Oahu

Ramen

Oct 28, 2016

I cannot believe that I am attending two events in one day – with the second one starting at 9PM.  I remember my young days when 9PM was “early”, I doubt I will make it to 1AM but I had to see this event.  Seven Chefs from Italy, Japan and America all cooking Ramen.  Luca Catlafamo, Kenji Chiba, Roy Yamaguchi, Alan Wong, Takashi Yagihashi, Iron Chef Morimoto, Ivan Orkin were all serving up ramen, would would win?

After attending the Culinary Flight event on top of the convention center, I wasn’t going to be able to eat much but I was determined to try all seven of the contestants.  This sounded like a fund event and it was.  This being an “After Party” it attracted a much younger crowd but there were plenty of people in my age group so that I didn’t feel out of place.

Personally, I am not a huge ramen fan, I think I learned why – every bowl of ramen that I had was significantly different from the previous one I tasted.  They ranged from being really great to not wanting to finish it.  I am not a huge fan of ramen because there are times that I have it and really like it and there are times that I have it and don’t.   I need to focus in on finding the restaurants that serve the ramen I like.

I would be thinking that I was having the worst bowl of the night and the person next to me would be saying that they thought that this was definitely the best.  Sophon and I thought Roy Yamaguchi had the best Ramen and was glad to see that he won the competition!

October 28th, 2016

Set on top of convention center, this is one of my favorite events.   There are tents set up around the perimeter with chefs serving food with a long tent in middle serving wine.  There are a few other tents with mixologists serving cocktails.  There is something for everyone at this event.

Richard Blais was serving up food and I had to get a picture with him.  He was on Top Chef in 2009 and then Top Chef All Stars.  I see him a lot on TV and feel like I know him.   He was serving seafood Spam.   It was delicious and well as beautifully presented.

Sang Yoon from Los Angeles has been at the festival the last couple of years and his dishes always hits it out of the park.  This year he did Lobster Tom Kai-Kai and he killed it.  Sophon is Thai and he loved it as well.   Tim Love from Austin Texas did Congee (Rice Porridge) which shocked me, I wasn’t expecting congee from Tim Love and it was unbelievably good!

One of my favorite stops is the cheese table.  Every year they have these really great cheeses that leaves me thinking that I have to find a good cheese shop, you will not find the cheeses that they are serving at the grocery market.  Continue reading →

October 27th, 2016

This is the third time I have been to the event.   I took a lot of pictures of the food previous years but as I walked around, I thought, do I really want to take the same pictures of the same event the third year in a row.  Yes, the chef lineup changed, yes the food had changed but I didn’t feel compelled to capture it all.  Instead, I focused in on enjoying the event.

One of my favorite dishes of the night was the Shrimp Sausage made by Art Smith.  I am a huge fan of sausage and this sausage was fantastic.  Chef Kris Yenbamroong from the Night Market restaurant in Los Angeles was serving up some really great spicy Thai food.  I have been to both of his restaurants multiple times and love it every time I go there.

Hugh Acheson, a frequent “Top Chef” judge was there.  It was the first time I had seen him in person, for some reason, I thought he would be really tall, 6’2 or more and he wasn’t.   Iron Chef Morimoto who was there the last couple of years.  Chef Roy Yamaguchi was also serving up some great food.   Needless to say,  there was no shortage of good food or drinks.

One of the surprises of the night was when I tried a dessert prepared by Mariah Swan.  It was so good that I googled her and was pleasantly surprised that she has a bakery a few miles from my house.   I went back to tell her that I am not huge on desserts but I loved what she prepared and I looked forward to visiting her store in LA.

Chef Tim Love was attending the event and at one point, he came around the corner with a tray of tequila shots.  I made a comment on “Chef Tim Love serving shots of tequila, didn’t expect that!” he responded by saying that “Now this is the way that you do it!”.    I work with a guy in San Antonio (Johnny) and the more I saw of Tim, the more he reminded me of Johnny.

October 27th, 2016

In the past, I have rented cars while in Hawaii.   Last year, I lost my driver’s license on the way to Hawaii which meant that I couldn’t rent a car.  I realized that it was easier and cheaper to get around by taxi than it was to rent a car and pay an additional $30.00 per night for hotel parking.  I knew I wanted to do some snorkeling in Hanauma Bay and that is when I found Ike’s Hanauma Bay tours.   It included transport to the bay in a small van (as opposed to a large bus)and snorkeling gear.   He was well rated on Tripadvisor and Yelp and personally, couldn’t have been more pleased at my decision.  Ike is one of those guys that you can’t help but like.

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Eating House – 1849

Pork and Shrimp Pot Stickers

Tavern Chicken

Kim-Chi Pork Belly Salad

October 26th 2016

For dinner, we went to The Eating House – 1849 in the new International Marketplace in Waikiki.  It is a Roy Yamaguchi restaurant.  I met Roy and his wife on a trip to Japan earlier this summer. I had to make this one of our first stops and it wasn’t disappointing.  The food was outstanding and the service was excellent.  The hardest part of the evening was deciding what it was that I wanted off the menu.  It all looked good!

