Nadine Kam photos
After a kagami biraki ceremony, Mr. Takemura, president of Tsukasabotan Brewing Co., of Japan, shared a toast with 3660 On the Rise chef Russell Siu, Marukai Corp. executive vice president Richard Matsu, and Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

Marukai Wholesale Mart welcomed food and sake fans to enjoy dozens of dishes along with a variety of sake, shochu and Japanese beer during its annual Taste of Marukai event that took place April 11 at Marukai's Dillingham store at 2310 Kamehameha Highway, which packed in its 1,000 guests easily.

Sure there were lines for sashimi, sushi from Gokujo Sushi and edibles cooked up by 3660 On the Rise chef Russell Siu, but there was plenty to go around, so much so that chances are, most people probably got full before they could sample every offering.

Although there is less emphasis on outside chefs than in past years, in favor of showcasing fresh seafood and products carried by Marukai, crowd pleasers from past events were back, including fresh grilled abalone, platefuls of sashimi, made-to-order handrolls, tempura, yakitori, and more.

The event opened with the traditional Kagami Biraki sake barrel opening ceremony, with Marukai Corp. executive vice president Richard Matsu welcoming chef Siu, the president of Tsukasabotan Brewing Co., and Gov. Neil Abercrombie to crack open the barrel and share a toast.

Elsewhere in the store, highlights included a soba-making demonstration, amezaiku Japanese candy art, and a fish-cutting demo. People seem to be fascinated by the process because a video I made three years ago continues to draw hits and comments.

Guests started lining up early for Taste of Marukai for a bite of Japanese specialties.

Marukai executive vice-president Richard Matsu with his wife Jo, right, and Kori Higa.

Matsu presented a check for $30,000 to representatives from four beneficiaries of the fundraising event: Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.

Diners in line passed a sashimi boat, below, and ahi en route to sashimi plates.

Plates full of sashimi; the fade in the photos is due to refrigeration mist.

The big three: hamachi, maguro and sake.

Pan-seared, shichimi-scented mahimahi topped with cucumber crab salad, in a dashi-ginger nage, from 3660 on the Rise.

Hoisin-glazed braised shortribs over jasmine rice.

An event goer shares her wishes with a sushi chef from Gokujo Sushi, which provided made-to-order nigiri and handroll sushi.

Nathan and Chika Tanaka of Candy Art Hawaii were there, demonstrating the traditional Japanese art of amezaiku, shaping hot melted sugar into whimsical lollipop shapes.

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Nadine Kam photos
Roy's Ko Olina executive chef Darryl Shinogi, right, and sous chef Randy Bangloy show their pipikaula-style Shinsato pork belly served in a cone over chirashi rice, with lomi Ho Farms tomatoes. Just one of the many dishes served up at The Hawaii Foodbank's "Great Chefs Fight Hunger" event.

The Hawaii Foodbank was host to "Great Chefs Fight Hunger," an event that brought together 33 restaurant and beverage companies, and hundreds of foodies to raise funds to feed the hungry.

The event took place March 23 at the Hawaii Foodbank Warehouse at 2611 Kilihau St., where guests got to see where the work of preventing more than 183,000 of Hawaii's population from going hungry continues throughout the year.

In addition to providing food for the event, 12 of the food and beverage purveyors, along with businesses and organizations including Bishop Museum, Hilo Hattie, Maui Divers Jewelry, Paul Brown Salon and Reyn Spooner, also donated culinary experiences during a silent auction that added to Hawaii Foodbank's coffers.

In addition volunteers were selling $15 keys (or 10 for $100) to unlock The Cellar Door, containing 60 fine wines contributed by Fujioka's Wine Times, JMD Beverages, Southern Wine and Spirits, and Young's Market Co.

Here's a look at some of the dishes presented during the event:

A closeup look at Darryl Shinogi's Shinsato pork belly.

We can usually expect a fish dish from Morimoto but a Korean-style pork belly lettuce wrap from Andy Reagan was a nice departure. With papaya and cabbage kim chee, apple mustard relish and fried gobo.

Gohan Da Hawaii Rice Guy greeted guests to the Hawaii Foodbank's Mapunapuna warehouse.

