Last week, I had the opportunity to dine at Alan Wong's King Street restaurant to experience their special Farmer Series Dinner, "You Like Beef?"--featuring meat from Kuahiwi Ranch on the Big Island. What a treat!
In this time of social consciousness, when we are trying to do more to buy local and achieve greater sustainability, it's important to get to know the people behind the business. Kuahiwi's Al Galimba and daughter Michelle are also trying to get to know their customers, as well. Their cattle are grass-fed up until the last three months, at which point they are given the option to eat natural grain, which helps the meat's flavor & texture (pure grass-fed beef tends to be a little tough or dry due to lower fat content).
With this in mind, we tried the beef.
When we tasted regular beef and Kuahiwi beef side by side in patty form, the Kuahiwi definitely had more character. I don't want to say "flavor," because the regular beef did have flavor; it just wasn't very exciting.
We then had a tasting of 5 small samplers. Oh, did you want to see a close up?
Joe Wilson's Kona Lobster with Old Fashioned Creamed Corn. Tender, sweet, and luxurious.
Kuahiwi Ranch Beef Carpaccio on Parmesan Cheese Crisp. This married a surprising blend of sensations, from sweet and mellow to crunchy with a rich flavor. I think it was the beef that evoked the sweetness!
Fresh soy milk panna cotta with Ma'o Farms Swiss chard ohitashi. This was an awesome contrast of salty (the two roes and Swiss chard) with the gentle milkiness of the soy panna cotta. This is my kind of food! I was bummed that there wasn't a whole saimin bowl full of it.
Ahi lumpia, seared ahi, soy mustard. I have to be honest, it's hard to describe this because it was gone in a flash. I remember that it was yummy, but the moment passed so quickly. Perhaps I need another one.
Ron Weidenbach's North Shore farm raised tilapia, smoked, with an edamame horseradish sour cream. That's right, tilapia. And you know what? This was the winnah of the five items. It was tender & moist, unfishy, with a subtle smokiness. In fact, I'm salivating as I write about this dish. You don't ever think of tilapia as a delicacy, but it's farm raised, so it's clean and fed right.
Hilo farm raised sturgeon.
The Pacific Aquaculture & Coastal Resources (PARC) is UH-Hilo's new research & development center in Keaukaha. Sturgeon is one of the many seafoods raised there in hopes of creating new industries for Hawaii and increasing our sustainability. This sturgeon--not an attractive fish--was beautiful to eat. It's another moist fish that melted with Alan Wong's umami butter (soy, parmesan cheese, thyme, tarragon, and lemon zest) and was a good contrast to the sweet Ho Farms baby tomatoes and salty Marine Agrifuture sea asparagus.
Kuahiwi Ranch Rib Eye "Two Ways"
You can't see the meat on the left under the chiso leaf, but it was soy braised. It fell apart on the fork and was incredibly soft. The other slice was more traditional, but still very tender and beefy. Both were accompanied by an ume natto red wine sauce, which was really interesting! I like natto, but I'm not sure what people who don't eat it will think. Nevertheless, they were both great with the Hamakua mushrooms.
Wong Way "Banana Split" with Kahuku Farms Bananas
The banana ice cream is wrapped in freshly-made strips of mochi, then topped with three ice creams to depict a deconstructed banana split. This was the perfect ending to the meal--light, refreshing, and a taste of Hawaii.
Freshly baked mudslide cookies from the chefs. Warm, chewy, chocolatey goodness.
Matcha and Kona coffee truffles.
Alan Wong's has a Farmer's Series dinner every quarter, each featuring different local farms and their offerings. You get to meet the farmers and talk to them about everything you want. It's an eye-opening experience--if nothing else, it gives you a better awareness of buying local and helping the movement toward sustainability. And yes, it's worth it.
Alan Wong's
1857 S. King Street
Honolulu, HI 96826
808.949.2526 www.alanwongs.com
Remember Sis Kitchen, the nice Korean restaurant in the Waialae complex in Kaimuki? They closed several years ago, much to the surprise of patrons who enjoyed their food and warm hospitality.
So I went there recently with my nieces (and Metromix writer Mari Taketa, but she's not pictured) and did a Metromix review. I remember how I had learned to eat nan myeung (the cold, chewy buckwheat noodles) there, but at the moment it's not on the menu. Actually, the menu is a little different, but it's all good.
Sis Kitchen owner Sara Sung
It is in the atrium in the back under Himalayan Kitchen. If you eat out a lot, you may get a little confused--wasn't this spot a sushi bar most recently? Yes, it was. As much as I like a good back story, I won't talk about what happened to close that restaurant. All I can tell you is, the people who own Sis Kitchen also own that building, so they also own Bella Mia next door. If you come to eat with people who aren't into Korean food, you can opt to order pizza from next door while you enjoy your banchan!
