Hiroshi's in Honolulu

I guess my excuse for all the fancy restaurants is that this is a continuation of my birthday celebration--combined with me and Kea wanting to get to all these restaurants before we have to fly back to Michigan. So, Hiroshi's is one of my other favorite restaurants. We dream about the Kampachi Carpaccio--or as we like to call it, Kampaccio--all year. Honestly, I don't even know what kampachi tastes like because it's the sauce and garnishes that really make the dish. We found green onion, ginger, tiny cubes of tofu, tomato, and yellow bell pepper. And Kea doesn't even like tomato and bell pepper.

My new favorite dish is the chawan mushi. Usually it's basically a savory custard with things like little bits of seafood and shiitake in it. It is typical Japanese food but I never had it growing up so any kind of chawan mushi kind of excites me. This one was amazing though. The custard was on the bottom and there was broth on top. I think the truffle oil really made it because it was just rich, yummy goodness. But not too rich. Kea said he was sure there were ingredients in it that he didn't like but all together it tasted great. It was so good that I didn't mind at all that the portion was small enough that it was served in an espresso cup. That's how good the food is here. It's so expensive ($88 for two, no drinks) but so worth it.

Our other favorite thing was the complimentary rice crackers and wasabi aioli that are served before the meal. The crackers are made out toasty puffed rice stuck together and broken into irregular chip-sized shapes. It somehow manages to taste better and better throughout the meal.

We also made sure to save room for dessert. I had the Haupia Lemongrass Creme Brulee and Kea had the Bananas Foster Ice Cream Puff. Both were awesome. The desserts here are beautiful and not too big. They're served on rectangular plates with different elements set out in a row. So I had the creme brulee on the left, orange sorbet on the right, and some fruit and sauces artfully set up in the middle. Dessert here is so satisfying!

We also had the sushi duo, panko-crusted ahi, spinach salad, and almond-crusted mahi. These were all okay. The miso salmon in the sushi duo was a little salty; I liked the ginger-scallion ahi better. The almond-crusted mahi was my least favorite. It was a little too rich and I think mahi just reminds me of junk fish.

Chichidango

I made chichidango for two potlucks at school and was sort of surprised at how well it went over. Kea and I were eating the corners the night before and we love it of course but I was trying to imagine how it would taste to someone who had never had it before. I think some people think the texture is weird. And I'm sure a big part of it's appeal for us is that it tastes like home. *sigh* But yeah, people liked it. One of my friend's said it tasted like a sugar cookie with a different texture and a couple other folks said it was like gummi bears. Oh and some folks appreciated the dairy-free, wheat-free element. Anyway, here is the recipe my mom sent me. It is probably from Hawaii's Best Mochi Recipes.

Tri-Colored Mochi (Baked)

1 lb. mochiko (16 oz box)

2 c sugar

1 t baking powder

1 can coconut milk (12 oz)

2 c water*

1 t vanilla

food color, red and green

In a large mixing bowl combine mochiko, sugar and baking powder. Blend water, coconut milk and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients gradually, mixing thoroughly with whisk or spoon.

Remove 2 c of mixture. Add about 3 drops of green coloring. Pour into greased 9X13 inch pan. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pour 2 c white mixture over first layer. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.

Add red coloring to remaining mixture and pour over second layer. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Cool uncovered, preferably overnight. Cover with clean dish cloth. Cut with plastic knife when mochi is totally cooled. [Take the foil off as soon as you take it out of the oven; otherwise the foil will sink as it cools and stick to the top!]

Optional: Coat mochi pieces with kinako or potato starch (or cornstarch). [I think coating it with flour is a requirement, but I used mochiko because I didn't have time to go to the store and it came out fine.]

Lessen water by 1/2 or 1/4 c if firmer mochi is desired. If water is lessened, measure slightly less than 2 c for each layer.

Note that the coconut milk in the freezer is 12 oz. The coconut milk on the shelf is 13-1/2 oz. You need to reduce some water is using the 13-1/2 oz can. 1 cup = 8 oz.

New York Food Report

This is all I have energy for...

-new york has lots of cosi-like delis that are great for getting decently priced, decently healthy food at a conference.

-had scones from alice's tea cup. jenny and laurie picked up cuz they are great.

-had bagels from a dude who tried to kick laurie's guide dog out of the store. of course she was pretty mellow about it. and i was like, "that's illegal!"

-pastries and sandwiches from the french place. i don't know this is what j and l call it.

-Thai food including a super hot papaya salad. a little too hot but still made me happy.

-three course dessert at ChikaLicious. Fucking insane.

-there are a lot of Japanese restaurants by NYU

-hot dog and Frappuccino for lunch. This is not good. Do not do this.

-oh yeah got ripped off on the hot dog. i could tell the guy was thinking when i asked how much it was but i still thought two dollars was a pretty good deal. apparently it is supposed to be one.