Hilton Hawaiian Village executive chef Jeffrey Vigilla always dresses up his booth.

With all the meat in evidence, Vigilla's offering was a refreshingly light furikake seared ahi taco with edamame hummus, pineapple Asian slaw and spicy chili pepper aioli. Very yum. And the lamp is an eco-friendly halved orange.

Guests swooned over Halekulani executive chef Vikram Garg's lobster bisque.

Independents like the Whole Ox and Pili Hawaii were right there with the big institutions. This is Whole Ox chef Robert McGee's bacon braunschweiger with whole grain aioli and house pickles.

Mark "Gooch" Noguchi of Pili Hawaii presented a soft egg with Ma'o greens, topped with pipikaula macadamia nut vinaigrette.

Pili Hawaii's display of whole mac nuts and the toasted ground nuts that went into the salad dressing.

Chef Rodney Uyehara of HASR Bistro with one of his fans, Kat Oshima.
Uyehara's contribution to the event, Harris Ranch Steak #11, over stroganoff egg noodles with brandy cream sauce. In this grab-and-go setting, he was trying to accommodate requests for doneness. Here, a perfect medium. (more...)

Nadine Kam photos
A fan of Dylan's Candy Bar poses for a photo with Dylan Lauren and Chocolate the bunny.

On Easter mornings, while all the other kids were anxious to bite into their chocolate bunnies on Easter morning, Dylan Lauren resisted.

"I would only eat the chocolate eggs," the founder of Dylan's Candy Bar said. "I didn't want to eat the chocolate bunnies because I felt bad for them. I just liked to collect them and look at them."

To this day the grown-up Lauren refuses to bite into those vulnerable chocolate ears and legs. She was in town March 23, sharing her latest treats, with "Chocolate" the bunny at her side, handing out samples in Neiman Marcus' third-floor Epicure department, where Dylan's Candy Bar is a store within a store, full of colorful sweets bringing smiles to all who encounter it.

In a phone  interview last week, she told me, "Easter has always my favorite holiday because I love rabbits and bright colors."

Her eye for candy as design elements led her to go beyond the kid craft of coloring Easter eggs to decorating the family table with candies, "creating place settings and centerpieces with candies that look like edible flowers."

The daughter of designer Ralph Lauren said her father indulged her quirks and encouraged her passion. "He saw it was very unique and saw fashion in the candy colors; he understood it," she said.

Despite the obvious color and gustatory benefits, candy might not be top of mind for many people as a decorative element. But Lauren said it can be a fast and enchanting addition to floral and table settings, first working its magic as an icebreaker. The sight of brightly colored sweets tends to lighten spirits and put people at ease.

"With candy there's no wrong way to do things. It always looks pretty and tastes good," Lauren said. "When people do see candy arrangements, it always seems fresh and different."

Think about that for your next holiday table.

Dylan's Candy Bar's giant lollipops.

Dylan Lauren was signing copies of her book, "Dylan's Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life.," which is her guide to entertaining with candy.

One of the new items available, rubbah slippah tins full of candy, $18 in Neiman Marcus Epicure.

Fans from Japan: the language of candy is universal.

Nadine Kam photos
Artists Amy Davis and Jon Moritsugu found culinary inspiration at the Onda Pasta popup at Taste Table last Wednesday.

By Nadine Kam

In recent years, our experience of Italian cuisine has been through the hands of chefs from Japan. So it was a refreshing change of pace to wander into Taste Table last Wednesday, where Andrea Onetti of Onda Pasta, was cooking up some of the dishes he grew up with in Rome.

He and his wife Jessica had already been offering their hand-made fresh pastas at various farmer's markets, including the Saturday Farmer's Market at Ala Moana Center from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays and 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays.

Their pastas combine the best of two worlds—high-quality flour imported from Italy paired with Hawaiian eggs and produce.

Taste Table offered them the opportunity to show how those pastas cook up with their sauces, including a fiery puttanesca, Bolognese made with Oahu grass fed beef, and classic pomodoro, with various pasta dishes priced from about $11 to $13.

