Review: Gazen Izakaya, Waikiki Hawaii

Well I know there's been a bit of a break in content but there's a good reason! I moved to New York City and life got in the way. Moving across a continent is a big deal! Well I'm back in a sensible routien and I have lots of catch up to do on content and a whole new city to explore full of every kind of food imaginable. 

For my first wedding anniversary we decided to go to Waikiki. I had spent some time in Hawaii on work trips but my husband was yet to savour in the delights. Neither of us had been to Waikiki since we were very young, when you used to refuel in Hawaii on flights from Australia across the Pacific. 

Waikiki is now the perfect Japanese holiday destination and is filled with a hearty mix of Americans, Japanese and Australians... which makes it feel a little like being back in Sydney. This means a great variety of Japanese specialty restaurants all over Honolulu. 

Gazen was a real find, a traditional and authentic Kansai style Izakaya in suburban Honolulu. Aimed mostly at local residents rather than tourists the restaurant had a vibrant homely feel with many regulars who stopped to speak to us. 

Tuna Sashimi $16.50USD

Fresh and delicious, it seemed unreasonable to holiday in the middle of the Pacific and not eat tuna!

Tofu sampler $12.80USD

This was the real stellar dish of the visit. Home made tofu in three different styles - kurogoma black sesame tofu, sukui tofu in soy milk broth, zaru cold fresh tofu with Hawaiian sea salt. Each was delicious though I liked the sukui with a little soy and wasabi, were I coming back again I would have altered how much I order. I was expecting half or less of each sample. 

Croquettes $7.75USD

A home made specialty croquette made with ground chicken scallions and tofu. Delicious!

Tofu and Jako salad with yuzu dressing $7.50

Had I realised how large the tofu sampler was I would have skipped this but I was hypnotised by the range of fresh tofu products (and this was the small salad!). It was delicious but we ate less than a third of it. The yuzu dressing was crisp fresh and delicious, I expect there is a local yuzu farm since this was no bottled dressing.

Beef tataki $8.50USD and cucumber salad $4.50USD

American beef sometimes leaves a little to be desired, I probably would have skipped this if I was returning. The Cucumber salad was nice and cut through some of the fattier dishes, I wish it had come with more of the yuzu dressing from the other salad. 

Grilled chicken with onion sauce $9.25USD

If you were coming for a healthy meal this would definitely be a great option. Skin removed grilled chicken is served on top of sprouts and scallions with a delicious savoury ground onion sauce. Yum.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese vegetable pancake) $4.75USD

This takes a little while to prepare so you want to order this first and have it appear a the end of the meal. Fried vegetables and served topped with sticky sweet sauce, mayonnaise, dried bonito and herbs. Delicious. If you like the look of this check out my simple recipe for okonomiyaki a great way to get kids to eat more vegies.

Somehow I managed to not even get a picture of the seasoned burdock root dish we ordered which was by far one of the best. I suspect that exhaustion from so much food was to blame. 

So my usual approach when going to a tapas or izakaya place is to order one dish from each section of the menu and then order again if the party is still hungry. In this case this turned out to be a mistake and we were unable to eat half the food. The key here seems to be that this was not actually "small plates" and that really this was izakaya style food but with American sized meal portions. Just a litle nod to Hawaii's blended culture. 

The food was wonderful and that tofu was to die for, definitely worth going back to. Doing it again, I probably would have ordered the okonomiyaki and the tofu and left it at that. Service was usual immaculate Japanese deference. 

My only tip? Drive yourself or make sure to have instructions on your phone for a taxi driver since this was a townie restaurant away from the resorts and the drivers both there and back commented they had not heard of it. 

Gazen Izakaya

Traditional Japanese gastropub in suburban Honolulu

http://www.e-k-c.co.jp/gazen/honolulu/

2840 Kapiolani Blvd

Honolulu, HI 96826

Keto friendly recipe: Tuna ceviche

This is one of the easiest recipes in my repertoire - the secret here is to get the freshest Tuna you can and prepare this immediately before serving.

Tuna Ceviche

250g raw tuna
1/2 red onion
1/4 cup fresh coriander
1 avocado
2 lemons
1 lime
3 tbspns olive oil

Method

Cut the tuna steaks into pieces to marinade, I like to leave this enough to cut into sashimi style slices. 

Juice the lemons and the lime, add more if necessary ideally you want the juice to just cover the tuna in marinade

Cover and leave the tuna to marinade to your taste. If you like the tuna raw you should leave for 15 minutes or less, if you want the acid to cook through the meat you should leave for up to 4 hours or cut into smaller pieces.

