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Only a week ago, one of my postings was entitled:
Only a week ago, one of my postings was entitled:
That was Osetra Caviar at Vintage Cave to the right. Well, self-indulgence increased this week.
Let me start with french fries and dried scallop soup at the Little Village Noodle Shop, which again was named as the #1 Chinese restaurant in Hawaii by Hale'Aina Awards. They are better known for their orange chicken and salt/pepper pork chops, but I don't like to eat much for lunch, and their french fries are fabulous. I'm the only person I know who goes to any kind of Oriental restaurant for French fries.
You don't see the cognac I added to the soup.
While I just said I usually have a modest lunch, I did go to Shirokiya Japanese Village Walk and, with the $1 Primo beer, ordered from the Tamura Meat Monster:
The monster part is all that rice below those meats.
Then yesterday, 15 Craigside went to Olena at the Royal Hawaii Golf Club. I had pre-ordered their beef dip, but later learned that my dinner would be Japanese Wagyu Beef at Vintage Cave. So I was able to change my order to an excellent Kalua Pig and Ahi Poke bowl:
From all reports the beef was dry and tasteless, and, according to someone on the left side of this photo, the fish was the same, but she liked the water. All in all a nostalgic visit for me.
I was at one time a member when this place was called Luana Hills. Remembering the onsen, I in advanced asked if we could use it after lunch. The response was that it was under repair. So when we were there, we wondered if we could at least see it. The men's section is so much fancier and expansive than the female side. Those pools are of varying temperatures, one, extremely cold:
No one was using these facilities, and, well, they were not being repaired. They now have no membership system, so anyone planning to golf there can request the day before to have the onsen readied for use. The golf club is owned by a charity, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The other super golf course, Koolau (right), just a couple miles away, is now the property of the First Presbyterian Church. What is golf coming to?
I guess this is also indulgence. I just hate to cut my toenails. You can get a 15 Craigside visiting doctor to this for you, and our medical plan covers the cost. However, that sounds so demeaning. I therefore went to Dashing Diva on Fort Street Mall and got their manicure/pedicure special for $38.
I left $50. However, only after returning home and some research did I learn that Dashing Diva was named this year as the Best for Nails in Hawaii.
Then for dinner last night I returned to Vintage Cave for their 50% off Japanese Wagyu Beef Fair. Mind you, it's almost impossible these days to get a reservation, but for the second week they somehow found me a place to sit.
The beef comes from Haneta Ranch in Kagoshima, which is located a short train ride from Miyazaki.
I brought a bottle Stanford Governor's Selection 2014 Haywood Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. If you've been following this blog site, members don't need to pay the $75 corkage charge. Note also those 18 Picassos on the wall.
The Wagyu Kaiseki Fair started with a spoon of abalone liver sauce, ponzu jelly, purple basil bud and basil oil. Okay. Next, seared wagyu filet topped with Saiyo cream cheese, freshly grated wasabi and red wine salt:
I might point out that there was deviation from the menu at the top, for the next, Osetra caviar was placed on yellow-fin tuna poke:
The Wagyu Kaiseki Fair started with a spoon of abalone liver sauce, ponzu jelly, purple basil bud and basil oil. Okay. Next, seared wagyu filet topped with Saiyo cream cheese, freshly grated wasabi and red wine salt:
You make a sushi with the wagyu as the nori cover.
The salt from the caviar was balanced to a rather tasteless poke.
Then came the best dish I've had this year, and, perhaps, for many years, Hokkaido uni flan topped with white ankake sauce with sugar snap peas:
At this point, I felt like I had risen from Purgatory into Heaven. I walked into the dining room to Pachelbel's Canon in D, and by the time this flan came, the background music had shifted to something definitely angelic.
Next a sashimi salad of chutoro, tachiuo and kijihata on assorted vegetables with miso sesame paste and wasabi foam. I guess simplicity is Chef Yamamoto's style. My personal preference would have had the foam mimic the heat from wasabi. But you can appreciate the beauty:
Next a sashimi salad of chutoro, tachiuo and kijihata on assorted vegetables with miso sesame paste and wasabi foam. I guess simplicity is Chef Yamamoto's style. My personal preference would have had the foam mimic the heat from wasabi. But you can appreciate the beauty:
The restaurant was unusually at over-capacity. When you add a room with owner Sekiguchi and his friends, the kitchen no doubt was challenged, for he is their #1 priority. As a result, the soup was lukewarm, and there were assorted failings, like my being served a shrimp when there were at least three occasions when I was previously asked for my allergies. Further, I would not be surprised if they assign new staff to members, who do not need to tip.
Next a kinmedai duglere with ikura:
Next a kinmedai duglere with ikura:
I couldn't figure out what was that webbed attachment. I should mention that these are mostly micro-vegetables, which they specially import, not from Hokkaido, but Ohio.
Even the Intermezzo, a yuzu sorbet, was fancy, with gold flakes:
Even the Intermezzo, a yuzu sorbet, was fancy, with gold flakes:
At this point, I felt just about right, with only two entre's and a dessert left. Came the hitsumabushi, unagi, capped with roast wagyu ribeye cap:
This was truly excellent. Then, charcoal grilled wagyu ribeye and filet with sherry vinegar sauce, shaved Australian Winter Truffle (while this one was lacking in aroma, Thomas Keller loves it), magnolia leaf miso, mashed yukon and sauteed baby vegetables:
A disappointment, for this assortment was mostly overdone and almost cold.
Finally, corn soup gelato with crystallized shoyu powder:
While this could well have been my best dinner this year, it could have been so much better.
The half price cost was deducted from my balance, and I asked if Uber could find the front door. They said no. So I had them order their taxi service, Hana, which immediately came, took me home in 15 minutes, and with tip, only cost $20.
Last week when I had my VC sushi dinner, I walked through the dark basement parking lot so that I could call Uber from the front of the Ala Moana Hotel. I went under the hotel, caught an elevator, and ended up at Shokudo, a lengthy walk from that entrance. So I found my way to Walgreens and called for a pick-up. For 15 minutes the car was two minutes away. Finally, the driver walked up to me and said their computer placed me across the street. So he charged me $2 for this inconvenience and I ended up paying him $22, without tip, and the whole adventure took almost 45 minutes. Something is clearly wrong with Uber in Honolulu, for this was not a particularly busy time of night.
A disappointment, for this assortment was mostly overdone and almost cold.
Finally, corn soup gelato with crystallized shoyu powder:
While this could well have been my best dinner this year, it could have been so much better.
Last week when I had my VC sushi dinner, I walked through the dark basement parking lot so that I could call Uber from the front of the Ala Moana Hotel. I went under the hotel, caught an elevator, and ended up at Shokudo, a lengthy walk from that entrance. So I found my way to Walgreens and called for a pick-up. For 15 minutes the car was two minutes away. Finally, the driver walked up to me and said their computer placed me across the street. So he charged me $2 for this inconvenience and I ended up paying him $22, without tip, and the whole adventure took almost 45 minutes. Something is clearly wrong with Uber in Honolulu, for this was not a particularly busy time of night.
This is the Sabbath, and I'm trying to figure out how to be piously grateful after the above posting, but words fail me. As some of you know, the whole point to being in Purgatory is purification for Heaven. I've got time on my side as no one from Purgatory has ever gone to Hell. This a direct quote from Wikipedia:
On the other hand, while I have tried to make a case for my already being in Purgatory, maybe I haven't died yet.
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Hurricane Hector dropped down to Category 3 with sustained winds of 125 MPH, then was just reported to have strengthened back into a Category 4 and picked up speed. But the projected path now seems to be sufficiently south of Hawaii:
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