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Dining around the islands
Mauna Lani chef Edwin Goto, above, prepared Seared Hawaiian Ahi with Frisee for a preview luncheon last week.
Hang with Chef Batali
at Big Isle resortA few openings remain for Mario Batali's ultra-exclusive booking at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows this week -- and kamaaina rates are now available.
Batali, the Food Network host of "Molto Mario" and "Mario Eats Italy," begins a three-day cooking adventure at the Big Island resort on Friday.
The schedule calls for a reception Friday, hands-on cooking classes Saturday and next Sunday, dinner by Mario on Saturday night and a beach party next Sunday evening.
Price of the full affair is $3,500, with a $1,500 kamaaina rate just issued (price includes accommodations at the Mauna Lani).
The resort is also offering certain combinations of events on an a la carte basis.
Batali and Mauna Lani executive chef Edwin Goto will host the events. The cooking classes will be held in a private home at the outdoor kitchen of Hirabara Farms in Waimea. Participants will join the chefs in the kitchen, chopping and stirring right alongside Batali.
The event is the first in a Mauna Lani series called "Culinary Conversations," involving celebrity chefs in intimate cooking classes and signature dinners. Lee Hefter, of Spago in Beverly Hills, is scheduled for the next event, Nov. 7 to 9.
Call 808-885-6622.
The dish will be featured at a cooking session with Mario Batali to be held next Sunday at Hirabara Farms.
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L’Uraku dishes up
fish called kahalaThe fish is called kahala in Hawaiian, kanpachi in Japanese, amberjack in English.
Whatever the name, it's swimming out of obscurity onto dinner plates and one of the first places to taste it will be at L'Uraku's Contemporary Kaiseki dinner March 28.
Kahala caught in the ocean is inedible because of ciguatera poisoning, but the fish is now being farm-raised in Kona by Ben Krauss of Pacific Harvest.
L'Uraku chef Hiroshi Fukui says kahala has just the right amount of fattiness and a clean taste well-suited to raw preparations. He will serve it as a poke, topped with a miso sauce for sweetness.
Kahala is in the hamachi family, another fish prized for sashimi, but Fukui says hamachi is much oiler. "You cannot eat 10, 20 slices of hamachi, but with kahala you can eat a lot, because it's very clean."
Local kahala is a superior fish, Fukui says. "This is a good opportunity for people to taste a really Hawaiian fish."
The kaiseki dinner is a traditional Japanese multicourse meal consisting of small servings of artistically presented dishes that reflect seasonal ingredients.
Miso-Torched Farm-Raised Kahala Poke is served on a bed of shiso-flavored pink somen.
The dishes are served in a prescribed order that includes yakimono (grilled), nimono (stewed) and agemonogawari (fried). The kahala poke is in the otsukuri (raw) slot.
At a L'Uraku's 10-course kaiseki, local fish and produce are presented in dishes that merge Japanese and European culinary traditions. The dishes will be paired with wines selected by master sommelier Chuck Furuya.
The menu includes uni (or sea urchin) in an Italian-style panna cotta, confit of salmon with mushroom and olive ragout and beef ribeye with arugula pesto.
Cost is $68, $88 with wine. The dinner is nearly sold out, but openings remain for seatings after 8 p.m. Call 955-0552.
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