Honolulu: Alan Wong's

Anne, Chris and I enjoyed a superb dinner at Alan Wong's. When we asked the hotel bellman for a cab to ALan Wong's, he said "Wow, that's the best restaurant on the island." He was certainly correct. The exterior is very, very low key so don't be surprised when you arrive.

The elevator to the third floor restaurant gives you a peek at what awaits.

Anne and I ordered the tasting menu while Chris went with a risotto. We were offered a choice of two breads to start; of course I had to try both.

The first course was a small pork sandwich with a cup of tomato soup. The sandwich was a perfect little slider.

Anne shows us the second course, a wonderful combination of lobster and shrimp.

The next course, a red snapper, was truly spectacular. The fish was perfectly cooked, most likely sous vide. The sauce combined ginger and coconut to create a taste that was both striking and rich.

Here is Chris's silky risotto.

The short rib's soy-based sauce was full of umami and gave a perfect contrast to the seafood courses

Anne shows the crunch bars that formed what turned out to be the first round of dessert. The crunch played very nicely against the mousse.

It wasn't anyone's birthday but we received this anyway. The table next to us also received the birthday chocolates. Anne and I assigned Chris to dispose of the plate.

As a final touch, we received these ginger cookies.

Comments

Eating Around Georgia Tech: Ecco

Our Texas Instruments colleague Cathy Wicks was gracious enough to host several of us at Ecco tonight. This is one of those restaurants that has been on my list for a long time. Even though it is within easy walking distance of Georgia Tech, I hadn't made it there until tonight. The menu is a combination of Italian, Spanish, and French that make use of some local Georgia ingredients. The combination of those three countries is sometimes a little forced, although the georgia ingredients (fruit, cheese) were all great and perfectly appropriate. We started out with a meat and cheese board. This actually reverses the French tradition, where cheese usually follows the main course. Everything was excellent. The Georgia cheese was a big hit, as was the French cow/goat cheese. I thought the sauscisson was very subtle and very good. The waitress said that the roast pork pasta was their signature dish, so I had to try it. It had traditional broad pasta (fresh, of course)

DCA: Cava Mezze Grill

Cava is a DC area chain with light Mediterranean food. Saibal encouraged me to try lunch at their airport location and I was very happy with the experience. I ordered falafel on SuperSalad with assorted other toppings. The falafel was tasty. The SuperSalad was light, flavorful, and very easy to eat. Overall, a healthy and enjoyable lunch, something you can't always say about airport eating.

Pressure Cooker Candied Ginger

I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b

Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

Search This Blog