Find Fresh Noodles Made With ‘Ulu, Kalo, Ube and Moringa at Adela’s Country Eatery
Slurp the rainbow.
Chan recommends the kalo pasta with shrimp, mushroom, lū‘au leaves and coconut cream ($16.99).
“Each one has its own character and different taste,” Millie Chan says of the noodles she makes out of ingredients including moringa and ube. The noodles sprung out of a chance trip to Japan—a Hokkaido radio station broadcasting from Waikīkī was so impressed by the mac nut shortbread Chan’s friend, baker Adela Visitacion, made, that it invited them to the northern Japanese islands.
Left to right: ‘Ulu (breadfruit), subject to availability; Avocado; Malunggay (moringa); Ube or Okinawan sweet potato; Kalo (taro)
There, the duo wanted to learn about ramen, so they worked for five days at a small three-generation-old noodle factory before returning to O‘ahu with a ramen machine of their own. Because of climate differences between Hokkaido and O‘ahu, they adjusted amounts of flour and water until they perfected the texture. “The basic technique is still Hokkaido ramen,” says Chan, “and then we localized it. Nonstop every day, I keep looking and tasting and finding new flavors and new techniques.”
LEFT TO RIGHT: Alfredo (cream and butter, simmered for an hour); Marinara (vegan tomato sauce); Aurora (marinara mixed with Alfredo); Cacciatore (marinara mixed with a beef demi-glace); Lechon kawali topping
Last year, Chan opened Adela’s Country Eatery, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Kāne‘ohe, where you can mix-and-match your noodles, sauces and toppings. (And where you can find Visitacion’s desserts including the mac nut shortbread and Okinawan sweet potato bread pudding.) In addition to creating your own dish, there are house special combinations like kalo pasta with shrimp, mushroom, lū‘au leaves and coconut cream. Top your noodles with an order of lechon or shrimp scampi and the result is “a melting pot of all nationalities—typical Hawai‘i-style.”
See what else is on the menu. 45-1151 Kamehameha Highway, Kāne‘ohe, (808) 236-2366, adelascountryeatery.com
