Category Archives: Seafood

Hawaii Part 2: Chefs Who Pioneered Hawaiian-Regional, Fine-Dining Cuisine

Fabulous ginger-crusted onaga at Alan Wong's.

HONOLULU, OAHU –  Alan Wong. Sam Choy. Roy Yamaguchi. George Mavrothalassitis. And Peter Merriman.

Together, they make up a large part of the culinary cognoscente who first put Hawaiian fine-dining on the map. In their hands, the unique ingredients of the islands have been elevated to new heights with sophisticated techniques and glorious ethnic influences.

On a recent trip to Oahu, courtesy of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, I was invited to dine as a guest at two of these pioneering Honolulu restaurants. They did not disappoint, either.

In 1995, the flagship Alan Wong’s restaurant opened in an unlikely spot: the third floor of a rather non-descript office building. It boasts no view of the ocean or beach, just cars whizzing by on the street or kids skate-boarding after dark.

But when the elevator doors open to the restaurant, you step into a warm, inviting and always busy dining room full of couples and families celebrating birthdays as befits this special occasion place.

The menu offers a la carte choices, as well as two tasting menu options — a five-course menu sampling and a six-course chef’s tasting menu. The former is a roundup of some of Wong’s signature dishes, while the latter features newer dishes.

My husband and I opted for the $75 five-course, though the cooks threw in a few extra goodies.

Soup and sandwich go glam at Alan Wong's.

Wong’s food is full of whimsy and bold flavors, as evidenced by the famous “Soup and Sandwich,” which features chilled Hamakua Springs tomato soup in a martini glass that’s playfully juxtaposed with a grilled cheese kalua pig sandwich. Yes, in Hawaii, you can get great tomatoes practically all year-round. Eat your heart out, mainlanders. Bite into the crisp sammy and prepare to swoon as tender, smoky pig meets gooey mozzarella.

Ahi done up like a sea anemone.

Another inventive take was the ahi, which comes wrapped in slivers of wonton wrappers, then is deep-fried until it looks like a golden sea anemone on your plate.

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Hawaii Part 1: Bright and Early at the Honolulu Fish Auction

The action gets going at 5:30 a.m. at the Honolulu Fish Auction.

HONOLULU, OAHU — Long before the sun comes up six days a week, Pier 38 is a frenzy of activity even in deepest darkness.

As early as 1 a.m., fishing vessels that have been 200 miles out in international waters pull into port to unload their formidable fresh catch at the Honolulu Fish Auction, the largest such auction in the United States. (The only other one is in Maine.)

The fish — bigeye tuna, swordfish, mahimahi and others — are weighed and tagged with the name of the vessel that caught each one. Then, the fish are put on display in row upon row of ice-heaped pallets inside an expansive warehouse kept at a frigid temperature to maintain the integrity of the seafood.

Fresh, whole opah. Can you guess why it's also called moon fish?

The male mahimahi have square heads, while the females have rounded ones.

At 5:30 a.m. sharp, the auctioneer rings a brass bell to signal the start of bidding on that day’s bounty from the sea.

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Melissa Clark’s One Dish Wonder

With only five ingredients, this dish delivers big-time in flavor.

On time-pressed weeknights, I like nothing better than a one-pot dinner that cooks up in mere minutes and leaves you soulfully satisfied far, far longer.

Melissa Clark’s “Sauteed Scallops with Tomatoes and Preserved Lemon” is such a dish.

It’s from her new cookbook, “Cook This Now” (Hyperion), of which I recently received a review copy. Its 120 recipes are arranged by season and month to take advantage of your local farmers market offerings. I’ve already got half the pages bookmarked, as these are wonderfully straightforward recipes that not only entice with their flavors but with their ease of preparation.

This particular recipe by the famed New York Times food writer has only five ingredients (not including salt and pepper), but tastes like so much more.

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Chez Panisse 40th Anniversary Public Lunch on Maiden Lane, Oyster Time & More

The Alice Waters-designed T-shirt by Levi's. (Photo courtesy of Levi's)

Chez Panisse Joins With Levi’s For A Special Event in San Francisco

Make a lunch date at 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 24 at San Francisco’s tucked-away Maiden Lane (between Grant Avenue and Stockton Street) to enjoy locally sourced, organic box lunches from Chez Panisse and the launch of a cool new T-shirt collection by the iconic restaurant in collaboration with Levi’s.

It’s all to celebrate the 40th anniversary of  the landmark Berkeley restaurant.

Proceeds from the sale of the all-organic T’s will benefit the Edible Schoolyard Project, the organization that Chez Panisse founder Alice Waters established to integrate kitchen and garden education into grade-school curriculum. The T’s feature designs by such celebs as Waters, herself, as well as Sofia Coppola, David Byrne, Dave Eggers and Maira Kalman. Beginning Aug. 24, the shirts also will be available in select Levi’s stores around the country and online at Levi.com.

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Time for a V8 Pasta Sauce

Pasta made with V8. Seriously!

Would you believe that’s the secret ingredient in this lusty pasta sauce?

Yes, V8, the canned and bottled deep-red vegetable juice that’s been around since 1933.

Normally, I might pooh-pooh the idea of pulling the tab on a can of mass-produced tomato-enriched juice to toss with pasta for dinner, especially since I rarely even quaff the stuff straight .

But this recipe for “Spaghettini with Tuna and V8 Sauce” comes from none other than esteemed chefs, Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani of award-winning Terra restaurant in St. Helena. And it was published in the cookbook, “A Twist of the Wrist” (Alfred A. Knopf), written by equally revered Pastry Chef, Nancy Silverton, famed for founding La Brea Bakery in Los Angeles, as well as for her restaurants there and in Singapore in conjunction with Mario Batali — Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza.

Keep a few in the pantry to make this dish on the spur of the moment.

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