The food seems to be high quality, with delicate flavors.
The kalbi was so good, we ended up fighting for the last pieces...even the bones.
Morgen with our mandoo.
We liked the mandoo, but everyone does! We want something different. Next time we'll try the "Chef's choice" menu, which is like Sis Kitchen's version of omakase.
Want to see more? My entire food gallery for Sis Kitchen is at Metromix today. Please go there and leave comments on the gallery! (I I know it's a little cumbersome to leave comments there, but I would greatly appreciate it.) Try it and let me know what you think!
This is my final blog entry about embarking on the USS Santa Fe. Hopefully I'll have video for you soon!
I know a lot of you asked about what we ate. We got to see the kitchen, which is tiny but usually has seven people assigned to cooking for the crew. I'm not sure how they fit into such tight quarters, but somehow they do. All the food aboard the submarine must be made from scratch daily, since there is no storage space for stuff from a Costco run. They pump out meals every six hours. I should add that the mess hall was so small, it was difficult for me to get a shot to share with you. Yet, they use this area for training, meetings, movie nights, and meals.
One can volunteer for kitchen duty if they have an idea for a recipe to share, or if they just want to learn more about cooking. Since the crew tends to be very diverse, they field requests for items that may be hometown favorites. As long as there is a recipe card for it, the kitchen can try to make it.
With Nathan & Burt in our USS Santa Fe iron chef attire.
This is the officer's mess "hall" in which we had our lunch. This room also doubles for meeting rooms, training, and movies; if the doctor needs an operating table, this is it.
Fresh green salad.
Clam chowder, which was excellent!
Seasoned fries, carrots, and--what else?--submarine sandwiches. This was all surprisingly good, given the cramped conditions they had to work with! We also had ice cream or cake for dessert.
Toward the end of our tour, Commander David Adams gave each of us this coin, which is extraordinarily rare. You can get a generic coin from the gift shop, but only the commanding officer can give you this particular coin!
...And that pretty much rounds out my day on the submarine. As mentioned before, I couldn't capture a lot because there were more restrictions on what we could record. It wasn't a bad thing; much of a submarine's work is stealth, so it's understandable that you can't give away our military secrets!
I can't emphasize enough that this is probably the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy; every guy on the sub has gone through a rigorous process to learn everything about the ship's construction, operation, and damage control. They also have to demonstrate reliability under battle conditions. Once they have passed the qualification--which must be done in 10 months or less--they get to wear this dolphin pin.
This was an incredible opportunity and I'm grateful for the chance to see the amazing inner workings of a naval submarine. As a public relations pro, I have to say that the Navy does an impressive job at reaching out to the (civilian) media to share their story. If you would like to see more, check out Nathan Kam's and Burt Lum's blogs as they share their photos and videos.
People don't normally think about life on a submarine...at least, I didn't until I boarded the USS Santa Fe. We just kind of take it for granted that these huge machines work, but have no idea what keeps it working.
COB (Chief of the Boat) John Davis tells us about how most attack subs will go for 60 to 70 days without resupplying; his longest time underwater was 97 days. The military will provide special home comforts to keep the crew happy; for example, if they are out to sea during a Super Bowl game, it gets transmitted to the sub and they can watch it live.
Since subs run on nuclear power, they don't need to rely on petroleum to keep them moving. The nuclear core is built to last 33 years, so as long as it can create its own steam, it's all good.
Submarines create their own water through a high-tech desalinization process and use that same water for drinking, operations, and the steam system that gets them moving. This same process is a part of creating their own air; as the denizens exhale carbon dioxide, a monitoring system pumps it out and makes the right amount of oxygen to keep them breathing.
(For a better explanation of the air & water production process, see Burt Lum's blog. Burt's scientific talk with one of the engineers went over my & Nathan Kam's heads!)
We got to climb up to the top of the sub--called the sail--while it was moving. We had to get strapped up like a zipliner and they hooked us to a grommet so that we wouldn't fall overboard if we slipped. (Even with all of this precaution, it was still scary!) This is the only light of day, aside from the periscope screen, that the crew gets to see while deployed. It is another observation point hooked up with devices to enhance their surveillance.
Front view. During this time of year, they can sometimes see whales. They are, however, very strict about staying the required distance away from the whales.
View of the trail we left behind. We noticed that the outside of the submarine wasn't necessarily smooth; turns out its steel hull is meticulously covered with an anechoic material that basically absorbs sound. The material and its adhesive is state of the art in that it has to endure being in water for long periods of time without peeling off.