I had stumbled across their lunch service by accident, when a glitch in the Taste calendar showed Boom Musubi in house. I'd invited the fab illustrator-rock chick-actress Amy Davis and her partner in celluloid-music-life Jon Moritsugu to join me in light of Amy adding a food component to her fashion musings at her new blog, Yummy Dress: www.amydavis.com/wp/ One of her illustrations is at left.

Although Boom Musubi seemed like an appropriate fit for her site, we were all thrilled to try Onda Pasta's delicious gnocchi, tagliatelle and risotto.

We were even more thrilled that escaped murder suspect Teddy Munet was on the loose in the vicinity, adding to the excitement of the day. If I had been worried about it, I would have suggested meeting elsewhere, but to me, it was no biggie. I'm sure dozens of murderers or potential murderers walk among us every day.

After a so-so attempt at making gnocchi a few months ago, I tried to ask Andrea for his secret, but he said that if he told me, I'd have to come work for him. No kitchens for me. After so many years writing about restaurants, it's still hard to fathom why anyone would want to work that hard, though I'm glad for the many that do! Jessica did offer that I should try less flour. I might try again.

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The Onda Pasta popup returns to Taste Table, 667 Auahi St.,  from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 27.

Onda Pasta's Roman-style gnocchi with a puttanesca sauce that's actually spicy.

Mushroom risotto.

Vegetarian tagliatelle with Waimanalo cremini.

Added Feb. 27:

Manzo scallopine ($13) of beef eye round in wine and lemon sauce, served with roast potatoes is one of the new menu additions today.

Nadine Kam photos
Chef Peter Merriman, right, with Aloha United Way marketing director Jay Park, and Monkeypod Kitchen manager Erica Dunn.

Chef Peter Merriman and his business partner Bill Terry celebrated the opening of Monkeypod Kitchen at Ko Olina, with a blessing and benefit party on Feb. 1.

Guests could help themselves to all the food they wanted while their drink purchases throughout the evening benefited Aloha United Way.

Although it's never easy to get townies to drive out to Ko Olina at rush hour, the room was packed with foodies, restaurateurs and farmers eager to see Merriman's newest project. I believe that he and Roy Yamaguchi are now the only big name Hawaii chefs with restaurants on four islands.

The first Monkeypod Kitchen opened in Wailea, Maui, so named, Peter explained when addressing the crowd, because the monkeypod tree is a non-native that has nevertheless thrived in Hawaii, just as he has, as a transplant from Pennsylvania who arrived on Hawaii Island in 1983 and went on to become a leader in the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement. Monkeypod also fixes nitrogen in the soil so is good for the land and sustainability, and is versatile as a wood used prominently for craft. As an artisan in the kitchen, Merriman said he could identify with that as well.

The restaurant covers two stories at Ko Olina Station, 92-1046 Olani St., in Kapolei, and is a welcome addition to the resort community, where there are few stylish places to simply hang out. (Is this a no-brainer or what?) The Monkeypod Kitchen bar is huge, no doubt in anticipation of great happy hour business, when drink specials include $6 Ocean Vodka cocktails, $6 white and red wines by the glass and $4.75 drafts for beers originally $9 or less, and $7 for those more than $9, and food specials include 50 percent off most appetizers, and $9 pizzas (except the lobster-topped Bourgeois).

You can take a look at some of the dishes here, as presented at the opening:

Peter is blessed by kahu Neddy Tiffany, with his business partner Bill Terry looking on after his own blessing.

Wood-fired Hamakua wild mushroom pizza with white sauce, truffle oil, Parmesan and thyme. It's $17.95. Add chunks of Big Island lobster and it becomes the Bourgeois, at $24.95.

Garlic truffle oil fries with a quarter burger in the background.

Bulgogi pork tacos were really spicy, and not just because of the jalapeños, so you couldn't just pull them out and leave unscathed.

A different kind of saimin, with dashi soy broth, kalua pig, broccoli, green beans, bean srouts, red onion, cilantro, mint, peanuts and tofu over Iwamoto family noodles.

One of my favorite dishes of the evening: Pumpkin Patch Ravioli with kiawe-roasted squash, chevre, spinach and sage brown butter. Butter good!

Gnocchi with Swiss chard, sauteed mushrooms, tomato coulis and chevre.
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