October 2005 Archives

Long before Hanoi was the capital, before there were north and south halves to the country, even before the French occupation, Hue was the imperial city--the political and cultural center--of Vietnam. It is an ancient city, famous for its monuments and pagodas, its pivotal strategic value during the Vietnam War and for its beef noodle soup, Bún Bò Huế. You probably thought you were here for the food, but bonus-- a side dish of history too!

It was the lure of Bún Bò Huế that brought me through the doors of Cửu Long II, a decent sized phở shop on the corner of Hotel and River Streets in Chinatown. The traditional preparation of this soup is a rich, red broth seasoned with lemongrass and spicy chili paste then loaded with wide rice noodles and shredded meat. Fresh mint and shavings from banana stems are served as garnish. They say you can't understand the ancient capital until you've tasted a bowl of Bún Bò Huế.

In contrast, the Bún Bò Huế at Cửu Long II was a pale imitation of what it should have been. From the first sip, I knew this was not the real deal. The distinguishing characteristic of the soup is its tangy broth, yet this one was was weak, as if it had been stretched with too much water. The noodles were fine, but the meat was lacking. There were too little sliced beef and too many knobby pork pieces. The server assures me it was pig tail--at least I think that's what she was trying to say. All I know is that it consisted of primarily bone and skin-- hardly satisfying. The "bò" in Bún Bò Huế refers to beef, and I didn't get enough of it.

The plate of fresh veggies alongside was the saving grace. Dressing the soup liberally with the banana strips, mint, bean sprouts and lime brightened up the flavors and gave it a refreshing crunch.

Alongside the soup, I drank a glass of cà phê sửa đá, super concentrated, almost syrupy French roast coffee heavily sweetened with condensed milk. It drips syrupy goodness through a Vietnamese filter and then is poured over ice. Yum. They know how to make their coffee.

Overall, the service was warm and friendly, but the main draw this morning, the soup, fell short. The sister restaurant in Pearl Kai has received strong reviews for its phở, which makes me think I just ordered the wrong thing. I'll order differently on the next visit because there's no mincing words: Cửu Long II doesn't know Huế.

Cửu Long II
175 N. Hotel St. #2
Honolulu, HI
(808) 585-6199
Daily 8am - 8pm

I owe the pasta pictured above entirely to the kindness of "strangers." Gia-Gina mailed Pasta D'Acciughe "Belena" anchovy paste all the way from Italy, and then Alice coached me through a simple recipe using it. Aren't food bloggers are a friendly and supportive bunch? No, better than that, they can be downright generous.

Of course I couldn't leave simplicity of Alice's recipe well enough alone when I prepared this for a little dinner party. My deviation added parsley and cherry tomatoes, more for color than anything else. I wanted this dish to look as good as it smelled! Other dishes for our party included a root salad with carrot, fennel and celery, lemon chicken, foccacia bread topped with balsamic glazed red onions and to finish, a lemon blueberry pie.

Just as we sat down to eat, four acquaintances dropped by unannounced. They were in the mood for a movie, but when they saw the spread, they made the only sensible choice they could--they sat down to join us. `Ohana style, we squeezed in more chairs and everyone ate their fill, laughing and talking the whole time. It was like the loaves and fishes-- I barely cooked for seven, yet easily fed eleven guests with food to spare.

It was only the next morning that I realized the meal had unfolded with perfect symmetry. The inspiration and key ingredient had come to me freely, and in turn we shared them freely. Spreading aloha, one meal at a time, and for a few moments everyone was content and satisfied. Mā'ona.

Visiting the same coffeeshop two days in a row feels conspicuous. I never want to become one of those people you see at a coffeshop who never leave (and probably never tip either). But yesterday's attempt at buying a cup of Fair Trade coffee left me unsettled. Give me outright rejection, but don't leave me hanging like that, not knowing the answer.

October 21, 8:45 a.m. - Starbucks Coffee, 1000 Merchant St

I get a different cashier today, and lean in, conspiratorially, "Here's the deal. I'd like to get a cup of Fair Trade certified coffee. Is that possible?"

She turns partway around to see if maybe a big urn of Fair Trade had materialized while she had her back to it. Just as quick, she looks over my shoulder at the whole bean display. Turning to her barista, she asks, "Sarah, do we have Fair Trade?" Sarah hands her a cup tray. "Fair Trade," she repeats.

I jump into the exchange, already apologizing, "I just want a cup of Fair Trade coffee. I understand that you might have to use a French press and that it's kinda a hassle."