When you take the fish out of the fridge it will have discoloured due to the cooking process, this is normal. 

Keep this in mind if serving to a dinner party since the fish can turn grey and unappealing if allowed to sit in the acid for too long. 

Dice the tuna into small cubes, I like to put some slices aside to have on their own.

Dice the vegetables and put in a mixing bowl.

Add the olive oil to the marinading mixture, making sure to remove any citrus seeds. Add to the ceviche mix to taste, about half the liquid should be enough. 

Garnish with one or two sprigs of the coriander, I like to serve it with slices of the marinated raw tuna like so.

Review: Glass at Hilton Sydney CBD

It was recently my 30th birthday and as a treat my boy took me out to Glass at the Hilton. Glass is the latest venture by celebrity chef and restauranteur Luke Mangan.



The decor is modern and chic, well thought out and subdued, just as you would expect from a top tier restaurant in a leading 5 star hotel. Most importantly for a restaurant such as this the sound engineering is such that you can't hear the conversation at the next table. The high ceilings and glass wall lend a huge air of spaciousness and it is all helped along by views of the beautiful Queen Victoria's Building across the road. Sadly it was under renovation at the time of our dinner and I couldn't get a photo that would do it justice.

We are presented with the menus and here is the only criticism I will make of the evening; the food menu was on a large clipboard and when I say large I mean A3 in size, far larger than my actual table setting so I could not set it down at any point. This made it rather awkward to hold and review and eventually I gave up and balanced it over my forks. The wine menu was also ridiculously large but not in dimensions - just in content! The menu is the size of a slim novel (a full 45 pages) and takes in every major wine producing country and most wine regions of the antipodes. I deliberate for some time and argue with myself about choices until the waitress wonders if I might like to speak to the sommelier, however her question only prompts me to make a decision.



Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve $27 by the glass

Those who know me well know I like Champagne, and I can't walk past a Billecart, especially as a toasting glass in a celebration meal. Being a traditional Champagne it's a blend of Pinot Noir, Muenier and Chardonnay with a citrussy front and a clean finish, just perfect with lighter summer appetisers.

We ponder the food menu once again and decide that the tasting menu isn't for us - the boy doesn't eat liver and much of the menu is seafood that we are not fond of so we order a la carte more to our tastes.



Fresh breads are brought to us and served simply with Mangan's signature olive oil which has a fresh grassy taste, lighter than the Spanish oils I usually use but fresh and well blended.

Chicken Liver Parfait, Pear Chutney and Brioche $15.40

It's my 30th birhday, I'm feeling poorly, the only thing I want in the world at this moment is a liver parfait. I brightly smile at the menu and my dining companion knows exactly what is coming. This liver parfait isn't my favourite in Sydney (that probably still goes to Danks St Depot for the texture and the parmesan) but it is good and served with a pear chutney and toasted brioche. This makes for a happy goth gourmande.

Yellow fin tuna, wasabi, yuzu and avocado $28.60

Continuing the birthday wishlist the menu provides once again with this raw tuna dish, served with a bright fresh yuzu sauce and lotus root chips as if the chef had asked for my favourite foods before I arrived. The meat is light and fresh, not as meaty as some tuna I've eaten but immaculate quality and the flavours mesh perfectly together - a definite must order.

Charcuterie plate $19.80

Three entrees is probably too much but again it's my birthday and another all time favourite has to be charcuterie. This plate doesn't disappoint either; marbled beef carpaccio, prosciutto and pork salami are served with crisp pickles. We are brought more of the sour dough bread to eat it with and the acid of the pickles cuts perfectly through the fat of the meats.



Torbreck 'The Steading' 2007 $93

I love a Grenache Mourvedre with aged beef and after much arguing with myself over the wine menu I chose this Torbreck, sadly the 2006 listed wasn't available but they did have this 2007 which honestly was more than ready for drinking. Torbreck has really made a name for itself as a fantastic Barossa winery and this bottle is no different. The sommelier approaches apologises for the change in vintage, we do the taste and approve dance and then he decants it beautifully using an aerator.



