Beginning tomorrow, I’m starting over with this blog that I started with the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in August 2009. As any media follower knows, a lot has happened in the newspaper industry in 2-1/2 years.

In 2010, the Star-Bulletin’s parent company, Oahu Publications, purchased The Honolulu Advertiser to create one paper, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser — but my blog retained its old Star-Bulletin URL. That made it more difficult to find, but we were cautious about losing any of the photos and posts. But now it’s time to embrace the change.

Beginning March 7, the blog URL changes from http://blogs.starbulletin.com/takeabite to http://takeabite.staradvertiserblogs.com.

Past posts will still be at the former address, but I’ll be starting anew at the new address.
I hope you’ll visit the new site!

Nadine Kam photos
The finale of the HIFF Oscar Night America 2012 dinner was a mignardise platter complete with caramel popcorn and white chocolate event “tickets.”

Inspired by the Best Picture nominees, Halekulani executive chef Vikram Garg created a menu as dazzling on the eye as the palate for HIFF’s Oscar Night America 2012 viewing party Feb. 26.

Being in the Halekulani Ballroom and watching the ceremonies on a big screen with amplified sound, made it feel as if you were in the room with the nominees.

Food also figured in the silent auction to benefit HIFF programs. When I saw the logo for Bob Chinn’s restaurant, I thought I had missed something and that he had somehow opened in Hawaii, but it was actually for a couple of gift certificates to have one of his seafood dinners for four— including gumbo and four kinds of crab—shipped to Hawaii from his Chicago restaurant.

Although “The Artist” took home the Academy Award that night, it was the gleaming “Moneyball” dessert creation had guests buzzing at the end of the evening, over the sugary orb that encased a square of espresso praline crisp topped with dehydrated chocolate mousse.

On the Halekulani red carpet: Best dressed and a wardrobe malfunction.

“The Artist”: A canvas of green pea gelee with lobster, citrus and bouquet of herbs and edible flowers.

“Tree of Life”: A tableau of roasted cauliflower, dotted with raisins, pine nuts and onion seeds.

“The Descendants”: Kauai shrimp sitting on a cake of smoked pork belly in a pool of tomato honey sauce.

“Midnight in Paris”: Steak frites with Café de Paris butter.

The frites were passed around, and there wasn’t much left by the time I got the basket.

“The Moneyball”: The sugar orb was cracked open to reveal its content of espresso praline crisp topped with dehydrated chocolate mousse.

These days, an extra place at the table is necessary for cell phones.

Guests who weren’t munching on candy popcorn in between courses could take home their bags for their next film viewing.

Nadine Kam photos
“Eat the Street” founder Poni Askew shows a plate of swordfish and another of enchiladas from the Cooking Fresh for You truck at the event’s one-year anniversary luau.

Eat this street held its first anniversary at the Kakaako waterfront, from 4 to 9 p.m. Jan. 27, where the truck count is up to 32, and founder Poni Askew said she regularly turns away 25 to 30 vendors for lack of space, although she said it breaks her heart to do so.

They include people who are starting up specifically to be a part of the monthly communal food event. Picking which newbies get in is difficult, she said, and is a matter of finding those with something new or novel to offer. For instance, one to look forward to in coming months is the Sweet Revenge pie truck that’ll offer sweet and savory selections.

In the beginning, Poni was working as a district manager for Starbucks when she started her Street Grindz blog and website just to bring the food truck community together and offer a convenient place to share sightings and locations of trucks. But with the popularity of the trucks affordable fare, the whole project took on a life of its own.

Now, it’s become political as well, with the city moving to enforce a 1978 law that requires street vendors to move at least 300 feet after being in one spot for 15 minutes.  Violators face a petty misdemeanor charge punishable by up to 30 days in jail and  a fine up to $1,000 fine.

After police began citing lunch wagons and other street vendors several months ago, Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard introduced a bill that would allow the vendors to stay in place two hours, to get them through a typical lunch period, although final testimony is pending.

Poni said it’s a shame that the city is doing this at the height of the trucks’ popularity, and I think attendance at the monthly events also speaks to consumers’ wishes.

“It would be a shame if they turn away a legacy that’s been here for so long, for so many generations of Hawaii families,” she said.

