrious company of such institutions as the InterContinental Hong Kong, Ritz-Carlton Kyoto and Four Seasons Tea Lounge in Qatar. View the link here: http://www.eater.com/drinks/2015/8/5/9075797/notable-afternoon-tea-services-around-the-world

For my friends and I, the collaboration seemed like a mad experiment in baking. We always hear from pastry chefs that Hawaii’s high humidity is to blame for deflated, soggy pastry.

OK, we get it. They have simply set us up to have low expectations. But Belinda has proved otherwise. In skilled hands, we can have amazing puff pastry and bread here.

Photo courtesy Jason Kim
Belinda Leong, left, with business partner Michel Suas in back, next to MW’s Wade Ueoka, and far right, Michelle Karr-Ueoka.

Now, here’s the thing with Belinda’s pastry: One of my friends is obsessed with her kouign amann, a light, airy Breton cake comparable to puff pastry or a croissant, with a crunchy and buttery caramelized sugar crust. It is divine. So, when he heard I was going to San Francisco last year, he made me promise to bring some back.

I picked it up en route to the airport at 3 p.m., flew home, went straight to a dinner party of about 30 people to meet him, but we couldn’t enjoy it until 11 p.m., when the dinner party disbanded. We were not about to share this edible “gold” with mere acquaintances.

With the time difference between California and Hawaii, about 11 hours had elapsed since I walked out of b. patisserie. But, in the worst of conditions, bumped around with my luggage and airport security, in the frosty air-conditioning of the plane, in a taxi and finally, the trunk of my car, the texture and flavor was still amazing as four of us gobbled them up in the darkness of a dingy underground parking lot.

But again, those low expectations are hard to retire. When I saw the kouign amann here in petite form, a quarter of their full size in keeping with the meal’s petite proportions—the only way we could enjoy all 16 courses—I had my reservations. I thought that with the change in venue and recipe adjustment they might be dry. I braced myself for the worst. But, they were just as good as I remembered. It was one of those Oliver Twist, “May I have some more,” moments.

My friends were able to purchase a few extras. As for me, I plan to be in San Francisco very soon, and you know where I’m heading.

Nadine Kam photos
The morning feast started with b. patisserie’s light, crunchy granola, served over yogurt and strawberries.

MW Kauai shrimp cocktail.

Lovely spicy ahi tartare.

b. patisserie’s lilikoi bostock with seasonal berries and noyau cream. Some of my easily confused tablemates were bothered by the pacing of the meal, which had sweets interspersed with the savory. They prefer to finish all the savories before moving on to sweets. You learn a lot about people at the table.

Pint-size won ton soup.

Chawanmushi.

Seafood cake Benedict.

This was one of my favorite dishes of bacon, eggs and crispy rice.

Make most of holiday leisure at The Veranda

Nadine Kam photos
Tea service at the Kahal Hotel & Resort Dec. 19 included assorted sweets and savories served with dragon pearl jasmine tea.

The Kahala Hotel & Resort hosted a holiday tea event Dec. 19 to introduce the newly remodeled Veranda lounge and adjoining grand terrace lanai.

It was a great reminder that the open-air lounge is a perfect setting for entertaining out-of-town family and friends who tend to arrive in search of warm weather (and your company, of course) this time of year.

You can spend a relaxing morning or afternoon strolling the property and visiting the dolphins, before settling in for afternoon tea, which runs from 2 to 5:30 p.m. daily.

A single pot of loose leaf Harney & Sons tea is $8 per person. Simple tea service of a Harney & Sons tea and four sweets and fresh-baked scones, or a plate of four sandwiches, is $17 per person.

Classic tea service, at $28 per person, features a plate of four sweet treats, four savory sandwiches, scones, clotted cream and preserves, and a choice of a Harney & Sons tea.

The Royal tea service is $42 per person, includes all of the classic menu, plus a glass of champagne with a strawberry.

If you want to extend your stay, The Veranda is open for pupu from 5:30 to 10 p.m., and cocktails from 2 p.m. to midnight.

The new menu includes such dishes as fall roasted vegetable tart ($8); roasted Bussels sprouts with shredded duck, caper anchovy vinaigrette ($10); grilled South Pacific shrimp ($10/$14); red wine-braised lamb shank ($24); grilled prime flatiron steak ($22); harissa roast chicken ($18); and more. Or, order off the Hoku's menu.

You can view all the menus online at www.kahalaresort.com/dining
Find out how your photo memories of The Kahala can win you a two-night stay at the resort, here.

There's still time to view the Kahala's 25-foot tall Noble fir.

A selection of traditional sandwiches at The Veranda's tea service. Clockwise from top left: smoked salmon on rye toast with parsley cream cheese; chicken salad with tarragon and grapes on toast; Hamakua Springs Farm mushroom turnover; ham and manchego cheese on multi-gram bread; and chicken tarragon and grape salad on endive.

Afternoon tea treats clockwise from 10 p.m. spot: lilikoi Madeline; chocolate-raspberry tart; brown sugar shortbread; Kona coffee ganache pave; profiterole with pistachio cream; yuzu macaron.