IF you're any kind of foodie at all, you may have rushed in recent years to try smoothies tinted blue-green with algae or ordered up ahi, seared black and blue. You also dined on "reconstructed," "shotgun" and "rainbow" sushi rolls, tried multi-flavor wraps and hot phos. Sun Tak offers
a treat for its
neighborhoodFood trends come and go, and while it's always nice to try something new, it's reassuring to know that there are old standbys always waiting to console us in times of immense cravings.
From the lines outside Sun Tak Seafood Restaurant on Waialae Avenue, it looks as if a lot of people are entering the cycle of kung pao shrimp or wor wonton mein. Or it could be that area residents just want to check out the new neighbor.
Sun Tak fits right in. Prices are comparable to those at other establishments on Kaimuki's restaurant row. Noodles and $5.25 to $5.75 plate lunches are served up during the day, and the evening menu is ambitious without being excessive in price. The mood in the boxy, plain restaurant is casual, although diners seem to relish the excuse to wear their weekend best. I have to admit that it's pretty easy to shift into festive mode when gorging on the likes of mussels, clams, scallops and duck.
My first thought was crab, but unfortunately, Sun Tak had run out of the crab. Boo-hoo. I had to settle for lobster at a market price of something like $7.95, with a $5 cooking fee. Maybe they thought I was going to take it home as a pet. It was a strange explanation, but hey, it was still pretty cheap for a 1-pound specimen.
Had I chosen again, I would have ordered the lobster with ginger and scallion instead of butter, salt and pepper, which was too heavy for the delicate, sweet meat.
Smoked tea duck ($7.50 half, $23 whole) was a bit leathery, but the flavors of oolong mingled with the duck overrode my urge to quibble.
The cooks did a great job with deep-fried oysters ($8.50), so light and crisp on the outside, plump and succulent on the inside.
And just when I thought they had discovered something new by serving fish in a pepper bena sauce ($8.50), I find that "bena" is a mere typo for "bean," as in black bean sauce. Here, the sauce had a musty scent, like the interior of an herbalist's shop.
IF seafood is not your passion and you happen to be dragged here, fret not. Like any Chinese restaurant, Sun Tak's menu has pork, beef and chicken in abundance. For example, tender, anise-scented beef is quickly stir-fried with mushrooms and vegetables and served in a "bird's nest" of shredded, deep-fried taro.
And no, you can't escape some trends. One of the lighter entrees may be the minced chicken with lettuce wraps ($7.25). Here, chicken is chickpea-sized and tossed with even more finely minced bits of mushroom, carrot, celery and noodles. It's served with a stack of lettuce leaves for tasty, handheld wraps.
My impression is that Sun Tak is a nifty little restaurant with lofty ambitions, and a real treat for Kaimuki dwellers who like to stick close to home. But for very special occasions I'd drive a little further.
Sun Tak Seafood Restaurant: 3441 Waialae Ave.
Hours: Lunch 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner 3 to 10 p.m. daily
Prices: Dinner about $30 to $35 for four
Call: 738-1168See a listing of past restaurants reviewed in the
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Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews run on Thursdays. Reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
-- excellent;
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com