Shortly after arriving at the event, I stopped by the Eat the Street booth, where food writer Mari Taketa said she’d just been asked if she were me. The late John Heckathorn also told me in the past that people asked him the same question!

This city is not without precedent of the mystery writer with the fake name and fake gender. The Honolulu Weekly once had a male restaurant reviewer writing under a  woman’s name. But I started writing about food a decade before that, when I was 22, too young to consider the consequences. If I had to do it over again, I probably would have used a pseudonym and just walked away from any grief.

One of the attractions of the waterfront setting was a huge warehouse with seating for the tired and hungry.

Getting fancy. An $8 lobster roll made with Maine lobster was one of the specials at the Why’z truck. Andy Hope was prepping lobster outside and I had to do a doubletake when I saw his doppelganger inside the truck. His twin.

The lobster roll: Not as much lobster as I’d like like, but fair for $8. I paid double for awesome lobster rolls in New York, but don’t think most people would spring for that here.

Also offered by Why’z, ribs dubbed “dinosaur bones.”

Former newsperson-turned-foodtrepreneur Kawehi Haug, shared her latest venture, Street Frites.

A closeup of the frites.

Some of the sauce selections accompanying the Street Frites. Offered are savory and sweet flavors, and sometimes a combination of the two, as with the bacon jam.

A suggestion from The Curb truck.

I got it. If you love Godiva’s Chocolixirs, you’ll love this. It’s topped with mini chocolate chips and strawberry slices.

In addition to the burgers and hearty fare offered by Beyond Burgers, I had my eye on the lemondade and strawberry lemonade.

Many came for a taste of Five-0 ribs. They use a tangy barbecue sauce, which goes against the penchant for sweet sauces here. I prefer a savory rub.

There was a line for the Falafel King, but I usually stop at their kiosk in Waikiki.

Inside the warehouse, Riley Richard had just had a malasada, shave ice and ear of corn, but said she was still hungry and was going in search of dessert with her mom.

Enjoying Ono Pops were, from left, Jessi Kawamoto, Danica Amaroso and Kylee Amaroso-Kawamoto.

From the Lox of Bagels truck, a chicken salad bagel, $8.

Nadine Kam photos
Nate J. Richards, Vice President, Marketing & Communications for the Joyful Heart Foundation, and Joanna Colangelo, Manager of Foundation & Corporate Relations, stand behind One Strong Ohana.

The Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund has partnered with the Joyful Heart Foundation to launch a statewide public awareness campaign called “One Strong ‘Ohana,” to promote the idea that the prevention of child abuse and neglect is a community responsibility.

A tweetup launch that took place Jan. 19 at P.F. Chang’s Hokua restaurant proved timely, two days after a Kamuela man was charged with manslaughter in the death of 3-year-old Marley Makanani.

Speaking to Joyful Heart CEO Maile Zambuto before the event began, she noted a “blame the family” stream of public response to the killing, but she said there needs to be more community responsibility because every time a child is killed or abused, she said, some of the warning signs are evident to all who see the child. A study commissioned by the foundation found, among other things, that in Hawaii, the perpetrators are more likely than those on the mainland to be related to the victims, and that there are cultural barriers to reporting such abuse, that must be overcome.

“The campaign theme of ‘One Strong ‘Ohana’ was born out of the deep-rooted belief we all share here in Hawai‘i—that we are all part of one ‘ohana,” said Aileen Deese, Chairperson of the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund Advisory Committee and Program Director of Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii, in a press release. “Through this campaign, we hope to increase awareness that there are simple ways to reach out and be there for a family, such as bringing a meal or offering child care.”

The weighty tone of the informative event was tempered by selections from P.F. Chang’s well-rounded pupu menu, including seared ahi sashimi with spicy mustard sauce.

“The results of this research clearly demonstrated a critical need for increased public education about the prevalence and signs of child abuse and neglect as well as how bystanders can intervene to help keep children safe,” Zambuto said.

Among the study’s findings, released last summer:
* Nearly 40 percent of residents know a victim of child abuse.
*64 percent of residents say it is difficult to identify the signs of abuse.
*27 percent of residents said they were reluctant to report suspected abuse or neglect
because it was “none of their business.” And the majority of residents would rather talk to a colleague, friend or family member about suspected abuse than appropriate authorities.