200g Rockdale Fillet with truffle mash and Cafe de Paris butter $51.70

Originally this meal was served with parmesan and truffle fries however I'm not so much one for chips and so changed this order to a truffle mash instead. This may have been my downfall, between the 3 appetizers and the richness of this meal I couldn't eat it all and rather wish I'd ordered it with a salad. Nonetheless the meat was beautifully cooked, dripping in melted Cafe de Paris butter and the truffle mash was rich and flavourful. Definitely worth ordering, think about skipping the entree if you really want to fit it in.

300g Rangers Valley Wagyu Scotch fillet (5+ marble score) with pork sausage and a celeriac remlouade $73.70

I was too full to try all but the smallest amount of my companion's meal but it was beautiful, the pork sausage particularly was spiced well and set off the wagyu. I've never tried the Rangers Valley beef prior to this meal and I must say I was impressed. The chef too knew how to handle the steak, all too often kitchens will leave high marble steak to cool too long while resting and the fat becomes gelatinous; not so here.

Rocket (arugula) salad with walnuts and blue cheese $14

I think we were a little optimistic about how much we could eat, but it's summer and I like a salad with my meal. This was probably the only lowlight of the meal, it wasn't very exciting and could have been dressed more.

No matter how stuffed we were though a celebration meal deserves sweets. Here you can see the chamomile tea that I needed for the illness.

Vanilla creme brulee with macadamia biscotti $18.70

One of the best things about creme brulee has to be cracking the sugar on top so this large flat bowl of brulee was just perfect and filled with extended sugar related glee. The smooth vanilla bean custard underneath was just icing on the cake really.



Petits fours $16.50

Figuring myself to be too full and ill for a whole dessert I ordered petits fours and then was served with an entire platter of the things, so much so that I took most of them home. Mini truffles, quince jam, pistachio nougat, home made marshmallow, mini Cannelles Bourdalaises and mini Madeleines served two by two so you and your companion can share the tastes. Each mini mouthful was wonderful and there was a temptation for every palette. As someone who loves a small bite of many things this was a real delight.

The comment I must make which is sadly not always true was that the service was immaculate. On arrival we are seated and tended to, I point out to the waitress that I am not well and I would like her to bring more water than normal, she courteously refills my glass with my preferred water time and time again without requiring prompting. Eventually when I have drunk significant imported water she makes sure that I still want bottled rather than free water in a very polite manner. Additionally due to being ill I had drunk little of the bottle of wine we had ordered, at the end of the meal they looked sympathetically at me and not only offered to let us take the rest of the bottle but also decanted it back into the bottle and gave us a signature carry bag to take it home in. At no time was I left without my needs attended to but I never felt like the waiters were hovering or imposing; the perfect balance of front of house service to be duly commended.

Some high quality restaurants you go to just to try, others become emotional favourites and this was definitely in the latter category. I am often dubious about celebrity chefs but I can't help but feel that Mangan has earnt his reputation; the menu, food quality, service and decor are on top all the way. I can only recommend Glass for the next time you have a special date or reason to celebrate.

Glass Brasserie at the Sydney Hilton

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/

2/488 George Street
Sydney 2000, Australia
(02) 9265 6068

Formal dining atmosphere, private dining available
Bookings advised unless staying in the hotel


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Iron Chef Event in Sydney 2010

Big props to Mister Toast for the invitation to dinner, I had a marvellous time at a not great point in my life so it was much appreciated.

The evening didn't start out as well as it otherwise could have, we started with excellent cocktails at the Marble Bar as we are known to do and were a little squiffy when we wandered to the Hilton ballroom which didn't help our cause when we discovered they had lost our order. Thankfully we had the confirmation email and credit card on us but the insistence was that we had not ordered. Seats were found, but only 2 for a party of 3 and if we wanted to all sit it would not be together. Mister Elbourne opted to leave Toast and I too it as Toast had organised the mission and I had not attended before and so it was that we were sat down... only to have the staff find our original order about 5 minutes later. With all this faffing about we missed the canapes and got seated twice.



Cue a very stompy Toast, Elbourne and myself having a glare at the waiters who responded by bringing continuous refills of wine far and above what was sensible. Still the rest of the night would proceed quite nicely apart from the point at which I cried at a former co-worker about the end of my relationship and the point at which Toast insisted that coffee was for suckers and what I really wanted was an espresso Martini leading to me shouting at the Marble Bar staff about my apparent need for Martini olives by the bucket. *cough* Drunk Amaya is not to be trusted.



Soon all is forgiven though, any meal that starts with this amount of tableware has got to be good.



