Nonstop eats

Hello, Eat the Street. But whoa, where am I? The scene is familiar (food trucks snaked around a parking lot), but we’re at Mililani Rec Center 7, tucked deep in Mililani Mauka, with town homes surrounding us. Yup, we’re definitely not in Kaka’ako anymore.

By Lindsey Txakeeyang
Special to Nonstop

In September, I’ll be leaving the island for my freshman year at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. While it’s definitely closer to home than a lot of other places on the Mainland, there are some things I know I won’t be able to find while I’m there — and by that, I mean mostly food. So with that in mind, here are the foods I’ll be dreaming of until I come back home.

It was a posh scene on the lawn at the Kahala Hotel & Resort last night. They set up a tent with gorgeous chandeliers and classic white tablecloth settings, all evoking Hollywood glamour for their fall Wine & Food Classic.

A beautiful evening — cool and calm. No lines. Creative dishes. Wine. Waikiki. Let’s hit it.

The second annual Rice Fest took place yesterday at its new venue in Magic Island, with about a dozen vendors feeding and entertaining an estimated 3,000 people. Were you one of them?

Still heat of summer
icy promise fills my glass
the joy of sake

Last month Shabu Shabu King opened in the space vacated by TCBY on South King Street, adding another hot pot eatery to the Oahu dining scene.

— Photo by Catherine Toth

The menu

Thousands showed up for Friday’s Eat the Street, but the crowd wasn’t so thick that people faced massive waits for food, which allowed for a more relaxed, mellow vibe.

— Photo by Doc Rock

By Lindsey Txakeeyang
Special to Nonstop

The Greek Festival is underway at McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Park, continuing through today. We stopped by the 31st annual event on Saturday to check out the food and festivities, which were both abundant. Along with celebrating Greek culture, the festival raises funds for the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific.

Fernando Pacheco
Comedian, blogger, KPOI Love Machine, member of rock-reggae-ska band Pimpbot

Every morning, I wake up knowing that my destiny is wrapped in a flour tortilla. I would want my last meal (and every meal before that) to be a burrito. Meat of choice? Al pastor. I don’t like messy foods. Burritos can neatly hold a ton of hot sauce. I’m a hot sauce junkie.

by Melissa Chang
Nonstop

While watching our last M&M adventure to the North Shore, comedian Andy Bumatai said he laughed so hard, he fell off his chair. So for our next M&M eating adventure, we decided to bring him along to add his comedic perspective.

I had initially eaten at the new Canton Seafood Restaurant with the secret Hawaii Chinese Dinner Society — and we all liked it — so it was time to bring Mari Taketa, my M&M counterpart, to try our favorites from the evening and expand her Chinese food horizons beyond beef broccoli and cake noodle. Mari admits she’s not an expert in Chinese food, but she knows what she likes and was open to seeing whether dishes favored by real Chinese eaters would suit her own palate.

Canton Seafood Restaurant
923 Keeaumoku St.
808-955-3388

As coffee geeks will tell you, it can be tough to get a really good cup of coffee around town. On July 11, Morning Glass Cafe opened its doors in Manoa — amid a bit of buzz from chefs, foodies and coffee lovers — and already has a loyal following. We’ve been checking it out, too. Here’s some intel from our visits there.

Morning Glass Coffee + Cafe
2955 E. Manoa Road
808-673-0065
www.morningglasscoffee.com

First stop: coffee. So we headed to the charming town of Hanalei on Kauai’s north shore and directly to Java Kai, a coffee shop opened by Jennifer and Brent Hickman in 1997.

From the 4 p.m. start to the 9 p.m. end, the parking lot was packed with peeps.

— Photo by John Garcia

One of my favorite things to do in the summer months in Hawaii is hit a bon dance at a Japanese temple. It’s more than just a cultural experience; it’s got great food, too.

Since today’s video focused on Ailana, I’m going to start with that as one of my top five shave ice spots.

Ailana Shave Ice
1430 Kona St.
808-955-8881

After a lot of hype and some public bumps, a new charcuterie/bar is open in Kaimuki: Salt Kitchen & Tasting Bar. It’s owned by Kevin Hanney of 12th Avenue Grill and fills the little two-story space that the short-lived Belladonna previously occupied. Unlike Belladonna, however, Salt is almost always bustling with people — check out this view of the bar on a Tuesday night, when most other restaurants are languishing. Of course, it’s partly due to their being the flavor of the month, but there’s been a lot of buzz and already many repeat customers. To get a sense of the place, we went twice: once in a large group, and once with just two people. Step inside, and see what it was like for us.

Salt Kitchen & Tasting Bar
3605 Waialae Ave.
808-744-7567

By Lindsey Txakeeyang
Special to Nonstop

Thousands descended on Kapiolani Park Saturday for the Hawaii Korean Chamber of Commerce’s annual Korean Festival, a day-long celebration of all things Korean. Here’s a look at the festivities, displays and what many consider the featured attraction — the food.

Photo by Ed Morita

You saw the food porn from Mangoes at the Moana in Mari Taketa’s video. Now, take a look at some of the faces behind the fruits.

— Photo by Melissa Chang

Chef Goran Streng understands that here in Honolulu, we appreciate gourmet meals, but don’t always want (or have time for) sit-down dining. Thus, when opening his second Tango eatery — this time called Tango Market — he opted to serve his signature Scandinavian-influenced fare in a casual, serve-yourself bistro with indoor and patio seating. Quality food without the fuss. Sounds promising…

Tango Market
Ward Centre
808-596-4888
(Breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert served.)