In addition to physical and mental abuse, The Federal Child Abuse Preveention and Treatment Act defines child abuse as “an act or failure to act that presents an imminent risk of serious harm,” which means all those who fail to report are participating in abuse.

Among the One Strong ‘Ohana business partners are Whole Foods Market, Fun Factory and Jamba Juice Hawaii. From now until March 12, 2012, Jamba Juice Hawaii will donate 25 cents, up to $10,000, from the purchase of each Fit ‘n Fruitful smoothie to the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund’s One Strong ‘Ohana campaign.

Spring rolls. They are $2 each on the pau hana menu, offered from 3 to 6 p.m. daily and during new late-night pau hana hours from 9:30 p.m. to closing Fridays and Saturdays.

In an emotional moment WFM’s Natalie Aczon, in speaking about Whole Foods willingness to get involved, volunteered the information that she was a victim of domestic violence that began shortly after her seven-year marriage. It took her that long to extricate herself from the situation, and I see her as a very strong woman.

Until that moment, she told me later, she had never spoken about it, and had never intended to say anything out of shame that all victims of abuse feel. But she said she believes the time is right, and that more people speaking up will diminish the power of would-be abusers.

She made it a point to speak to her sons about what they had seen while they were growing up so that they would not grow up to be abusers, but she said, “They didn’t remember it, they had blocked it from their minds.”

I believe that they willed themselves to forget,  because children’s memories can be uncanny. I can still remember my infancy and what the plastic liner of my crib felt like, as well as the feeling of being behind bars and seeing the three big heads of my teen cousins peering at me. I had no vocabulary then, but my thought was, “Why are they looking at me?” with a conflicted mixture of happiness and annoyance.

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” actress Mariska Hargitay founded Joyful Heart Foundation on the Big Island in 2004 with the intention of helping survivors heal and reclaim their lives. Today, the organization’s mission is to heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse. For more information, visit www.joyfulheartfoundation.org.

My interview with Hargitay from 2010: http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/20100905_hargitay_comes_to_the_rescue.html

Hargitay may be in town later this year for a benefit event like this one from 2010: http://blogs.starbulletin.com/fashiontribe/joyful-hearts-abound/

More from P.F. Chang’s pupu menu:

Chang’s ahi poke.

Dynamite shrimp with spicy sauce.

Northern-style wok-braised spareribs sprinkled with 5-spice salt.

Crab won tons.

Crispy green beans.

Pork dumplings.

Fillings for both chicken and vegetarian lettuce wraps were offered.

New Year’s deal.

Dragon Punch created just for the Chinese new year features Tsingtao, Skyy Infusions Dragon Fruit Vodka and Sriracha for mix of sweetness and spice.

Nadine Kam photos
Ahi poke with taro chips and Maui potato chips served in the Halekulani/Waikiki Parc skybox at the Sony Open.

I’m not a golfer, I don’t like the sun, so I could never fathom why people kept trying to get me to stop by the Sony Open.

It took a while for them to convince me that for some, it’s as much about the food and drink as the links. It’s golf’s version of football’s tailgate parties, except at the Sony Open, vendors do all the cooking.

If you’re lucky enough to be invited into one of the skyboxes, you can nosh the afternoon the way, and at the Kahala Hotel & Resort’s skybox, one guest kept his wife plied with full plates of nigiri sushi and handrolls courtesy Superb Sushi.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” she scolded. “You’re trying not to buy me dinner.”

It was about 2:30 p.m.

Over at the Halekulani/Waikiki Parc skybox, there was a full menu ranging from Caesar salad and kung pao chicken lettuce cups, to kalua pork and carved huli chicken sandwiches, plus assorted desserts. Along with the food, there was sake from Nobu, Halekulani designer wines, Parc Chic zinfandel and viognier, and specialty teas.

Outside the skyboxes, there was plenty more to keep spectators happy, with stations manned by Blue Water Shrimp, Korean Fresh Grill, Hula Shrimp, Hawaiian Roasted Corn, SOUL Patrol, Cooking Fresh for You and Shiga’licious for those who needed to cool off with shave ice.

The Sony Open is one of the few occasions where I can be content to sit in the sun all afternoon!

