Leonardo Knows Best

I should really have serious problems with a place like Gyu-Kaku.

According to the magazine cut-outs that line the walls at the entrance, about 8 or 9 years ago this Japanese restaurant chain was all the rage with the Hollywood elite. Billed as a “new” concept, Gyu-Kaku’s pull was that you could grill your own food. At your own table! It’s not that this was not even close to being a new concept, or that the concept had been ingrained and beloved in Korea for decades (hundreds of years? thousands?), it was that the items on the menu so obviously aped the basics of Korean BBQ, and billed it as a uniquely Japanese dining experience.

It hasn’t changed much. It’s extremely popular (not sure if Leo Dicaprio is still an avid customer) and the menu still features all the items familiar to K-bbq fans: kimchi (you have to pay for it separately!), cuts of kalbi, even miyok-guk and kalbi-t’ang. There are tons of Japanese-style items for sure, but for K-bbq aficionados like me, the menu feels rooted in Suwon, not Tokyo.

So I should have major issues with Gyu-Kaku…but I don’t. At all. It’s fantastic and I would just as soon take someone there as I would to a classic K-bbq jip. The menu is extensive, the portions are small enough that you can choose more than a couple of cuts of meat, and there are innovative items for the grill like corn and other veggies. We ordered 5 cuts and a pesto chicken cheese fondue that was perfect. We arrived at 6:30, just as Happy Hour (all menu items included!) was ending, but our waiter let us order everything at Happy Hour prices. Best of all—and this is key—the grills use charcoal, not gas, a huge rarity for indoor bbq places in Hawai’i. The only other place I know of is Migawon, which appears to have closed in the past year or so.

Big thumbs up to Gyu-Kaku. It was nearly perfect. Now about charging for kimchi…

gyu-kaku

media evidence of awesomeness

thou shalt NEVER charge for kimchi!

various cuts, perfect size portions

kalbi

Hirami Miso Steak (best cut by far)

chicken pesto cheese fondue

Big Island Shrooms

The onescoopkimchi family spent the Easter holiday on the Big Island swimming, playing, going to the beach, and of course, eating. The first stop is the supermarket, but it’s always a tough call on what to buy when traveling for a short time  to a place that has a kitchen. The essentials always include kimchi, but it’s never easy to finish a full jar. This time, I had a solution. I made up my own recipe on the spot and, judging from the reaction it got from the fam, it was a successful concoction.

Like many Americans, I’m a full-blooded mutt. I can trace my heritage to Poland, Lithuania, and Canada (French). I have never felt any particular connection to any of these cultural affiliations, but I have rather fond memories of grandmothers and great-grandmothers reminding me of my heritage, particularly the kinds of food they grew up consuming. At a very young age during visits to see them, they would prepare one or more of these dishes. I remember a few, but the one I remember most is what I knew as “greebies.” I recall greebies being slowly simmered mushrooms and onions, but I had no idea if the name was real or just a family thing my Lithuanian great grandmother created. I did some research and found that it is indeed real, but it’s not a recipe. The word grybas (pr. greebies I’m assuming) simply means “mushroom” in Lithuanian. Mystery solved.

So, what to do with a bunch of mushrooms, a stick of butter, and a jar of kimchi? Yep, Korean grybas. Our Saturday night dinner was steak, so I decided the K-grybys would be a delish topping/side dish/panchan. The recipe is as easy as it sounds. I slowly simmered a half-stick of butter, mushrooms, salt and pepper, and kimchi for about 2 hours. Perfection (IMHO 🙂

Not the best kimchi in the world, but did the trick

grybas!

simmer 2 hours

finis

recommended accompaniment: raspberry lambic (actually, i just though the picture was cool)

 

Food Truck Luck

Over the last 10 years, the dining options at the University of Hawai’i have been scant at best. Like most areas of American life, the food choices on campus have largely been co-opted by a major corporation (unnamed of course, I don’t want to get sued). They promote local ingredients and allow local vendors to use some of the dining locations, but for the most part they limit the choices and charge ridiculous prices. Last month they suddenly left Paradise Palms, the only dining space on the Diamond Head side of campus, leaving an even deeper void in food options for the people (like me) working in buildings in the immediate area. In a move to placate hungry students, faculty and staff, the university invited some local food trucks to set up shop along Maile Way between Moore Hall and Hamilton Library. I wasn’t too jazzed at the development at first, but I seem to be eating at them at least 3 times a week. What’s more, two of the trucks feature items with kimchi as a main ingredient. I have tried both; results follow.

Shogunai Tacos has a variety of geographically themed tacos, one being the Seoul Food Korean Taco ($7.00/$8.95 with the pommes). It’s a smart move considering the Korean taco craze of the past couple of years, and as far as I can tell, it’s a popular menu item. The thin slices of short rib meat (kalbi?), peppers, onions, and kimchi are all served on a warm tortilla with an ample bunch of (unadvertised) raw cabbage. I chose the combo, which comes with Moroccan-spiced pommes. I was most impressed with quality of the kimchi. A lot of the local, mass-produced kimchi is watered down and bland. Not sure where Shogunai’s getting theirs, but it fits the taco bill. That said, this was my first Korean taco and it was about what I expected it to be. As a fan of both Korean food and tacos, I was hoping there would be something more than just basic Korean ingredients on a tortilla, but that’s precisely what it was. Not bad, but not particularly original either. The major downside was the mess. By the time I took my first bite, the tortilla was saturated with the “Korean spices and sauce,” neither of which I could identify. Not that I wouldn’t try it again, but I haven’t had one since I tried this one about a month ago. On the other hand, the pommes were perhaps the best I had in years. The Moroccan spice and crispness of the crinkle cut fries were heaven. Top-notch.

Shogunai Menu

Shogunai Tacos.

Oh pommes how I love thee.

Today I felt a little exhausted by the food trucks, but because I didn’t feel like walking across campus, I decided on a veggie burger form Momo Burger. When I arrived I noticed a new menu item: the Kukui Kimchee Dog ($4.00). Served on a toasted bun, it features a kukui kimchee sausage, Asian slaw, and kochu jang aioli. I knew not what any of those things were, but they sure sounded good. I cannot help but jump ahead and say that it was absolutely delectable. I’ll have to ask them about the sausage, because I’m pretty sure it didn’t feature the inedible nut it is named after, but it did have a nice kimchi-inspired kick to it. The Asian slaw was just right, not too watery and its main ingredient was kimchi. The kochu jang was barely detectable, but the flavor of the aioli was, wow…perfect. I didn’t want the experience to end. The juiciness of the sausage coupled with the just-sweet-enough accompaniment of the aioli gives this dog the highest recommendation I can offer. Masshitda!

Momo Menu

Da Truck...Da Rain

Yum.