Quick Bites
Pineapple recipe contest on Maui

By Joan Namkoong
Advertiser Food Editor

Maui celebrates the pineapple at the Seventh Annual Maui Pineapple Festival, Aug. 17-19 at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului, Maui.

Highlight of the three-day festival will be a Maui Pineapple Dessert and Sushi Contest, open to nonprofessional cooks in adult (18 years and over) and keiki (up to 17 years) divisions. Cakes, pies, other desserts and sushi are the categories; all entries must use fresh or canned Hawai'i pineapple. For more information and entry forms, call Queen Ka'ahumanu Center (808) 877-4325; entry deadline is Aug. 13.

Sansei Seafood expands to Kihei

Chef/restaurateur D.K. Kodama has just inked a deal to open another Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar. His third restaurant will be in Kihei, Maui, site of the old Chuck's Steak House in the Foodland center. Kodama's first restaurant is at Kapalua, Maui, and his second is at Restaurant Row in Honolulu. The Kihei restaurant will seat about 120 and include a sushi bar and lounge; opening is scheduled for January 2002. Kodama's restaurants feature sushi, traditional and contemporary, and a full menu of Japanese and Pacific Rim specialties.

Maui Onion King shares secrets

Eric Siegmund of Honokowai, Maui, was lured by the $100 prize when he entered his first Maui onion-eating contest in 1992. Since then he has won six of the last seven contests he has entered. This year Siegmund is sitting it out, allowing others a chance at the sweet prize. As the Maui Onion King at next weekend's Maui Onion Festival, Siegmund shared his onion-eating secrets.

The Maui Onion Eating Contest is judged by how much onion you can eat (by weight) over a period of 60 seconds. "The inside has more water and it's heavier, so concentrate on eating the heavier part," said Siegmund. "The outside of the onion is stronger in flavor so avoid the two outside layers."

Siegmund's record is 14.5 ounces of onion in 90 seconds a few years back. "That's about a grapefruit sized onion," said Siegmund. "When they announce there's five seconds left, shove as much as you can inside your mouth."

Siegmund admits it takes him at least 20 minutes for his stomach to settle down. "You do smell like onions for a couple of days," he added.

Restaurant morsels

• Tuesdays are Keiki Nights at Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab with a game room, prizes, a clown and half-price keiki meals. At 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, Keiki Night will feature a live performance of "Wings of the Islands" by Ohia Productions, an educational road show by Lisa Matsumoto introducing keiki to Hawai'i's winged wonders. Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab is at 580 N. Nimitz Highway. 545-7979.
• Dixie Grill in 'Aiea is expanding its hours of operation starting Aug. 5. The barbecue and crab shack will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. Dixie Grill is at 99-016 Kamehameha Highway. 485-2722.

Quick Bites runs every Wednesday in the Advertiser Taste section. Food editor Joan Namkoong welcomes tidbits of food news Write to her c/o The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Call: 525-8069. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: jnamkoong@honoluluadvertiser.com