By Nadine Kam

Nadine Kam photos
A volcano was the centerpiece of the room at the “Chopsticks & Wine” event, themed “The Magic of Waikiki,” at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel on Oct. 6.

All five of the Sheraton Waikiki ballrooms were open for the Chopsticks & Wine event Oct. 6, but with 1,200 guests there to sample food from 15 restaurants and bid on a silent auction to benefit the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, can you believe there seemed to be little room to maneuver in the crowd.

Upon arrival, guests were greeted by a table full of glasses for sampling the many wines (also beer and sake) available, and the paths to the tasting stations seemed clear, but an hour later it was hard to navigate around the crush of people.

Arnold Hirotsu, co-chair of the event, said earlier, “The event has grown over the past eight years and gets bigger and bigger every year.” If it keeps growing they’ll have to take over Aloha Stadium or something.

I didn’t get to try the 15-plus dishes available, but when I saw the long line for sushi from Shokudo and Poke Stop’s “Shellfish Box” comprising creamy ahi on chiso rice, seafood ceviche, crab beignet with Hawaiian chili pepper remoulade and blackend ahi pizza, I made a detour for  burgundy-braised short ribs of beef with truffle jus from 3660 on the Rise, which turned out to be an exceptional start.

Japanese-style fish tacos presented by Gyotaku.

Over at the Sheraton tables, Colin Hazama was taking a break from his new appointment at St. Regis Princeville to help Twist at Hanohano’s Ryan Loo dish out his Peking-style seven-spiced duck and foie gras bun with gingered cranberries.

One of the more visually appealing displays was Gyotaku Japanese Restaurant’s spicy fish tacos sitting amidst a Zen-like rock garden. And Neiman Marcus’s Mariposa had one of the most upscale dishes, of pink peppercorn-crusted Kona kampachi and smoked shrimp potato salad with lilikoi mustard vinaigrette and avocado aioli.

Participation wasn’t limited to restaurants. Times Supermarket was dishing out a Taste of the Times with what they called “Manini Panini,” of prime rib sliders on brioche.

Dessert was offerd up by Roy’s, with mini chocolate souffles dished out by Ron Nasuti.

Credit for bringing in the beverages goes to American Wine & Spirits, Better Brands, Coastal Wine & Spirits of Hawaii, Grand Crew Wine Merchants, MaHaLo Hawaii Deep Sea Water, Paradise Beverages, and Southern Wine & Spirits of Hawaii.

Other participating restaurants were Beachhouse at the Moana; Le Bistro; Royal Hawaiian Center’s Okonomiyaki Chibo, P.F. Chang’s Waikiki and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse; Sam Choy’s; and Sammy’s Restaurant.

It’s hard to photograph cooked beef, but the beef burgundy from 3660 on the Rise was ono!

Mariposa Chef de Cuisine Marc Anthony Freiberg and Duane Kawamoto served up pink peppercorn-crusted Kona kampachi courtesy Neiman Marcus.

Many lined up for dishes served up by restaurant tenants from the Royal Hawaiian Center, including Porterhouse steak from Wolfgang’s Steakhouse.

Palm tree decor also reflected the event’s theme.

Just when you thought you’d eaten your fill, cheese platters with Marcona almonds awaited near the exits to put you one morsel over your limit!

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 7:53 pm and is filed under Events, Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.