'Ono Kine Grindz

Satura Cakes

Now available at Ward Centre!

Below is a small sampling of some of my favorite treats from Satura Cakes. 

(green tea corone)

The green tea corone uses puff pastry (or phyllo) to create a crisp and crunchy exterior that surrounds a subtly flavored pastry cream (also available in mango).

(chocolate gâteau )

The chocolate gâteau is rich, dense and chocolaty and is presented topped with some whipped cream and a shard of chocolate.

(Kona coffee blancmange)

If you love coffee, you'll love the Kona coffee blancmange.  Take some coffee-flavored pudding (that's what I'd call it), add a few squares of coffee-flavored gelatin, then top with a dollop of whipped cream.  The perfect combination of flavors makes this smooth, creamy dessert one of my favorites.

(mille crêpe)

The mille crêpe takes a stack of 15 delicate crêpes and layers them with whipped vanilla cream.  Light and airy, this is what a Beard Papa cream puff in cake-like form would taste like.  Can I have this flavored with green tea, please???

(salty chocolate cookies)

The salty chocolate cookies are made with Valhrona cocoa powder, Himalayan salt, macadamia nuts (I'll have to ask again) and organic sugar.  Taking a bite of these cookies, you first taste the bittersweet chocolate.  As the cookie starts to dissolve in your mouth, the flavors of sugar and salt come through, making these the perfect cookie.

Since they opened, I must have visited about a dozen times, each time trying something new.  I've had almost every dessert and have yet to be disappointed.  I heard that they will be starting a limited menu for breakfast and lunch.  Let's hope these offerings are just as good.

Satura Cakes
Harbor Court
55 Merchant Street Suite 110 (lobby)
Telephone: 808.537.1206

Fritz's European Bakery

Fritz's makes excellent breads, but it's been a while since I last had their sandwiches.  Were the sandwiches here as good as I remember?

The Boss on wheat, grilled.

Fritz's Special on multi-grain, grilled.

 

If you need a sugar rush afterwards.

Fritz's European Bakery
1336 Dillingham Boulevard
Telephone: 808.845.0650

Beard Papa now in Hawaii!

For those of you, myself included, who have been waiting for Beard Papa to come to Hawaii permanently, your wait is finally over.  The first of several Beard Papa's Hawaii locations officially opened for business yesterday (the soft launch was on Wednesday, September 21).  While I wasn't able to get there at 7:00 am for the kick off, I did make it there a little later on in the evening.  They had run out of the "premium" cream puffs for the day (matcha), but I did get a few of the original ones.  Boy were they delicious.  I can't wait for one to open closer to home.  Hopefully that will happen in the months to come.

This shop is inside the Food Pantry on Kuhio Avenue.

Addendum: While the cream puffs were delicious, I didn't think they were the same as the ones I got from Shirokiya.  At Shirokiya, the pastry shell was much thinner and lighter and the cream filling was a bit smoother with more of a "fresh" vanilla flavor.

Beard Papa Kuhio
Located insided the Food Pantry
2370 Kuhio Avenue
Telephone:  808.922.8726

Great Harvest Bread Co. - Downtown

Fresh baked bread comes to downtown Honolulu courtesy of Great Harvest Bread Co.  Great Harvest Bread Co. not only bakes several types of great tasting breads daily, they now serve sandwiches and grilled panini, baked goodies such as scones and cookies AND they also have the first Peet's Coffee bar in the state.

When I arrived at about 1:00 pm, the place was packed.  Look at all the people in here!

I was happy and surprised to find that Peet's Coffee and Tea had a small coffee bar here.  Now if this place were only a little closer to my office, I could buy my morning coffee from Peet's which I find much better than Starbucks.

As I looked over the menu, I also took a look at all the delicious looking, fresh baked breads on the rack right behind the front counter.  Most of the breads are baked in either the traditional loaf style or in rounds, and I'm almost certain that they'll do slicing if you ask.

I decided to take home the low-carb Kauai crunch (US$6.95).

The loaf was dense and full of nuts and seeds.  Delicious.  Who would have ever thought this was low-carb?

For lunch, I decided to order the grilled cheese panini with tomato on honey whole wheat bread (US$4.95; with honey smoked ham, add US$1.00; with crisp bacon, add US$.75; with sliced tomato, add US$.50).