I'm trying to keep this as general as possible so you can see more in William Cole's story next week. But I hope you feel you got a good peek into life on a submarine!
I've been so fortunate to have the opportunity to experience things that few people can, and my latest embarkation on the USS Santa Fe--a Navy attack submarine--was quite a unique one. My blog today is a little general, but next week be watching for a story by Military reporter William Cole and photographer Richard Ambo (who got some great shots). I'll share some photos with you over the next few days to give you a glimpse of my day yesterday.
Honolulu Advertiser President & Publisher Lee Webber goes down the hatch.
Have you ever boarded a Navy submarine? Many people say that it's cramped and claustrophobic, but I thought they made efficient use of what little space they had to create as much comfort as possible. The evolution of flat screen monitors--which they have throughout the sub to monitor ocean activity at any time--is one part of that. I guess if I lived on a sub, I might think differently.
Deputy Commander for Training (Squadron 7) Douglas Perry,who reads my blog,briefing us in the board room on submarine life.
One thing I didn't realize about submariners is that the Navy selects the cream of the crop for this work. They're mostly technicians, each specializing in a complex area of technology and (for lack of a better word) surveillance. There is a stringent requirement process to get to work on a submarine, and a more rigorous process to get promoted. They're scientists, mechanics, and engineers.
We didn't get to see how they live, or as much as we saw on the USS Nimitz. Part of this is due to sheer physical size; the other part is the fact that so much of what submarines do is stealth operations, so obviously we can't give away the farm. It was still fascinating.
This was about as much as I was allowed to capture in the control room. They have two periscopes, fiber optically connected to the flat screens throughout the submarine. The guys operating it constantly walk in a circle as they observe the external surroundings and call out things they see (if necessary), and switch out every few minutes to keep from eyeball fatigue.
THIS was kind of neat--the sonar room. These guys listen for everything, and after years of training can tell you if the sound they hear is a cruise ship or the competitors sneezing two miles away. When you do a rapid descent, if you are going through a school of shrimp, it sounds like crackling bacon. As we went into deep water, we could hear whales singing, which was outrageously cool.
As we got into deeper water, they showed us how they dive and ascend quickly. Your ears don't pop like on an airplane, since the atmosphere and pressure is controlled. However, the submarine has to tilt to get moving quickly, so we were standing at extreme angles. Can you see blogger Nathan Kam leaning? We did this a few times.
Inside the torpedo room. It's impossible to get a good shot because of the close quarters; they even have beds for their staff to sleep in here. Can you imagine getting that rack assignment?
While in the control room, we also went through a simulated attack drill, where they shot a "water torpedo" at a target. It was pretty intense--the guys were lined up at different monitors, busy scribbling on dry erase charts and calling out coordinates and status reports. When they finally fired their torpedo, the sudden release of pressure caused our ears to pop a little. We later talked about the various ways they can release their weapons: vertically, horizontally, even land missiles. Technology has advanced so far that you can now fire a missile at a target, and if he moves location while the missile is still traveling, they can program it to change direction.
Commanding Officer David Adams oversees about 130 personnel, sometimes as much as 170, on the USS Santa Fe.
We also got to sit with Commanding Officer David Adams to talk about submarine operations. He was telling us about how they have about 150 people on board when deployed, but only 120 racks (beds) so the staff has to double up and sleep in shifts. Beds that are assigned to two people are called "hot racks"--I guess because the bed doesn't get a chance to get cold due to the sleep shifts. They work in 18 hour increments, mostly because they only have enough personnel for three shifts. So you might work six hours, and during the next 12 do things like maintenance, studying, sleeping, or eating.
I could see where work on a submarine is probably pretty intense, but not for the living quarters. They said that if you work on a sub, there's no room for procrastination because the pace is quick and there is constantly work to do. Most of the guys that I observed were pretty focused (or "chop chop," as my friends would say) and super task-oriented. As they got higher up the ranks, you could see the demeanor relaxed a little more, but for the most part all of the submariners are always concentrating on the target of the day--whether it's the competition, upgrades to the ship, learning a new task, or showing civilians their operations--and thinking of how to do it in the most efficient way possible.
Climbing up & down around the submarine is very tight and very vertical! You need good upper body strength, IMHO, do to this long-term.
Nathan Kam, Ron from the Navy, me, and Burt Lum. Nathan and Burt did NOT get to throw me overboard as they had planned!
Tomorrow: More cool things we saw on the USS Santa Fe. You can see Nathan's pictures here and Burt's pictures here.
Since subs run on nuclear power, they don't need to rely on petroleum to keep them moving. The nuclear core is built to last 33 years, so as long as it can create its own steam, it's all good. 