Iron Chef Sakai

Chilled seafood on cauliflower mousse with mango dressing.
Matched with: 2009 Mt Difficulty Estate Pinot Gris

The cauliflower mousse in this dish actually put shame to the seafood, smooth soft and delicious it set off the cold seafood perfectly. The top of the dish is set with mango dressing nestling abalone, prawn and fresh vegetables. 




Chef Okazaki (Rise)

Tuna tataki, asparagus and lemongrass tomato salsa
Tuna rice paper roll
Tuna tartare with spicy miso in wanton cup
Matched with: 2009 Knappstein 'Three' Gewurztraminer/Riesling/Pinot Gris

Tuna and particularly raw tuna is amongst my favourite foods in the world and so a trio of tuna morsels is definitely the way to win me over. The tataki is seared perfectly and served with Thai flavours, the tartare is served in a crisp wanton cup with miso that I'm surprised hasn't wilted before being served given the number of people in the room.

I actually feel as though the wine is a little sweet for the dish but then I've never been a great fan of either Riesling or Gewurtztraminer.

While we eat a number of showman like Iron Chef events go on including a wine tasting and plenty of 'in the kitchen' behind the scenes moments. I'm more about the cooking than the showmanship but I was very keen on the 'behind the curtain' footage.



Chef Haru (Blancharu)

Spatchcock en croute de sel a la Haru
Matched with: 2008 Stonier Estate Chardonnay

I rather like en croute dishes as a whole but I think attempting to do so for an entire ballroom full of diners was folly. My dish is rather dry and not particularly appealing.



Iron Chef Chen

Lobster with chili sauce Szechwan style
Matched with: 2006 Argyle 'Reserve' Pinot Noir

This dish makes the whole night worthwhile. First we watch Iron Chef Chen prepare it on the stage and then we see more backstage footage. By the time the meal comes out everyone is fighting to get at it and I have to be quick smart with my photo taking.



The dish is served with a Chinese mantou roll for mopping up the sauce - something I'm glad of as it's filled with fermented soy for that biting umami flavour; the balls of Lobster and the sweet fruit are just fantastic and served with a light Pinot that offsets the whole dish perfectly.



Afterwards Iron Chef Chen does a quick tour of the room and we are able to snap a picture. Toast who is like the world's biggest Iron Chef fan is beaming like an idiot the whole time.



Chef Gary (Hilton)

Braised Wagyu veal cheek on green pea and wasabi mash with cabernet jus
Matched with: 2008 Petaluma 'The Hundred Line' Cabernet Sauvignon

After a very Asian feel to the rest of the cooking this seems like an odd choice however it is amazingly prepared and so I am disinclined to complain too much. Veal cheek is cooked sous vide for several hours until it is falling apart soft, sweet and gelatinous. It is served on a bed of sweet green pea and wasabi mash that is just divine and finished with a jus that brings more moistness to an already luscious dish. The wine is also a good match and I am rather a fan of Petaluma so kudos to the chef.



Chef Saeko (Ten)

Smoked chocolate and 'Delamain X.O. Fale and Dry 25 year old' mousse, with agar agar of milk and chocolate anglaise sauce
Matched with: 2004 Knappstein Vintage Fortified Shiraz

Now I'm not a huge chocolate fan but this dish is an inspired masterpiece that has me rolling my eyes and thumping the table. A member of the table who does not like sweets hands his over seeing my reaction and I grab for it despite the simply ludicrous of dairy I will be consuming. This being said Toast is allergic to seafood so we'd both come armed with a plethora of tablets to ensure we could make it through the meal.

The entire dish is a range of varying chocolate flavours and textures; the darker dots are an amazing chocolate emulsion, a decorated white chocolate disk rings a soft smooth chocolate bombe topped with a dark smokey delicious crisp and whose shadow falls onto a smooth geleed agar agar milk chocolate ring. All set off with a dark delicious wine; a real thundering way to finish the meal.

So what did I walk away from the event with? It was fun, it wouldn't have been anywhere near as fun without other foodies so I recommend if you are going to pay that you take a crew with you. On the other hand at $350 for a 6 course meal it would want to have been sex on a stick and honestly some of the dishes fell down, particularly as the kitchen seemed unable to make really world class cuisine for that many people at once. I think if the same courses had been done for 30 the affair would have been different than it was at a seating of 300.

Topped off with the fiasco regarding our order and the rudeness we were treated with as if their mistake were our fault it left me with a sour taste in my mouth given the price. On the other hand it was good fun and some of the dishes were incredibly memorable, and after that much wine... most things seem like a good idea.