Between the two slices of honey whole wheat bread were two slices each of sharp cheddar and swiss cheeses, and several slices of tomato.  For additional flavor, the bread was spread with some garlic and herb mayonaisse.  It was then grilled in a panini press.  The panini was served warm, but I felt that it could have been grilled a little longer.  The cheese had not melted and although the garlic and herb mayonaisse was delicious, there was just a bit too much it.  Next time, I'll ask if the sandwich can be grilled longer and if they can use less mayonaisse as well.

On my trip to the shop the next day, I decided to try the BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) on honey whole wheat (US$5.95).

Here's another view of the BLT -- right before I took my first bite.

As you can see from the first picture, the grill marks on the sandwich are very light.  I was hoping that the bread would be crisp and crunchy, but the honey wheat bread here is really dense, sweet and slightly chewy.  The bacon wasn't as crisp as I would have liked, and it was really thinly sliced.  To tell you the truth, it seemed almost like the microwaveable type of bacon was used in this sandwich.

My disappointment with the two sandwiches that I ordered here will not stop me from buying bread from Great Harvest.  The breads here are excellent and in the last couple of days, I've also stopped by to get some scones and cookies as well.  The great thing about Great Harvest is that you get to sample the bread before you buy it.   

Great Harvest Bread Co. - Downtown
233 Merchant Street
Telephone:  808.587.0017

JJ Bistro & French Pastry

This past weekend a few of us decided to go to JJ French Pastry.  Five of us to be exact.  It's been a while since I've been to this little pastry shop, so I was quite surprised to discover that a little remodelling of the shop had been done. 

When we arrived at about noon on Sunday, there was quite a crowd inside the shop.  In fact, almost every table was occupied.  We got one of the tables in the far corner and decided to look over the menu. 

But before looking over the menu, I decided that I need to look at all of the wonderful desserts that were in the chiller to the left of the front entrance.

Here are more desserts in the same case as those shown in the picture above.

Besides being pleasantly surprised about the remodel, I was also a bit surprised that JJ's had now started serving a few salads, soups, sandwiches, pasta dishes and pizzas.  The food was a mix of styles and ingredients.  Using ingredients from his native Laos as a basis for many of his dishes, "JJ" prepares the same dishes using French cooking techniques and flair.  Think of this as a Laotian bistro if you will.

Instead of ordering everything a la carte, we each decided on the #3 prix fixe menu, which gives you the following -- choice of pizza or pasta, a side salad, one beverage of your choice and your choice of dessert for US$11.50 (add an additional US$1.00 if your dessert is one of the chocolate pyramids, JJ's specialty).  I'd say that was a great deal.

(Note that the prices listed next to each dish are the a la carte prices.)

Here is the salad that we started off with.  It's a simple tossed green salad consisting of lettuce, tomato wedges, julienned carrots and cucumbers tossed with a ginger-sesame dressing.  Notice the waffle cut of the cucumbers?  How'd he do that?  I found the dressing to be quite tasty, and overall the salad was a refreshing start to the meal.

Here is the angel pizza (US$6.50).

This pizza was topped with beef satay (!), angel hair pasta, bell peppers, onions, spinach and mozarella cheese.  Interesting combination.

Next we have the ratatouille (US$5.75).

This dish originates in the South of France and each vegetable is normally cooked separately to enhance the flavors.  Be warned, that this is not a traditional ratatouille, but an Asian inspired dish "created with a French flair"  The key ingredient here should be eggplant (but it wasn't).  In addition to using the "required" eggplant, this dish substituted bamboo shoots, baby corn and red bell pepper for the usual zucchini, onions and tomatoes.  It was finished with a chili butter sauce and garnished with a sprig of fresh rosemary.  Another interesting combination.

This was my dish, the classic fettuccini with chicken (US$7.95).

This is JJ's take on the classic fettuccini Alfredo.  In this dish here, fettuccini noodles are tossed with chicken, red bell pepper, eggplant and spinach.  It's then garnished with a sprig of fresh rosemary and served with a parmesian cream sauce.  This was definitely not what I was used to, but the sauce here was rich in flavor, but a tad bit thin and "soupy".  In my opinion, I also felt that the portion was sized a little small.

A couple of other entrées were ordered, but I somehow neglected to snap photos of those.  And just how did that happen?