Huli chicken that went into the carved huli chicken sandwich in the Halekulani/Waikiki Parc skybox.

Teriyaki beef sticks were a popular offering.

Shrimp served with cocktail sauce below.

Instead of serving ourselves, we were handed the day’s menu to check off the morsels we wanted, here, the carved huli sandwich, kalua pork sandwich with hoisin sauce, beef sticks and shrimp cocktail. It resulted in more attractive plating than if guests were left to their own devices.

At the Kahala Hotel & Resort skybox, Cindi Rosete of Makena Resort and the Hotels & Resorts of Halekulani collects a handroll from Manny Nakasenh of Superb Sushi.

In the Kahala Hotel & Resort skybox, these were the markers for disappeared tea sanwiches. I got to try the chicken salad with tarragon on endive.

Fried chicken in the Kahala Hotel skybox.

Nadine Kam photos
First meal of the New Year, Navitas Naturals chewy raw cashews.

When making up lists of symbolic meals, I’ve often seen people struggle to come up with the perfect last meal.

Not much is made of the first meals of the new year because they are typically preordained by tradition, whether one’s culture calls for ozoni, mochi, ahi, jai or candied fruit, whether to bind families together or bring sweetness, longevity and fortune into one’s life.

New Year tradition in my family is tied to the Lunar New Year, which begins Jan. 23, so Jan. 1 tends to be more of a culinary free-for-all that’s not weighted in any kind of tradition or superstition.

So, what was on the menu? After waking up too late to head to Mariposa as planned, my afternoon started with a fistful of Navitas Naturals raw, kosher, gluten-free, vegan and 100 percent organic cashews.

To balance the healthy goodness, lunch/dinner was a decadent one-third pound Kua ‘Aina ortega burger with avocado.

It was totally random, and I’m not saying a colossal burger is a good thing, but I like the word “balance” for 2012 and hope to make more healthier choices in the new year. My personal choices are not something that’s necessarily reflected in my restaurant columns, which, as a mirror of our times, relays what is happening in local dining rooms at this particular point. But wouldn’t it be nice if more restaurateurs thought like personal trainers, creating meals to optimize the functions of the human body?

Second meal of 2012: Kua ‘Aina ortega burger with avocado.

Nadine Kam photo
Panya’s New Year gau, clockwise from top, coconut creme, traditional brown sugar, red bean, and water chestnut. All four flavors will be available throughout January, beginning Sunday.

Panya is taking orders for New Year’s gau to be available beginning Jan. 1.

Beyond the basic Chinese brown sugar and mochiko pudding, Panya is offering gau with red beans, as well as a light, opaque water chestnut version and white, coconut creme-flavored version.

I had an impromptu tasting when I passed by the Ala Moana Center shop yesterday and saw Melissa Chang and Russ Sumida with a stack of gau in front of them, even though Russell doesn’t care to try “scary” foods.

On some level, I can understand that, because I have a lot of friends with food phobias, including people who won’t eat onions and garlic, the basis of most cooking! Then there are the Chinese who don’t eat Japanese food, and Japanese who don’t eat Chinese food, and I just thought he was one of those Japanese, who, like another of my Japanese friends, feels the presence of a salt-preserved duck yolk in the center of moon cakes is gross.

Even though all the Chinese broads, including Panya’s Alice Yeung, tried to convince Russ that gau is similar to mochi, he said he doesn’t even eat that.

Oh well, more for me, right? As much as I like traditional gau, I thought the flavored versions were good. The coconut was the biggest surprise, because you can go so wrong with coconut. Sometimes the oil in it can taste rancid, but this tasted nice and clean. I also liked the lightness of the water chestnut, but with the texture of kanten, it didn’t go over as well with people at the office who were graving the texture of traditional gau.

Panya’s gau comes in two sizes, a 4-inch diameter small and 7-inch diameter large.

Prices for the small servings are $6 each for brown sugar gau and water chestnut gau, and $6.50 each for coconut creme and red bean. The respective prices for the large servings are $16 an $18.

Also available for the Chinese New Year will be gourmet jai featuring mushrooms, chestnuts, gingko nuts, black fungus, Chinese cabbage, seaweed, baby corn, bean curd and more, at $22 and $45 for pick-up on Jan. 21, 22 and 23.

