FOOD

Duc's Bistro

1188 Maunakea St. / 531-6325

  Smart restaurateurs realize current economic conditions will take a long time to be corrected, and at Duc's Bistro, plans were under way months ago to revamp their menu. The result, coming at just the right moment and at the right price, is nothing short of amazing. Easily the best classical food I've had in a long time.

Duc Nguyen and Minh Nga Vu seriously considered public sentiment, pressures and appetites to come up with their new menu. Where the old one had to compete with every other restaurant in town offering the same rounds of $30 to $36 paella, Black Angus steak and rack of lamb, the partners have gone back to their roots with this menu.

But, rather than going back to the straight-up Vietnamese cuisine of one of their former restaurants, A Little Bit of Saigon, they've created a nuanced menu imbued with the flavors of Vietnam, tempered for a Western audience acquainted with fine European cuisine. Resulting flavors manage to be simultaneously exotic and delicate, a tricky balancing act.

The menu looks deceptively simple. You might mistakenly overlook spring rolls ($9), for example, just because every Vietnamese restaurant offers a version of the dish. But no other restaurant's is like this, made with fresh ground veal and shiitake with the crunch of jicama, and so light I didn't feel the least bit of remorse over ingesting something deep-fried.

The la lot I ordered for old times' sake. The minced veal is wrapped in bo la lot leaves, then broiled, and the dish has been a favorite of mine since A Little Bit of Saigon days. A new favorite is fire-roasted eggplant ($8), broiled in its skin, dressed with a sprinkling of basil and drizzled at the table in a spicy lime dressing. The smoky result is as if it had been cooked on charcoal.

Every dish is so tempting, it's hard to just stick with a few, so you'll just have to plan to make many small trips.

Open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 5 to 10 p.m. Saturdays. Costs about $30 to $40 for two without drinks.

Punahou hosts day of space science

Astronaut Stanley Love will be the keynote speaker at tomorrow's Astronaut Lacy Veach Day of Discovery at Punahou School.

The free event, celebrating NASA's 50th anniversary, offers 15 exhibits on astronomy, robotics, energy and science, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the school's Dillingham Hall.

Love, who did post doctoral research at the University of Hawaii, speaks at 9 a.m. about his experiences on the space shuttle.

Additionally, students have pre-registered for 24 hands-on science workshops on such topics as building robots, making ice cream with liquid nitrogen, meteorites and testing hydrogen fuel cells. Any openings in these workshops will be available to walk-in registrants.

The science day honors Charles Lacy Veach, who grew up in Honolulu, served in the Air Force and flew on two space shuttle missions.

Call the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium on the Big Island, (808) 934-7261, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/Day-of-discovery.

CRIB NOTES

INspiration offers tips from feng shui expert

As part of its grand reopening celebration, INspiration Pearlridge is presenting a workshop on feng shui basics featuring writer Clear Englebert from 6 to 8 p.m. today.

Englebert, a feng shui consultant, recently released “;Feng Shui for Hawaii,”; a book that targets design placement problems specific to island living. The author will walk participants through furniture displays and talk about its feng shui do's and don'ts and possible solutions. Call 237-5462.

Pick up a free plant for Arbor Day

Help keep Hawaii green by picking up a free plant at various Outrigger hotel locations and watching it flourish in your back yard. In celebration of Arbor Day Nov. 7, the hotels are giving away hundreds of free native Hawaiian plants and sponsoring crafts and activities for the whole family. Starbucks will also be giving away free used, nitrogen-rich coffee grounds to help your new plant grow.

The event is free. Validated valet parking costs $5.

Plants will be distributed while supplies last at the following:

» 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 6 at Waikiki at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach. Call 924-6007.
» 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 7 at Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach. Call 921-9731.
» 9 to 11 a.m. Nov. 8 in Kona at the Keauhou Beach Resort call 924-6018.

HOME & GARDEN

Mulch available to gardeners

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply and Hawaiian Earth Products are offering free mulch Saturdays at the Halawa Xeriscape Garden from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The only requirements are that you must have your own containers and shovels, plus the muscle to carry and load your mulch without assistance from the garden staff.

The garden, at 99-1268 Iwaena St. in Halawa Valley, has been a resource in the community for 20 years, offering landscaping workshops, garden tours and plant sales featuring native Hawaiian and drought-tolerant plants.

Call 748-5041.

Workshop focuses on solar oven use

Bring the keiki along and join the Green House for a “;Star Power”; experience Nov. 1, when Jeremai Cann conducts a workshop on building and cooking with a solar oven.

Participants will make a simple starter oven from items found around the house and cook up a batch of brownies and “;cookie”; crayons to take home.

Hours are 10 a.m. to noon, for ages 7 and up. Cost is $12 per parent/child team or $6 per person.

The Green House is at 224 Pakohana St. in Pauoa Valley.

Registration is required at 524-8427 or thegreenhousehawaii.com.

Endangered plants discussed in talk

The Garden Club of Honolulu hopes to put native Hawaiian plant extinction in the spotlight with a lecture by Kathryn Kennedy on “;Our Vanishing Flora: Why You Need to Get Involved.”;

Kennedy, national president of the Center for Plant Conservation, will speak at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 12 in the Parish Hall of Central Union Church.

The Garden Club of America's mission is to restore, improve and protect the quality of the environment through its programs.

Call 373-1973.