After the table had been cleared and we had rested for a couple of minutes, it was time for the procession of desserts to begin!  Served by JJ's wife, the desserts are what we really came for!  Served with a smile, we were in for the biggest surprise of all.

Here is the "frou frou au chocolate" (US$3.75).

My apologies.  I didn't eat this, but it's white chocolate mousse, strawberry (or raspberry) and apricot all hidden under that chocolate ganache.  Here's a cutaway view.

Here is the poached pear in red wine tart (US$3.75).

Here's the banana haupia (US$3.75).

And last, this was my dessert, JJ's signature, the chocolate raspberry pyramid (US$4.50; with raspberry US$4.75).

There are actually two different types of chocolate pyramids on the menu, well three if you count the bite-sized miniture ones. 

The first is the chocolate pyramid.  Constructed using chocolate mousse and chocolate cake, then finished with a dusting of bitter (extra brut) chocolate powder, this dessert is simply the most sinfully, chocolate-y dessert around.  The flavor is rich and intense -- slightly sweet and slightly bitter -- and the cake is moist with a perfect crumb. 

The second type of chocolate pyramid, adds an additional layer of flavor to this already richly flavored dessert.  In the middle is some raspberry sauce.  The raspberry flavor provides a tart edge and compliments the sweet-bitterness of the chocolate perfectly. 

To go along with the desserts, we had some coffee (US$1.50 including one refill) to wash it all down.

All in all, the food was a bit of a mystery.  In some aspects is was OK.  In others, it was just a little too fusion for my tastes.  This is not to say that it wasn't enjoyable because it was.  The portions were a little on the small side though, but given the price, it was still a bargain.  In my opinion this is still a pastry shop, or café, first and foremost.  JJ's is the perfect spot for friends to meet for a cup of coffee, some wonderful French-style pastries, and some good relaxing conversation.

UPDATE:  05/01/05

Here's a not too good cutaway view of the chocolate raspberry pyramid from JJ's.  This is being posted at the request of Augustus Gloop and Julia.

When I was there this past weekend, JJ had made a huge chocolate pyramid for another customer.  Here's the pyramid as it sits on the table waiting to be boxed.  I really wanted to eat that one!

JJ Bistro & French Pastry
3447 Waialae Avenue
Telephone:  (808)739-0993

JJFrenchPastryMenu
Requires Adobe Acrobat

Ted's Bakery

Many of you must be wondering what I was doing at Ted's Bakery.  After all, Ted's is on the other side of the island and I can easily buy Ted's Bakery pies at the local supermarket.

I actually took a drive out to the North Shore to eat at Giovanni's Aloha Shrimp, but once there, I discovered that the line was too long.  There was no parking, and judging by the number of people there, the wait was probably in excess of an hour.  Hungry and disappointed, I continued on, down the road, until I got to Ted's.

Ted's occupies most of the space that is/used to be the Sunset Beach Store, which has been around since the late 50's.  Ted's has been here for more years than I can remember and they are most famous for their cream pies -- most notably, the chocolate haupia cream.  When I arrived at the shop with a couple of friends in tow, there were a few tourists, and locals, ordering food and purchasing baked goods.  In addition to the pies and other baked goods, Ted's has a nice selection of sandwiches and plate lunches.

Since we hadn't eaten, and were starving, we decided to eat here.  The bento (US$6.95) sounded good, so that's what we all had.

The bento came with FOUR (!) scoops rice, a few pieces of chicken katsu, a piece of teriyaki beef, a piece of Spam®, and a piece of mahimahi.  The little containers in the middle of all that rice hold some chicken katsu sauce and some tartar sauce.  The first thing I have to say about this bento was that it was huge!  The second thing that I have to say about this bento is that it was delicious.

The contents of this bento were prepared fresh and because Ted's was a little busy, that meant a wait of about 7 minutes.  The chicken katsu was golden brown and crunchy.  Lightly seasoned, and not at all greasy.  The teriyaki beef was cut thick, the sauce was slightly sweet and meat was so tender.  The bento was worth its price for the teriyaki beef alone.  Awesome and delicious.  The mahimahi was dipped in egg, then pan fried -- once again, not greasy.

For dessert, I took home a slice of Ted's famous chocolate haupia cream pie (US$1.95).

