Quick Bites
By Joan Namkoong
Advertiser Food Editor
Chefs applauded
August is Hawai'i Regional Cuisine month, as proclaimed by Gov. Ben Cayetano at a news conference on Friday.
The proclamation, applauding the efforts of the chefs who started the Hawai'i Regional Cuisine movement and the inspiration they have provided to future young chefs, was announced to kick off ticket sales for "Hawai'i Regional Cuisine — The 10th Reunion: Flavors of Aloha" event, 6-10 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. The gala grazing dinner will feature all 12 of the HRC founders plus the 15 members of the Hawai'i Island Chefs group. Tickets for the gala event are $125; $100 for ticket purchases with an American Express card. 922-0588.
The same day, the HRC Waikiki Farmer's Market Festival will take place 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki, showcasing produce, seafood, fruit and floral products by Hawai'i farmers and aquaculturists. Exhibits, cooking demonstrations, a vanilla recipe contest and wine seminars will also be featured at this free event.
New at McDonald's
McDonald's restaurants in Hawai'i are offering two new summer coolers.
Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait is a low-fat vanilla yogurt mix with strawberries and blueberries and topped with crunchy granola.
Flavorburst cones feature vanilla soft-serve ice cream in a dozen flavors including bubble gum, coffee 'n cream, blue goo cotton candy, green tea and cool mint. Both sweet treats are available through July 12 or while supplies last.
Isle chefs profiled
Log onto alohachefs.com for a profile of 20 chefs on Maui and O'ahu. It's part of the USAchefs.com site that features six cities and their chefs, also including Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Hotel notes
• A carnival mask for dessert? It's on the new dessert menu at Donatoni's at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island, the creation of executive pastry chef David Brown. Combining his talents as a sculptor and chef, Brown creates a Venetian mask with white chocolate, resting atop a bittersweet chocolate marquis on a layer of flourless chocolate cake. Frangelico sauce and fresh fruit surround the sculpted confection, a one-of-a-kind dessert. (808)886-1234.
• On a recent visit to the Outrigger Waikoloa Beach Resort, I smiled as I perused the breakfast menu: malassadas were offered, a half dozen of them. They also serve a loco moco. Not items you would typically see on a resort hotel menu.
• The Cove, a fine-dining restaurant overlooking Kahuku Point and Turtle Bay, reopened last Friday at Hilton Turtle Bay Resort. Executive chef Hector Morales and pastry chef Butch Perreira will feature a Hawai'i Regional Cuisine menu. A signature dish will be whole crispy-skin 'opakapaka for two with Thai curry sauce and nasi goreng (Indonesian-style fried rice). The Cove will be open Friday and Saturday evenings, 6-9:30 p.m. 293-8811, ext. 23.
Quick Bites appears 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