We’re guessing more than 4,000 people turned out for Friday’s event, likely drawn by this month’s pork theme. Hawaii loves its pork, and this occasion proved it.

— Photo by John Garcia

We’re in the country now! When we parked the car, we found “Chef Joey” out back feeding a family of chickens that had adopted the restaurant. No word on if the restaurant plans to feature them on the menu.

Market Fresh Bistro
3620 Baldwin Ave.
808-572-4877

Here’s Julie Aragaki, one of the media noshing with us at the Yataimura preview last week. “Yatai” means “shop stand” in Japanese, and is traditionally a small, mobile food stall selling udon, oden or other hot foods. Shirokiya Yataimura has 21 yatai, but unlike the ones in Japan, these are permanent stalls. Think “Eat the Street” Japanese style.

Shirokiya Yataimura
Ala Moana Center
808-973-9111
Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

No, that’s not one of the movie stars, but she’s still just as glamorous. That’s Jen Russo ( @JenRusso) of Maui Time magazine with food and drink from the Taste of Wailea. This is pretty much how we all looked the whole night: Drink in one hand, and one to three plates in the other.

We arrived on Maui on Wednesday morning to cloudy skies — and a craving for dry mein.

It was just a matter of time before pop-up restaurants started … well, popping up around Honolulu. The latest to hit the scene is The Pig and the Lady, run by Andrew Le, the former sous chef at Chef Mavro, and Martha Cheng of Melt. They’ll be operating out of Hank’s Haute Dogs as of June 27, serving a five-course, prix fixe dinner on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at $55 per person (reservations essential); then an a la carte menu of Vietnamese homestyle dishes from 10 p.m. to midnight (reservations recommended).

The Pig and the Lady
at Hank’s Haute Dogs
324 Coral St.
http://thepigandthelady.com

Festival host and master sommelier Fred Dame

Handing out samples of Madre Chocolate.

— Photo by Tracy Chan

Waialua Sodas were available to festival attendees.

By Mari Taketa
Nonstop

I screech into the parking lot of the Kaheka Street Don Quijote, intent on a mission. A hot tip (thanks @FliptOutEats) has alerted me to a new food truck that sells — what?! — bacon-wrapped musubi. But the first time I screech into DQ a few weeks ago, the truck’s closed up tight.

This is my lucky day. This guy is running around setting up table and chairs and hanging up his red kushiyaki grilled skewer sign. Food on a stick! I whip out my camera for one quick shot for We’re on it. And then I see the menu.

One hundred percent izakaya food. Eleven items, ranging from $1.50 to $2 a stick, with said musubi eating only a $2.50 hole in my wallet.

Let’s tally this up: Food on a stick, at the edge of a parking lot, dirt cheap. I smell a review.

How long for one of everything? I ask.

I’m so sorry, he says. I’m a little delayed. My son was born today.

What?! Congratulations! Well, I’ll go shopping then.

It’ll be ready, he says. And by the way, my name’s Chris.

da ala cart
Don Quijote parking lot
Poni Street at Makaloa
808-224-5110

By Diane Seo
Nonstop

Where’s your favorite place for Korean food? It’s a question I’m frequently asked, and I’m sure other Koreans are queried about this too.

Despite the proliferation of Korean BBQ take-out on the island, most realize the offerings at these “meat jun plus four sides” eateries aren’t serving the most authentic Korean fare. So where do real Koreans eat? I was curious myself, so I asked seven fellow Koreans to rank their top 5 Korean restaurants in Honolulu and name their favorite dishes.

What I found from this very informal survey is that Koreans do frequent the same places and even order the same dishes, yet there are surprising wild card selections. So on to our lists… (Note: There’s no correct English spelling for Korean words, so Korean dishes often are spelled differently when translated to English.)

By Ed Morita
Nonstop

I’m going to be brutally honest. Honolulu has some crappy bakeries. Some of the items sold at grocery stores, discount superstores and even gourmet markets are appalling. People buy Costco croissants that have no flakiness. They pick up pies out of a supermarket freezer, and the last time I visited Whole Foods, I found a basket filled with dense, over-proofed baguettes.

Yet, despite the proliferation of mediocre bakeries, there are a few standouts that I regularly visit, usually for a specific pastry or dessert. I was asked to list my top five favorite bakeries on the island, but in the tradition of the baker’s dozen, I’m going to give you a bonus.

Shrimp and scallop ceviche with avocado mousse and kaffir lime powder.

It was crisp and clean with just the right amount of fat added by the avocado. We loved the hint of tartness from the kaffir lime powder, but the thing that really made this great was the jalapeno garnish, which added a slight spiciness.

Photo by Ed Morita

By Mari Taketa
Nonstop

A tale of cupcakes, this, a tale that begins in gritty reality and modern displacement and ends with a motto: When life nips one career in the bud, bite back with another.

Meet Kawehi Haug and Nick Gervais. One was The Honolulu Advertiser’s entertainment reporter, the other its TGIF designer. The sale of the paper last year meant one thing: Both needed a new life recipe. That’s where the cupcakes come in.

Let Them Eat Cupcakes
35 S. Beretania St.
808-531-2253 (CAKE)
www.letthemeatcupcakes808.com