Now, this is the best chocolate haupia cream pie that you will ever have.  The chocolate filling is chocolately, smooth and creamy, and doesn't really taste much like the pudding that it's probably made from.  The haupia on top, provides the perfect compliment to the chocolate.  On top of the haupia, is lots of piped whipped cream.  This is one of my favorites.  The only thing that I think needs improving is the "doneness" of the crust.  In my opinion, it could be baked a little darker and made a little flakier.  Other than that, this is one pie that can't be beat!

Next time you're on the North Shore, stop by Ted's for some of their delicious cream pies.  If you haven't yet had lunch, make sure to have one of their awesome plate lunches, or the BIG bento.  You'll be glad you did.

Ted's Bakery
59-024 Kamehameha Highway
Telephone:  (808)638-5974

Grand Café & Bakery

After returning to Hawaii from my trip to Singapore, I was on my way to the post office to collect my mail.  I noticed a couple men standing outside the old Wing Coffee Building, and I saw that it had been converted to a restaurant.  Looking in through the window, it seemed to have drawn quite a nice sized crowd, so I made a mental note to stop by here one day for lunch. 

Grand Café and Bakery has been open for a little over a month or so, and judging by the crowds, they've been doing some brisk business.  When I arrived with a friend, we were told the wait would be about 10 minutes for a table (actual wait time was 15 minutes).

While waiting, I decided to take a look at the baked goods in the chiller up front.  There were cakes, danish pastries, cream puffs and other goodies....  I spotted one that I wanted to try, and decided that if I had enough time left over, I would order some dessert (I didn't have time).

The friend that came along had the meatloaf (US$7.75).

The individual bacon-wrapped meatloaf was served with a red wine reduction and was made using ground beef, pork and veal (!).  I was told that it was very delicious, though the portion was sized a bit small.

I had the Grand Café Reuben grill (US$7.75).  I had really wanted to have the chips (Utz potato chips), but unfortunately, they were already sold out.  Instead, I had to settle for the cole slaw.

The Reuben sandwich was filled with lots of meaty corned beef, a bit of sauerkraut and Russian dressing.  It was all topped with some nicely melted Swiss cheese.  The rye bread was nicely toasted and had a wonderful flavor without being too buttery.  The corned beef, for the most part, was lean.  In fact, a great thing was done with this sandwich.  When I opened it up to have a look, the lean slices of corned beef were on top, with the fattier pieces below.  It made it easy for me to remove some of the fatty pieces of corned beef for a slightly "healthier" sandwich.  The cole slaw here was great.  Not being a cole slaw fan, this was extremely fresh tasting and contained very little mayonaisse or vinegar.  It was actually refreshing.

Since it took a while for us to be seated, for us to place our order, and for our food to actually arrive, I was out of time and could not order the dessert that I was hoping to.  Instead, I took it home with me so that I could have it after dinner.

What did I get?  The chocolate cake (US$4.00).  When I inquired at the counter, I was asked if I was going to eat this alone.  "Of course," I replied.  The gentleman at the counter looked shocked.  He explained that most people "share" the desserts, Well, he obviously didn't know me!  He then offered that the chocolate cake was made with pure chocolate, not cocoa powder.  I was immediately impressed, and happy, that I had made such a wise choice.

After dinner, I attempted to eat this huge slice of chocolate cake.  It was three layers high, with an equal amount of chocolatey frosting.  The cake was moist and dense, and because it was made with real chocolate, it was very chocolate-y, but not at all sweet.  It was by far, the best chocolate cake that I've ever tasted.

According to some information on the menu, the Grand Café and Bakery was originally founded back in 1923.  Many of the recipes used in preparing the food date back to this era.  The food here is excellent, and a pretty good value considering the quality of the food, the atmosphere and the service.  This is definitely a place that I'd continue to visit for years to come.

Grand Café & Bakery
31 North Pauahi Street
Telephone:  808.531.0001

Saint Germain Bakery

One of several Japanese-style French bakeries in the state, Saint Germain is the one I probably frequent the most.  This shop is located on the lower level of Ala Moana Center. 

This one here, is located inside Shirokiya.  There's always people in either store, at least whenever I'm there.  It's not so crowded on this day, a Saturday afternooon at about 4:00 pm.

