Our Picks for the Weekend
Star-Bulletin staff
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MUSIC
Boy Choir to perform in memory of founder
The Honolulu Boy Choir's concert Friday will be dedicated to founder Roy Hallman, who died last month.
The choir's fundraising event, "A New Beginning," will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Pacific Beach Hotel.
The choir features boys ages 7 to 12 who are interested in music and singing. Hallman originally designed the program years ago to instill a sense of responsibility, camaraderie and leadership skills.
A prime rib buffet dinner and silent auction are included. The choir will be joined on stage by Jeff Rasmussen, Bobby Moderow and the HBC Barbershop Octet.
Tickets are $75 ($60 for choir alumni) and tables $1,000 to $2,000. Call 596-7464 or e-mail honoluluboychoir@hotmail.com for more info.
COMICS
Free comic books to be distributed on Saturday
The 6th annual Free Comic Book Day starts nationwide Saturday, and local comic book shops and public libraries on Oahu are participating again this year. Out of the 44 titles that readers can scoop up for free include "Transformers: The Movie Prequel," "The Unseen Peanuts" and a reprint of the relaunched "Justice League of America" title.
So here's where you should go ...
» Public libraries: Aiea (483-7333), Kailua (266-9911), Kalihi-Palama (832-3466), Kapolei (693-7050), Liliha (587-7577), McCully-Moiliili (973-1099), Mililani (627-7470) and Waialua (637-8286)
» Comic book shops: Collector Maniacs (3571 Waialae Ave., 739-3912), Gecko Books & Comics (3613 Waialae Ave., 732-1292), Jelly's in Aiea (98-023 Hekaha St., 484-4413), Other Realms (Ward Warehouse, 596-8236) and Ryan's Sportsworld (Aina Haina Shopping Center, 373-7419)
LAST CHANCE
Traditional Hawaiian chant featured in concert
The Hawaiian oli, or chant, predates Western contact and is the oral tradition for keeping family histories and cultural traditions alive. Thousands of them were once published in Hawaiian language newspapers in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but they have not been performed in many decades.
On Saturday at St. Louis School's Mamiya Theatre, there will be a landmark concert in which some of these rare oli will be performed by kumu hula and Hawaiian practitioners. Performers gathering will include Cy Bridges, Keali'i Reichel and Hokulani Holt-Padilla.
Tickets for the 2 and 7 p.m. concerts are $25, with advance tickets available at the Bishop Museum box office. Call 847-3511. The concert will benefit the Ho'olaupai: Hawaiian Newspaper Resource Project.
FESTIVAL
Service personnel offered half price to Mighty Mo
It's Military Appreciation Month, and to help celebrate it, the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor is offering 50 percent off all tours to active-duty, reserve and retired U.S. military personnel with purchase of admission.
Each of the Missouri's tours -- the Battleship Guided Tour, the Digital Audio Tour and the Explorer's Tour -- features exclusive highlights, but all tours culminate on the Surrender Deck, site of Japan's unconditional surrender that ended World War II.
The memorial is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day through May. General admission is $16; and $8 per child. Military and kamaaina rates are $10 per adult ($5 for military this month) and $5 per child. U.S. military personnel in uniform receive complimentary admission. For more information or to reserve a tour, call toll-free at 1-877-MIGHTYMO (1-877-644-4896).
FOOD
Gaku Sushi Izakaya
1329 S. King St. / 589-1329
Amid the sudden flurry of grand restaurant openings and great expectations, one in particular stands out because of its relatively small size, low-key vibe and quiet media reception, but make no mistake, Gaku Sushi Izakaya ranks right up there with the big guys.
Imanas Tei regulars had the inside track, following head sushi chef Manabu Kikuchi as he ventured into chef-owner territory with this place of his own. With confidence in the quality and flavor of the fish served, there's no messing here with such novelty sushi as caterpillar, dragon and rainbow rolls.
Kitchen highlights include hamachi kama ($9.50), grilled moi, and the simple, refreshing, summery "taraba no kyurimaki su" appetizer ($9.50) of king crab wrapped with cucumber, sliced into thin, bite-size rounds and served in light seasoned vinegar with "mozukusu," a soft, silky Okinawan seaweed as slippery as a dish of chicken long rice.
Octopus and squid turn up rubbery at most restaurants. Here, both are masterfully handled so the octopus is tender, served cold and thinly sliced ($9.50), each piece topped with a torn basil leaf and a light garlic dressing, and the squid ($6.50) takes on a nice, crunchy -- not laboriously chewy -- texture when deep-fried in a coating flecked with nori.
If you don't feel like eating fish, you'll find other typical izakaya fare such as garlic rib-eye steak in ponzu sauce ($13), chicken karaage ($6.50) -- a touch of salt would have been nice here, considering the bold flavors that came earlier -- and teriyaki chicken ($6.50).
Open 5 to 11 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. About $40 to $50 for two without drinks.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
At Gaku Sushi Izakaya, the tako is tender, prepared with basil and garlic dressing.
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