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The Weekly Eater Nadine Kam |
Panya Bistro lures
‘beautiful people’
with food, styleNow that Dr. Atkins mania has taken hold and many are well on their way to banishing carbohydrates from their lives, I have new evidence that indicates the fad can't last. What will it take to stop this dieting juggernaut? Just an itty bitty piece of cake, from Panya.
The bakery -- "bread shop" is the translation of the name from Japanese -- has opened at Ala Moana Center, where, as Panya Bistro, it continues to lure "the beautiful people." A lot of them work at the center and just happen to be young, thin devotees of Emporio Armani, Gucci, Chanel and Dior. (There's no discrimination so wear what you will.)
I observed these creatures in what seemed to be their natural environment, Panya Bistro's retro Italian Memphis-style room, with its mix of industrial textures (curtains of metallic discs), graphic patterns (metal light fixtures with cut-outs of bread, croissants and cake slices, and an arrangement of backlit glass bottles) and bold colors (muted purple and mustard). It's a haven for those wishing to escape the mob at the food court. After all, you can never be too careful about where you place that Louis Vuitton Takashi Murakami purse.
A detail of a light fixture.
After dining, the beautiful people would stock up on custard buns and croissants to go. That's right. Pastry. Flour. Sugar. Carbs. And they're thin. Imagine that.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Yumiko Martinez and Saori Moore (right) met up for lunch at Panya Bistro.
As I said last week, it's not always what you eat, but quantity that matters most in weight wars. You can't go wrong if you limit intake, choose nutrition over fad diets and don't forget to exercise.
OK, my sermonizing is pau, but I was still intrigued by Panya's clientele. According to marketing communications manager Joanne Low, the bakery's owners Annie and Alice Yeung never had a specific target in mind when they opened their first bakery in 1997, but Panya's Hokkaido-style cakes and buns, as light as a whisper, have always had an ephemeral quality about them, making them a perfect choice for those who seemingly live on air. After ingesting a piece of mousse cake, you may be left wondering whether it was real or not. You'll barely notice it melting in your mouth and certainly won't feel an impact on your waistline.
It's an illusion, but they just seem to be sin-free, the ultimate in stealth pastry for those in search of guilt-free indulgence. You may even find yourself wondering what harm a second helping could do.
Panya Bistro continues to produce its feather-light confections fresh daily at Ala Moana but adds hot meals starting with breakfasts of omelets ($6.95); two eggs with your choice of meat, served with toast or rice ($5.95); or simply a croissant with the ham and cheese or sausage baked right into its center.
Otherwise the menu is the same for lunch and dinner. You could always count on the old Panya Bakery & Café for salads ($4.95 to $8.95) and sandwiches of crab salad ($7.50) or curry shrimp ($7.50), but Panya Bistro expands into hot meal territory with a small menu that includes MSG-free bowls of ramen and udon ($6.50 to $8.95) and shrimp won ton soup with egg noodles ($7.50) topped off with crisp Chinese pea pods.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Maureen Ackharath sets out pastries that lure shoppers.
At first there seems to be no easy explanation for the eclectic mix of pastries, sandwiches, salads, Asian noodles and the likes of spaghetti and oxtail stew. But in dipping into a wonderful mild home-style chicken curry ($10) you'll sense it's all about comfort.
The oxtail stew ($12) was less successful only because I was distracted by a layer of oil over its rich red tomato sauce. Plus it was difficult to be delicate about separating the meat from the bones.
The shrimp scampi ($9.50) will rival that served at some of the best restaurants, with the shellfish butterflied in its shell and sauteed in that satisfying combination of butter and garlic, served with white rice.
Wash it down with blended fruit juices in combinations suggesting these ades are aids for enhancing youth (carrots and oranges, $4.25); burning fat (apple and lemon, $5.50); or common cold recovery (cucumber, apple, ginger and lemon, $4.95). An anti-aging formula of grapes, apple and lemon ($5.50) turns muddy brown in color, but definitely is a pick-me-up that tastes better than it looks.
And of course you'll linger for dessert of mango mousse cake or another layered cake boasting flavors of green tea with an azuki bean cream, both at $4.25 per slice. Life doesn't get any more beautiful than this.
Ala Moana Center (mauka side next to The Gap, across from parking structure) / 946-6388 Panya Bistro
Hours: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays; breakfast from 7 to 10:30 a.m. daily
Food 
Service Ambience Value Cost: About $10 per person
See some past restaurant reviews in the Columnists section.
Nadine Kam's restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Bulletin. Star ratings are based on comparisons of similar restaurants:
To recommend a restaurant, write: The Weekly Eater, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, Hawaii 96802. Or send e-mail to nkam@starbulletin.com
excellent; very good, exceeds expectations; average; below average.