"We're all out of Fair Trade. It wasn't selling, so we stopped ordering it, " explains Sarah the barista. "I just placed our coffee order yesterday, but I can order some next week, so that two weeks from now if you come in you can have a cup."

"No, that's okay, you don't need to order it just for me."

"It isn't a problem. I can order it. What's your name?" And that started a conversation, first with Sarah, and then with Morgan the cashier, off on the side of the store. We talked about Fair Trade, and how mainland attitudes about it are so different. We talked briefly about Starbucks payscales and benefits. We talked a while about the care and maintenance of dreadlocks.. We talked about the positive (or negative!) impact a company of Starbucks' size can have on the massively complex process that brings a cup of coffee to downtown Honolulu.

In the end, I didn't get my Fair Trade today, but I'm glad I asked. There are two staff in the store who were eager to engage the ideas, who will greet me by name from here on, and who will start ordering Fair Trade again for future drinking.

Starbucks offers Fair Trade coffee for sale, but how hard is it to actually get a cup? That's the question asked by the people behind the Starbucks Challenge (found by way of Accidental Hedonist).

"According to its own policy, Starbucks will make Fair Trade coffee for you, any day of the week, in any of the 23 countries it is licensed to sell Fair Trade... But just how easy is it to get a Fair Trade coffee in a Starbucks in one of those countries?

Let's see how well a Honolulu Starbucks does. The rules are simple:

1. Simply visit your local Starbucks and ask: "Could I get a cup of fair trade coffee?"
2. Tell us what happened next. Was it hard or easy to get a cup?

I'm not the biggest Starbucks fan around, often prefering independent coffeeshop where they're available. Having said that, the Starbucks on the corner of Merchant and Bishop has the best reading couches in all of downtown and that counts for a lot.

October 20, 10:15 a.m. - Starbucks Coffee, 1000 Merchant Street

"Can I have cup of Fair Trade please?"

The woman behind the cash register stalled, "Uhhh." I'd spoken clearly and there wasn't much background noise. Her pause came not because she couldn't hear me clearly, but because it wasn't making a mental connection.

"A Fair Trade coffee, please." I repeated, clearly and firmly.

"Oh. What size?" Okay, we're back on track.

"A tall should be good."

She then turns and fills a cup from the coffee of the day, clearly labeled Yukon, and not one of Starbuck's Fair Trade coffees.

Stop. Rewind. This Starbucks had a training failure right at that moment. Do they actually offer Fair Trade as an option at this location? If they don't then she should have been able to tell me so, rather than bluff her way through by pouring Yukon. She works at Starbucks, for goodness sake, and doesn't know what I'm talking about when I say the words, "Fair Trade coffee." Stunning!

"That'll be $1.56." Notice she didn't repeat by rote, "Room for cream?" She was thrown her off her game, and just as confused as I was. I felt a little sorry for her just then.

I could have pushed the subject more by explaining Fair Trade and insisting she brew a cup-- me a customer, explaining coffee to her, the barista. But a line was building behind me and I didn't have the energy for a scene with the poor woman. As in over your head put it, "no one wants to be that asshole." Besides, I shouldn't have to be put in an awkward position just to get the cup of coffee I want.

Starbucks stores in Hawaii stand alone as the only franchise Starbucks locations in the country. As a result, it's possible they don't have the same policy that Fair Trade coffee be brewed upon request in any store at any time. Does Starbucks Hawaii offer Fair Trade coffee even when it's not the brew of the day? I still don't know.

Starbucks Challenge result: failure.

[Update: a second visit to the same location turned out somewhat better.]

Who are you, momi apple? When my friend brought you to me, she said only that you were once kapu to commoners like myself, reserved exclusively for the ali`i. Google hasn't been helpful in learning anything substantial about momi apples. Do you go by other names?

Most fruit start as flowers then grow to something entirely different, but you're retained that youthful floral essense. I taste it in every bite of your dense flesh. If I close my eyes and breathe deeply as I chew, I can imagine standing in a lei shop surrounded by blossoms. The flavor also reminds me a little of peach and something else... mango? You share the same broad, flat pit as the mango, the same softball size and the same orange meat. Perhaps you're cousins?

Whatever you are, momi apple, we must arrange to do this again. But how will I find you if I don't know who or what you are?

As of the time of this post, we've only lived on the island of O`ahu for one year and four months. That hardly qualifies me as an expert on local dining.

Having said that, I've made an effort to get out and try as much as possible since we've been here. I may not be an expert, but I know what I like when I see it. Yesterday I gave my opinions on several `Ilima Award winners, some good some bad. If I could give awards of my own, this is what they would be.

