Posted on: Wednesday, March 2, 2005

New restaurants in Honolulu and on Maui

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

E & O Trading Co.

The fourth restaurant in this California-based Southeast Asian grill chain opens Saturday at Ward Centre. The restaurant's name and theme are based on a legendary friendship between an English trader and an Indonesian spice merchant. Designers have transformed the former site of A Pacific Cafe with imported textiles, glowing woods, deep reds and oranges and a sort of Asian pavilion in the center of the space, which houses the bar.

Cost: The pan-Asian tapas menu includes both small and larger plates ranging from satay sticks ($6.95 to $10.95) to Indian-style flatbreads ($4.95 to $5.95), Chinese stir-fried greens ($5.95) to char siu-style smoked mero (sea bass, $18.95 for lunch; $22.95 at dinner with starch and vegetable).

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, Ward Centre, second level, 1200 Ala Moana.

Shokudo Japanese Restaurant

This spacious casual dining spot offers a diverse menu (sushi/sashimi, noodles, stewed and grilled items, desserts), a full bar and late-night hours. A specialty is shiyaki — savory toppings on a bed of rice in a sizzling hot stone bowl; variations range from Japanese-style curry to Korean bi bim bap and Mexican taco rice. Fresh-made tofu dishes are offered hourly from carts, dim-sum style.

Cost: The average check is expected to be about $25 per person, with drinks. Most entr?es are $7 to $10. Shokudo's eclectic menu is meant to illustrate contemporary Japanese style and how it can color ideas from other cultures.

Hours: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily; dinner served until 1 a.m. 1585 Kapi'olani Blvd.; valet parking off Kaheka or validated parking in building, off Kona Street.

Mala, An Ocean Tavern

Mark and Judy Ellman, who owned the memorable Avalon Restaurant some years ago, gutted a small restaurant space on the water near Mala Wharf and created a sophisticated, light-filled restaurant/bar. A menu statement explains the concept: small plates, organic whenever possible, whole grains, no preservatives, no hydrogenated oils and everything in proportion. The menu is divided into "Ocean," "Land" and "Mala" — which conveniently means garden.

Cost: A few Avalon favorites are featured, including the clams in black-bean sauce ($15) and — of course! — Avalon's one and only dessert, Caramel Miranda ($14). Prices range from $6 for braised Swiss chard with garlic, tomato and pecorino Romano cheese to $30 for a whole wok-fried moi for two, with most dishes in the $8 to $14 range. Standouts include the flatbreads (like pizzas, only flatter and crunchier, $14), the sweet and spicy chicken wings ($8), the quartet of hummus, babaganoush, fried chickpeas and feta with pita and lavosh ($13) — a meal in itself for a light eater.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekends, with brunch 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 1307 Front St., Lahaina; (808) 667-9394.

Main Street Bistro

Tom Selman's new lunch spot in Wailuku is hopping, and the food is so good and so interesting that it's hard to choose.

Cost: The dainty Durham Ranch burgers ($3.95/two for $6.96). The roast beef sandwich, made from braised beef brisket ($6.95). The baby-back ribs, heavily herbed, slooooooow roasted and glazed with poha honey mustard sauce ($12.95). The positively addictive Capitol Onion Rings — so named because, as a culinary student, Selman spent an entire day slicing onions for the dish, which was served at a White House event, ($4.95). Decisions, decisions!

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., weekdays only. 2051 Main St., Wailuku. (808) 244-6816.