Call 946-6388 or 597-8880. Visit www.panyagroup.com for more information.

Burger King photo

Burger King will be launching its new thicker, reduced-sodium fries by giving away free value-size servings at all 25 BK Oahu and neighbor island restaurants and AAFES locations on Dec. 16.

No purchase necessary and orders will be limited to one per customer.

The fries will contain 20 percent less sodium than previously, and are said to have a coating that keeps them crisper and hotter longer.

OHANA Hotels & Resorts
Inside the OHANA Waikiki Malia lobby.

Dine at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurant or log onto www.hawaiianbarbecue.com before Dec. 12 to enter for the chance to win an ultimate Ohana Hawaii Getaway or become one of 30 winners of a three-night complimentary hotel stay with OHANA Hotels & Resorts.

The ultimate Ohana Hawaii Getaway comprises roundtrip airfare for two from a major West Coast hub courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines, a five-night hotel stay at one of four Oahu OHANA properties or the Keauhou Beach Resort in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island, and a six-day car rental.

The Oahu choices are the OHANA Waikiki East, OHANA Waikiki Malia, OHANA Waikiki West or OHANA Honolulu Airport Hotel.

One grand prize will be awarded from among all entries received from California, Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Connecticut, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, New York, Utah, Oregon and Washington.

Visit www.hawaiianbarbecue.com for complete contest rules. Must be 21 to enter. No purchase necessary. Winners will be randomly selected and notified via email during the week of Jan. 2, 2012.

The pool at Keauhou Beach Resort.

Food Network photos
Carrie McCully brings restaurateurs and executive chef candidates together on The Food Network’s “Chef Hunter.”

Attaining executive chef status is a grueling process in itself, made even tougher when cameras are involved. That’s the challenge of Food Network’s new series “Chef Hunter,” which shows what happens when out-of-work chefs head to Kauai, intent on landing an executive chef job with Peter Merriman.

The episode will air at 11 p.m. today, with chefs put to the ultimate test of culinary skill, business acumen and tenacity required to be an executive chef. Beyond the basics of creating a couple of dishes for Merriman to sample, the chefs are given full run of the restaurant for one night and tasked with creating their own menu and serving a packed house of the restaurant’s best customers.

It’s not just made-for-television stuff because of the show’s real-life implications, according to Carrie McCully, a New York- and L.A.-based professional culinary recruiter, who takes her work very seriously.

In a phone interview earlier today, she said, job seeking on the show “is absolutely harder because they have cameras all around and they’re under a tremendous amount of stress. They’re literally going in and creating a menu, sourcing all the products, working with a team they never met before, and serving local patrons of the restaurant. It’s much harder than the average interview.

“I’ve never had one chef who didn’t say that it was the toughest interview they’d had in their life, and it’s been a career changer. Once they experience it, everything else always seems like a piece of cake.”

It marks a big commitment to the hosting restaurant as well, who entrusts the chefs with the premises, all its equipment, and its clientele. Though throughout the process, McCully said she and Merriman, one of the architects of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement, were right there to observe the chefs’ working methods.

“It’s important for him to create the right team because he’s often on the road, and has to know this person is capable, so he’s watching every movement the chefs are making,” McCully said, while adding, “Peter is such a professional. He’s had so much experience and has a terrific sense of humor, so it’s really hard to ruffle his feathers. There were a lot of laughs (over the chef’s blunders), like that’s happened before.”
Carrie McCully

It wasn’t too long ago that McCully was recruited for television herself. As a culinary expert working in marketing and public relations, she said, over time she’d hear about chefs who were leaving their jobs and chefs who were out of work, and started making recommendations to restaurateurs. In such a high-stakes industry, her recommendations were invaluable and she parlayed it into a new career, now as principal of Force of Nature Media.

A visit to L.A. to check out the culinary scene brought her to the attention of The Food Network, which had wanted to launch “Chef Hunter,” but had been searching for someone like McCully for a year.

“I’m not a television person,” she said. “It’s my job to put my clients on TV. Before, no one ever cared about what I did for a living.”

But she turned out to be a natural. “I’m not uncomfortable in front of the camera because I really believe in what I’m doing. I’m probably a frustrated executive chef myself.”