Best Plate Lunch: Kenneke's
They make a mean chicken long rice, and the staff are amazingly warm and friendly. Other highlights include their haupia and a generous pork laulau.

Best Pau Hana: Indigo
Although their happy hour runs every day from 5-7pm, the biggest crowds turn out on Fridays for the half priced martinis among funky opium den decor. Their award-winning sake martini with cucumber stands out among a list of mostly sweet and fluffy drinks.

Best Shave Ice: Waiola Store, McCully
Ahead by a nose in my own little shave ice competition. That's saying something on this island, where every block can have its own shave ice sensei.

Best Vegan You Can Eat Alongside a Gas Station Pump:
The Vegan Gourmet Okay, so it's not really a gas station any more. Three businesses lease an old gas station on Manoa Rd and share the space: A Beautiful Day Cafe, Boston Waffles and The Vegan Gourmet. The latter serves macrobiotic lunches Monday through Wednesday. Go early, because she always sells out.

Best Chain Restaurant for Watching Friday Night Fireworks Over the Ala Wai Marina: California Pizza Kitchen, Ala Moana
Every Friday night at 7:45pm, the Hilton Hawaiian Village shoots off a short fireworks display near the marina on the Ewa end of Waikiki. If you can score a window seat at CPK, you'll have a perfect view looking across treetops and yachts to the colorful explosions as you munch your pizza.

Best Place to Celebrate a Birthday: Roy's, Hawaii Kai
Maybe it's just my birthday, but it contains all the right elements: great food, solid service and dining that transcends what I can afford on a daily basis. After a visit to Roy's, I feel like I've dined somewhere special.

Best at Learning Your Name: Andy's Sandwiches and Smoothies
Despite daily lines out the door of people drawn in by their roasted turkey sandwich, Andy's is still the kind of neighborhood place where they ask your name, and remember it the next visit. The food is great too.

I stand by these choices until death, or until the breeze shifts, whichever comes first.

Reader's choice awards are fairly predictable, and the 2005 `Ilima Awards are no exception. Voluntary ballots submitted by readers of the Honolulu Advertiser for their favorite restaurants name not always the best, but often the most popular establishments in each category. I won't bother to repeat the entire list here, but can't help but comment on several award winners.

Hawai`i's Best Restaurant: Alan Wong's
My own experience at Alan Wong's was both delicious and memorable. But is it the best? There are too many promising restaurants I haven't visited for me to know. Verdict: Can't commit..

Best Bakery: Liliha Bakery
The bakery display cases are strictly old school, bursting with all the things your doctor is telling you not to eat. My modus operandi is to sit in the small diner side of the bakery, elbow-to-elbow at the counter with the regulars for a short order breakfast. On the way out, I pick up a half dozen haupia malasadas to take back home. Verdict: worthy choice.

Best Bar: Mai Tai Bar
Let's not mince words. This bar is essentially in an upstairs hallway of a shopping mall. They get occasional big names to play for them, but most nights the live music is a forgettable procession of Hawaiian lounge music. Maybe the popularity stems from being able to take a single escalator ride down to Abercrombie and Fitch in between pitchers. Verdict: You've got to be kidding.

Best Coffee Bar: Starbucks
If I weren't so sad for people, I'd be angry at them for thinking of Starbucks as the pinnacle of coffee. What about the amazing island-grown coffees and daily soups at Covenant, or the friendly vibe at most Honolulu Coffee Company locations? Verdict: People are lemmings!.

Best Plate Lunch: L & L Drive-Inn
The awards writeup sums it up with naively unintended critique, "Our home-grown answer to McDonald's and Burger King..." L & L has a special place in people's hearts both for its predictability and ubiquity. I eat there, and have no shame about it. But best plate lunch? That award should go to Kenneke's on the windward side, or Masa's Massive Plate Lunch in Liliha. Verdict: Understandable, but misguided.

Best Burgers Teddy's Bigger Burgers
Aww yeah, now that's what I'm talkin' about. I may not agree across the board with the dining choices of Advertiser readers, but I have to admit they know a thing or two about burgers. Verdict: I ate until it hurt.

I had the pleasure of being a judge in this month's edition of Does My Blog Look Good In This, hosted by Alice at My Epicurean Debauchery. The winners have been announced, and as you can see, the images are on par with anything you'd see in a glossy cooking magazine. Amazing work across the board, and that's from someone with a critical eye for photography. The complete set of entries can be found here.