Quick Bites
Kit n' Kitchen's menu varied
By Wanda A. Adams
Food Editor
Kit and May Yiu of Hong Kong have brought their particular brand of multicultural dining to Hawai'i at Kit n' Kitchen, a new restaurant at 1010 University Ave. in Varsity Center.
Kit Yiu lived in Hawai'i for some years and worked for the rather unusual chain of Japanese Italian restaurants, Angelo Pietro. After training in Japan and a stint at an Italian restaurant in his native Hong Kong, he and some partners opened the first Kit n' Kitchen there. But he and wife, May, wanted to return to the Islands, where people think nothing of choosing between rice and rigatoni.
Kit n' Kitchen's menu features the usual pasta dishes, but the focus of the menu is oven-roasted meats and fish served over your choice of rice or spaghetti. They also serve a variety of unusual meat sauces (again, with the choice of rice or spaghetti — and it's a tough choice). This oddball menu doesn't end there: There's also a mini-menu of Asian dishes (Macau oxtails, rice pots, drunken wings). And if that's not enough, they've got ribs and pizza. (One note of interest to folks like me, who aren't fond of commercial marinara: You can get pizza with a white sauce).
Kit n' Kitchen is open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; 942-7622.
Conference to shut art cafe
The Pavilion Cafe at the Ho-nolulu Academy of Arts will be closed for lunch Feb. 5, 6 and 7 to accommodate the annual conference of the American Association of Museum Directors.
The conference chose Honolulu to honor the 75th anniversary of the academy. More than 200 attendees and spouses are expected.
Kona Cafe debuts bottled coffee
In keeping with the rising popularity of canned and bottled coffee and tea drinks, a line of bottled coffee drinks made from organically grown coffee, Kona Cafe, debuts this week with a low-fat chocolate macadamia flavor available at Longs, Times, Foodland, Daiei, 7-Eleven, Food Pantry and other stores.
Despite its name, this is not a Hawai'i product, though the Mainland manufacturers do use a blend of Kona and Columbian coffee beans. Jason Portman of Kona Cafe said coffee tends to pick up metallic flavors when packaged in cans, so they chose bottles for their products.
The suggested retail is $1.59 for a 9.5-ounce bottle. Kona Cafe is debuting across the country, as well, with a marketing push that includes prizes (free trips to Las Vegas for us; free trips here for Mainlanders).
New kitchen delights Pacific 'O
On Maui, Pacific 'O executive chef James McDonald and sous chef Brian Noordman had a great Christmas: Santa brought the 8-year-old restaurant a new kitchen, with eye-level French windows allowing diners a look behind the scenes as they are escorted to their tables, and a double line for greater ease in cooking, plating and serving.
The new kitchen also aids in catering operations. It is open for lunch and dinner in Lahaina; (808) 667-4341.
Send items of culinary interest to Quick Bites, Taste, The Advertiser, P. O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: taste@honoluluadvertiser.com.
