By Request

By Betty Shimabukuro

Wednesday, June 16, 1999

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Garlic Chicken, as served at Kapiolani Community College
220 Grille, is crisp fried drumsticks with
a garlicky dipping sauce.

---

Tantalize tastebuds
for charity

IT'S just about time again for that annual orgy of outdoor eating, Taste of Honolulu. This event is like the 50th State Fair for hungry people. You buy scrip and hand it over to various food booths in exchange for a sampling of some pretty classy food. No corn dogs here. Try instead Keawe Smoked Rack of Lamb from Prince Court, Lemon Grass Chicken Brochettes from Indigo Eurasian Cuisine, Casserole of Prawns from The Colony.

Taste of Honolulu is your chance to nibble off a number of restaurant menus without having to hassle with reservations or lay out a pile of cash for a couple of full-on meals. It's the restaurants' chance to show a whole lot of people what they can do.

You can also do some comparison shopping. How does, say, the lobster ravioli at Prince Court stack up against the same dish served up by a partnership of Nicholas Nickolas and Sarento's Top of the I? Or the kalua pig at Canoe's Restaurant and Bar against Don Ho's Island Grill or Marians Island Wide Catering? Or the Tarantula Roll at California Beach Rock 'n' Sushi against the Vegetarian Roll at Texas Rock & Roll Sushi Bar?

Another idea: Throw a personal rib-a-rama and rate the ribs from Tony Roma's, Texas Rock & Roll, Duke's Canoe Club and Big Island Steakhouse. Throw in the sweet-sour ribs from Marians for good measure.

In honor of the occasion, one of the participating eateries has provided a recipe for a dish frequently requested by readers of this column -- Garlic Chicken, as served at Mitsuba Delicatessen or Mitsu-Ken Catering. Neither of these places cared to share, so the chefs at Kapiolani Community College's Culinary Institute of the Pacific offered this substitute.

The chicken is served at KCC's 220 Grille. At Taste of Honolulu, KCC will offer a beef tenderloin with grilled vegetables and haupia-fruit tartlettes.

Chef Grant's Garlic Chicken

3 pounds chicken drumsticks
2 cups flour
Oil for frying

Garlic sauce
2 cups soy sauce
2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon chile flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and set aside. Dredge chicken in flour and deep fry. Dip in sauce and serve. Serves 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 480 calories, 20 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,000 mg sodium.*

TASTE OF HONOLULU Annual benefit for Easter Seal Society of Hawaii features 26 restaurants serving up signature dishes, a wine and beer garden, gourmet marketplace, cooking competitions, wine judging. WHEN: 5-10 p.m. June 25; noon-10 p.m. June 26; noon-7 p.m. June 27 PLACE: Honolulu Civic Center (Honolulu Hale grounds) COST: $2 admission, plus cost of food. INFORMATION: Online at http://www.easterseals808.com/taste99 or telephone 678-2783 PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS Big Island Steakhouse Brew Moon Cafe Monsarrat California Beach Rock 'n' Sushi Canoe's Restaurant and Bar Capricciosa Ristorante Italiano Cascada Restaurant Cheeseburger in Paradise Chiang-Mai Thai Cuisine China House Ciao Mein The Colony Don Ho's Island Grill Duke's Canoe Club Indigo Eurasian Cuisine KCC Culinary Institute of the Pacific Marians Island Wide Catering Nicholas Nickolas Prince Court Pyramids Restaurant Red Lobster Sarento's Top of the I Shizu Restaurant Texas Rock & Roll Sushi Bar Tony Roma's Two Boots Restaurants

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
By Request, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Food Section,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Or send e-mail to features@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.