HERE'S THE SCOOP . . . I am humbled and honored so many of you responded to my joke of a dilemma on whether or not to keep the spoon in this picture in order to cover my double chin.
One reader said, "I would totally replace the spoon with the spatula. Hell, why not add a big 'ole magnum of wine as well!" Duly noted!
Another, Eunice Kitagawa, says, "love the spoon. . . keep it!" As the longtime manager of Tokyo Tei in Wailuku, she also tells me about the Monday discounts on their famous teishoku trays for lunch and dinner.
Article Photos
Pad Thai Restaurant is back in Lahaina and so is owner Jongkonnie Nishimura, displaying crisp spring rolls and her famous noodles.
WHARF CINEMA CENTER photo
Now, I'm reading an e-mail from "the Crazed Chef," who's selling the Eat Yer Face Gelatin Mold Kit for those who want to copy, or clone, their face and cast it with gelatin to serve guests for Halloween.
Mike Samonek, the kit's inventor and best-selling author of The Special Effects Cookbook series, says, "Mom always said the best gift is the gift of one's self."
Wonder if I can clone the spoon, too? But enough on that topic. And, forget about Halloween! Maui will jump all throughout October with food events. It would take a shovel to get through it all.
At Maui County Fair in Wailuku today through Sunday, you may catch Flying Saucers, Pronto Pups, li-hing-mui pineapple and heaps more. In East Maui on Saturday, the MauiFEST Hawaii Hana Film Festival will serve up top entertainment, films and food booths with seared ahi on garlic bread, edamame, pork teriyaki with rice and corn, shoyu chicken, and fry bread with apple toppings.
Hali'imaile General Store will flow with a beer dinner Saturday in partnership with Maui Brewing Co. Savor a five-course German-inspired feast paired with Maui beers. Highlights are pan-fried schnitzel in mushroom cream, housemade bratwurst, spaetzle, farm fresh salad and banana split beer float. (See what I mean?) Cost is $55 per person, including tax and tip, and reservations are required. Call 572-2666. In addition, HGS will close at 9 p.m., reflecting its new fall hours. . . . Maui Brewing Co. will also be frothy at Barktoberfest 2010, a benefit for Maui Humane Society at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa in Kaanapali from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 16. German fare, live music and a keiki tent are all part of the fun. Call 877-3680, ext. 34.
Due to pressing family issues five years ago, Jongkonnie Nishimura closed her popular Thai restaurant in Lahaina. But we hear she never lost her love of cooking and her dream of reopening.
Now, she's back with Pad Thai Restaurant and all of the tastes from her home country at the Wharf Cinema Center from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. In addition to Thai fare, she does local foods such as shoyu chicken, barbecue short ribs and beef broccoli. Catering, too.
Tonight is the last chance to win free meals at Outback Steakhouse for a year. Just enjoy one of three new entrees starting at $15.95 (such as signature sirloin, grilled shrimp "on the barbie," or coconut shrimp), and when the bill comes, you'll get a scratch-and-win card. Locations are in Lahaina as well as Kihei.
Humuhumunukunukuapua'a at the Grand Wailea will serve a vegetarian prix-fixe dinner tonight for $59 plus tax and tip, with courses such as Ka'u orange and elder-flower consomme and Alii mushroom kebabs. Produce is by organic We Farm in Kapalua. Call 875-1234, ext. 4900.
Kihei's 808 Bistro is promoting a three-course meal for $25 per person, served daily from 5 to 6 p.m. You get soup or salad, entrees such as gorgonzola Alfredo, pork chops, or braised short ribs, and desserts from bread pudding with whiskey sauce to brownie sundae. Partner Josh Richardson says they just debuted breakfast service from 7 a.m. to noon with some tempting offerings.
Mark your calenders for the following: Buzz's Wharf in Maalaea will flow with a Kona Brewing Co. beer dinner at 6 p.m. on Oct 27 in its private dining room . . . The second annual Lahaina Plantation Days will be held Oct. 22 and 23 near the historic smokestack. There will be tons of ethnic foods from Filipino lechon (roasted pig) to Hop Wo Bakery's famous biscuits. . . Umalu in Kaanapali will get you in the groove for Oktoberfest on Oct. 9 with beer stations, live music, door prizes and island- and German-style buffet. It's $20 for all you can eat. . . Sure to be sold out, Gerard's in Lahaina will host Burgundy dinner Oct. 26 as part of its ongoing wine series. Whew! Where's my spoon?
* Reach Dining Editor Carla Tracy at 242-6342 or e-mail her at carlatracy@mauinews.com.
