Category Archives: Restaurants

Hawaii Eats: NatuRe Waikiki, Oahu

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Executive Chef Nae Ogawa at the chef's counter at natuRe Waikiki.
Executive Chef Nae Ogawa at the chef’s counter at natuRe Waikiki.

Honolulu, Oahu, HI — For a truly special experience, snag a seat at the chef’s counter at natuRe Waikiki — if you can.

The two-story restaurant opened in 2022 with plenty of outdoor seating on the first floor with an a la carte menu. But the best spot in the restaurant is definitely at the 10-seat chef’s counter, where Chef Nae Ogawa and her young team hold court in the open kitchen.

I had many wonderful meals on my trip to Hawaii last week. But by far, one of the most outstanding was the tasting menu at this gem that Honolulu Magazine named “Best New Restaurant” in 2022.

To be honest, natuRe (pronounced the French way, “nah-tur) was not even on my radar. On a sun-and-sand, sandals-and-shorts kind of vacation, I wasn’t necessarily even contemplating an upscale, fine-dining dinner.

A Kumamoto oyster is one of two supplements available to the tasting menu.
A Kumamoto oyster is one of two supplements available to the tasting menu.

But friend Sarah Burchard deserves special thanks for steering me to it. The former chef at San Francisco’s Barbacco, Burchard moved to Honolulu more than six years ago to become a successful food writer. In fact, anyone planning a trip to Hawaii should check out her online site for tips on must-visit places. When she’s not writing or volunteering her time for all manner of community eco projects, she is a server at natuRe. So, when she recommended the chef’s counter there, I knew she wouldn’t steer me wrong.

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Hawaii Eats: Mud Hen Water, Oahu

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A magnificent porchetta made with local pork and stuffed with a filling of taro leaves.
A magnificent porchetta made with local pork and stuffed with a filling of taro leaves.

Honolulu, Oahu, HI — At one point, Hawaii’s respected chef, Ed Kenney, had four restaurants. But following the throes of the pandemic, only one remains.

Mud Hen Water is still going strong, thankfully. Opened in 2015 with a strong locavore focus, it continues to be relevant and incredibly popular, among both locals and tourists, as I found when I dined there last week. It’s no wonder, too, because this is food that captures the cornucopia of cultures that comprise Hawaii, from the Mediterranean to most of Asia. With a homey Hawaiian quality and assertive flavors, this is food that you easily crave again and again.

With Kenney’s Kaimuki Superette next-door now closed, Mud Hen Water has taken over that outdoor space to offer al fresco dining. But even if you dine indoors, as we did, there’s plenty of air circulation from whirring ceiling fans and patio doors left open to take advantage of the balmy, tropical breezes.

The dining room sports ceiling fans and patio doors that stay open on warm nights, which are almost always the case on Oahu.
The dining room sports ceiling fans and patio doors that stay open on warm nights, which are almost always the case on Oahu.

Start with a playfully named Shurb a Dub Dub ($11), a bracing mix of vodka, lemon, ginger, and seasonal shrub, which in this case was a mix of guava and citrus. Zingy and tart, it’s exactly what you want on a warm night.

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Francis Ang’s Soy Sauce Chicken with Star Anise and Orange Peel

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A family recipe from Chef Francis Ang of Abaca.
A family recipe from Chef Francis Ang of Abaca.

Think of this as the harmonious marriage of Chinese soy sauce chicken and Filipino chicken adobo.

“Soy Sauce Chicken with Star Anise and Orange Peel” is from Chef Francis Ang of San Francisco’s Abaca restaurant.

No wonder it has elements of both when this family recipe was conceived by his China-born grandmother when she was living in the Philippines.

The recipe was published recently in the Wall St. Journal’s “Slow Food Fast” column, in which notable chefs from around the country contribute a series of home cook-friendly recipes that spotlight their heritage and cooking styles.

You may fear that chef recipes are typically way too complicated and fussy. Not this one. It couldn’t be easier.

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Dining Outside at Anatolian Kitchen

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The delectable mix appetizer platter at Anatolian Kitchen.
The delectable mix appetizer platter at Anatolian Kitchen.

When the devastating earthquake hit Turkey last month, restaurateur Dino Tekdemir set to work immediately to launch a GoFundMe, and to donate 40 percent of proceeds from sales at his Anatolian Kitchen in Palo Alto on Feb. 16 to the victims of the disaster.

Born and raised in Turkey, Tekdemir, also owns the Austrian cuisine Naschmarkt restaurants in Campbell and Palo Alto.

With the people of Turkey still prominent on our minds, two friends and I took advantage of a brief respite from the savage rainstorms of late to dine outside at Anatolian Kitchen last week. With outside tables that spill onto the sidewalk and into the street that’s still closed to cars since the pandemic, it makes for a fine place to have a gal-pal lunch.

The restaurant's outdoor dining area.
The restaurant’s outdoor dining area.

A must-order is the mix appetizer platter ($29.95) that’s perfect for sharing and noshing. It’s an assortment of cacik, a tzatziki-like yogurt-cucumber-garlic dip; a thick, coarse hummus; moderately spicy muhammara made with walnuts ground with roasted bell peppers and a touch of pomegranate molasses; smoky eggplant puree; skinny dolmas rolled around rice pilaf with currants and pine nuts; and my favorite of fried eggplant chunks in a saucy mix of tomatoes, garlic, and bell peppers.

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Dining At Afici

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A spectacular uni pasta at Afici in San Francisco.
A spectacular uni pasta at Afici in San Francisco.

Few good things resulted from the pandemic. But one of them is surely Afici.

This South of Market fine-dining restaurant in San Francisco grew out of the pasta-oriented pop-up and takeout that Executive Chef Eric Upper of Alexander’s Steakhouse did during shutdown. A New York City native who worked at Auerole in New York, and Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas, Upper had the opportunity to lean into his Italian heritage, having studied Tuscan cuisine at Lorenzo de’ Medici School in Florence.

The pop-up proved so popular that it led the Alexander’s Steakhouse Restaurant Group to open Afici last summer.

The result is a stylish restaurant featuring inspired Italian specialties not found easily elsewhere, including house-made charcuterie made exclusively with prized A5 Wagyu.

I had a chance to experience Afici last week, when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant.

Afici's bar and lounge.
Afici’s bar and lounge.

With the wacky weather of late that’s brought snow to the Bay Area, it was an especially nice touch to be greeted at the host stand with cups of warm ginger-infused tea.

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