Afterwards, we went to a Chef reception in the International Market Place.  I let Denise know that we were having dinner at Roy’s restaurant and she was nice enough to invite us to the Chef’s reception.  It was fun to go over and see her and her husband and have a few drinks.   We ran into a few people we had seen at previous food and wine events and we saw a a few well known chefs.   It is always interesting to see a celebrities in person, I find myself trying to figure out if they are like their TV persona or not.  It was a fun way to wrap up the evening and to start off the Hawaiian Food and Wine Festival.

On the way back to the hotel, I tried to explain to Sophon how the International Market Place was nothing like the old one.   I had a hard time explaining what the International Market Place (IMP) was like.  It was a huge open air market with small small huts selling tacky souvenir items.  You could find anything from Coconut bras, hula dolls, grass skirts, ukulele, fake leis, Aloha shirts, muumuus, t-shirts, tiki glasses, coffee mugs to carvings of Hawaiian gods.  You could also get your fortune told or your palm read if you wanted to.   Everyone went there to get their souvenirs!

Part of me was a bit sad when I saw that it had closed and was going to be turned into a shopping center.  Waikiki has changed since my first visit in 1986.  Stores and motels were torn down to build high end shopping malls.  The International Market Place was around long before me and even in 1986 it reeked of a by-gone era before Waikiki exploded into huge resorts.   Waikiki had changed significantly since my first visit and part of me hated to see the old IMP go, but I also knew that it needed to go.  At least they kept Banyan Vine tree.

The Pig and the Lady

Laotian fried chicken

Adobo mushroom fried noodles

Pho French dip

October 26th, 2016

I have wanted to eat at this Vietnamese inspired restaurant for years and I finally did.   After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, it was time for lunch.   We uber-ed it to downtown Honolulu where I found the restaurant.   The only had seating at the bar which was fine with us.  I ordered the French Dip – a banh mi style sandwich with a deep that tasted like the beef pho.  It was outstanding.   We started with the Laotian fried chicken which were chicken wings with a lime, chili sauce.   Sophon ordered adobo mushroom stir fried noodles which was also excellent.

October 26, 2016

I am off to Hawaii. This is my third year of the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival (HFWF).  Of all the food events that I have attended, this is my favorite.  Earlier in the year, I decided that instead of going to the HFWF I would go to Japan.  I started getting on the event and when I saw the airfare drop, I booked my flights to Hawaii and here I am a couple of months later and not regretting my decision.

The only downside of being here is that my friend Cindy could not attend.  She has gone to this event with me the last couple of years. This year the dates of the festival are later in the year and Cindy had other obligations.  I am bummed that she cannot be here.

I am here to eat while enjoying the beauty of Hawaii!  I am expecting to eat a lot of food while enjoying the atmosphere!

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September 13, 2015

I love a good brunch and this event, like last year was a fun event.  It is smaller than the other evening events and it is a contest, you vote for the pair of chefs that you like the best.  While waiting for the event, we realized that we were standing in line next to a couple, Tom and Carol, who we had met at the same event a year before.  We sat next to them.  As we were talking, we also realized that they sat next to us in Lee Anne’s restaurant a few days before.  What a small world.

Like last year,  it was hosted by Adam Richman and local chef Lee Anne Wong won.  She has a big personality and her food is good and she is local.  Personally I voted for Sherry Yard who has a restaurant close to my home but Lee Anne won.  I think it was a toss-up as to who won.

I was fascinated with all of the fruit sourced locally, I had most of these fruits over in Southeast Asia, I especially love the mangosteins and wii apple.  I had no idea these were grown in Hawaii.

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September 12, 2015

For breakfast, we found a place close to the hotel called the Goofy Cafe.  What would I do without Yelp?  Pork Belly Eggs Benedict, Big Island Honey French toast and an Omelette.  The three of us were starting the day off just right.  I sat looking out the window at an IHOP wondering if the people going in or out had any idea what they were walking by and missing.  The Goofy Cafe was a definite hit with me.

Off to see the Iolani Palace.  The only Royal Palace in the United States.  Home of the former Hawaiian Monarchs.   This was not my first time to the palace, when my parents retired in the 90’s, I used Frequent Flyer miles to obtain airline tickets to Hawaii.  I went along.  I recently came across my entrance ticket for that day, I had used it as a book market.

The year after at a family reunion, we were playing a game of Trivia Pursuit.  I remember my mother’s team getting the question, “What state is the only State to have a Royal Palace?”  I thought for sure she would get it.  To my surprise she didn’t and when the answer was revealed she said, “I still have a hard time thinking of Hawaii and Alaska as states.”

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