By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

My brother and I like to meet for lunch every once in a while to indulge in family gossip and meander at length down memory lane. Recently, we met at his favorite restaurant, Pah Ke's in Kane'ohe, where owner Raymond Siu had promised to cook for us if we came in after the midday rush.

Pah Ke's, at 46-018 Kamehameha Highway, near Windward Mall, looks like your average local-style Chinese family restaurant, but some very unusual dishes emerge from this busy kitchen — cold soups in hot weather, healthful salads, fresh fish dishes, light soy- and fruit-based desserts. A few of these appear on the menu, but many are on the "menu behind the menu" that exists only in Raymond's head; call ahead to arrange specials.

On this particular day, Raymond planned a four-course lunch for us which, paired with a bring-your-own bottle of pinot grigio, left us gasping.

The first course was a pair of salads. A mixture of papaya and greens was great but was outshone completely by the second offering, a fresh apple salad that had no oil and no dairy and was both filling and delicious. We began to jealously eye the leftovers and outmaneuver each other to get to them before we'd even finished our first servings.

The soup was extraordinary: a clear chicken broth served in a lovely blue-and-white tea cup in which rested a "purse" filled with shrimp, dried scallops, enoki mushrooms, water chestnuts and mushrooms, tied with a green onion bow. The purse was a low-fat crepe: plain egg whites lightly beaten, then fried over low heat until set and golden-edged.

There was more, but I've just got space here to share Raymond's technique for the apple salad, which he generously shared.

Place a 24-ounce bottle of apple juice or apple cider in a saucepan with 1 whole star anise, 1 whole cinnamon stick and a finger-long piece of peeled fresh ginger, cut into thick slices. Boil the juice and spices together until reduced by two-thirds and a little syrupy. Allow to cool and add 1/4 cup of Japanese rice vinegar (not sushi vinegar, which is sweetened). Taste and continue adding vinegar until you achieve a sweet-tart balance. Fill a salad bowl with mixed greens (the tender "spring" or 'Nalo-type blend). Top with paper-thin slices of a sweet-tart green apple. Drizzle with apple juice dressing and serve immediately.

Add deep-fried won ton strips and candied walnuts if you don't mind the fat and sugar content.