Serving delicious breads, rolls and assorted pastries, here's just a small sample of the yummy treats on offer here today.

Here's one that I took home with me.  It's called the gateau aux beurre (US$1.50).  For lack of a better translation, it's a cake with butter, though it's more like a small pastry if you ask me.

Soft and fluffy, with just the slightest hint of sweetness and butter, this was great afternoon snack.  I'll be stopping by here to pick up something for the plane ride that I'm about to take.

Saint Germain Bakery
Ala Moana Shopping Center
1450 Ala Moana Shopping Center Space 1020
Telephone:  808.955.1711

second location, inside Shirokiya

Boulangerie

A couple of weeks ago, while on my way to eat Restaurant Yamagen, I passed by this place.  I stopped on the side of the road to check it out, but it hadn't opened yet.  Several days ago, I drove by on my way to Restaurant Yamagen...again.  This time, I saw the lights on inside and there was a woman behind the counter.  With anticipation, I parked on the street in front of Boulangerie.

Here's a close up of the sign in front.

Boulangerie, which means bakery in French, is a Korean-owned, French-style bakery.  There are quite a number of items on the menu, including coffee, sandwiches and bubble drinks!  In the cold case up front, there were a few beautifully decorated cakes.

As I took a look around the shop, I realized that there really wasn't much left.  The one thing that caught my eye was the last loaf of chestnut bread (US$6.50).  I decided that I would take this home with me.

The bread was taken from the shelf and wrapped in a plastic bag.  I couldn't wait to get it home so that I could try it...

When I got home, I quickly unwrapped it and looked at it for a moment.

There were a few slivers of almonds on top of what looked like a "crunchy" crust.  Here's the huge (!) piece that I cut for myself...

The inside of the bread was light and fluffy, and full of chestnuts.  You can't see them too good in this photo, but subsequent slices, which I should have taken photos of, had lots of pieces of sweet chestnuts in them.  The top of this bread was a little sweet and a bit crunchy.  The slivered almonds complemented this loaf of bread quite well.  The bread was very good.  It was something I would definitely purchase again. 

Although the bread was a little expensive, the prices at Boulangerie are comparable to what you'd pay at other French-style bakeries (i.e. Saint Germain, Panya Bistro and Ginza Kimura-ya) around the state.  I'll be sure to stop by here again since it's quite close to home.  Next time, though, I'm going to try the turtle bread.

Boulangerie
1495 South King Street
Telephone:  808.949.1588

Panya Bistro

I've been coming to Panya since it first opened near the Victoria Ward Centre back in the late 90s.  That shop has since closed to make way for a new highrise called Hokua.  About a year ago, Panya moved to the Ala Moana Shopping Center, and in addition to the wonderful European-inspired Japanese breads and pastries, they are now serving hot entrées (breakfast, lunch and dinner) among other things.

The shop is bright and spacious, and the interior offers some funky touches.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the shop's interior.  On my next visit, I will take some and update this post. 

Panya in Japanese means bread shop, and the breads and pastries are definitely the highlight of what's on offer here.  Today, I bought something that is not regularly offered, the crown bread (US$2.85).

The woman at the counter advised me that this bread was made from dinner rolls that were baked in a pan and topped with apricot jam.  The bread came apart in sections, and was light and fluffy.  The apricot jam offered just the right combination of sweet and tart.  This was a great match for the lychee-flavored tea I had after dinner.

For tomorrow, I bought one of my favorites, and what's probably the bakery's best known and biggest selling offering, the Hokkaido bread (US$.99).

This is a mini loaf which is just right as a single serving.  You can buy the Hokkaido bread in a 3-pack (US$2.97) or you can buy a "Big Top" Hokkaido (US$2.95).  The Hokkaido bread is a sweetbread, and it's light and fluffy with just the slightest "crust" around the outside.  Crisp and slightly sweet, the "crust" is a nice contrast to the airy middle.  This is great and absolutely one of my favorites.

I haven't yet tried any of the food items, but I'm hoping to.  If they are as good as the breads and pastries, then I'm sure that I'll enjoy them.  In my opinion, Panya offers some of the best European-style Japanese breads and pastries on the Island.  The Hokkaido bread is a definite "must try".

Panya Bistro
Ala Moana Shopping Center
1450 Ala Moana Boulevard
Telephone:  808.946.6388