QUICK BITES
Festival offers parade of ethnic cuisines

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Some less-often-seen treats will include Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, a complex preparation that's somewhere between a crepe and an omelet, featuring layers of vegetables, yakisoba (fried noodles) and nori (dried seaweed) in an eggy batter. Two cooks are being flown in from Hiroshima prefecture by Otafuku Sauce Co.

Also on sale: andagi (Okinawan doughnuts), champuru (Okinawan stir-fry), vegetable lumpia (Filipino-style egg rolls), pancit (Filipino fried noodles), chicken adobo (vinegary marinated chicken), barbecued jun (egg-battered foods). And there'll be Western-style foods, including Italian dishes and steaks from Outback Steakhouse, a festival sponsor. Admission is free; food sales benefit the center. Information: 945-7633; www.jcch.com.

Magazines spotlight chefs of the Islands

The Best New Restaurants according to Food & Wine: Cabanas at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, Formaggio at Fujioka's Wine Merchants, Restaurant Kaikodo in Hilo, 21 Degrees North at the

Turtle Bay Resort, Vino on Maui and the renovated Brown's Beach House at the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island.

And the chef to watch: Aussie expat Antony Scholtmeyer at the Banyan Tree restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Mauna Lani. They praise his understanding of "umami," the elusive "fifth flavor," which he defines as "everything coming together."

The January/February edition of Saveur is the annual special issue showcasing the magazine's favorites in food and drink. Hawai'i once again makes the list, this time with Giovanni's Shrimp Truck, out Kahuku way. In a feature titled "A Peeling Lunch on Oahu," Shane Mitchell praises the generous portions of farm-raised Kaua'i shrimp, "the most succulent imaginable."