Back in the kitchen with Grace Lee & Chef Ronnie Nasuti. Chef works with Grace on a recipe to make Hawaiian Dish made with local products.
HAU’ULA TOMATO SALAD Hau’ula tomatoes, cored and sliced ½” 1 each
Fresh mozzarella 3 slices
Balsamic thyme glaze As needed
Macadamia nut pesto As needed
Micro shiso As needed
Yukari ½ tsp.
Extra Virgin Olive oil 1 tbsp.
Sea salt As needed
Fresh cracked pepper As needed
MAC NUT PESTO
Macadamia nuts 2 tbsp.
Fresh basil leaves 1 cup
Garlic cloves 1pc.
Kosher salt To taste
Grated parmesan 2 tbsp.
Extra virgin olive oil 2/3 cup
BALSAMIC GLAZE
Balsamic vinegar ½ cup
Sugar 1 tbsp.
Fresh thyme 1 sprig
• For the pesto; muddle all ingredients with a mortar and pestle and season with salt.
• For the balsamic glaze; in a small non reactive sauce pan simmer the sugar, vinegar and thyme sprig until it coats the back of a spoon and let cool to room temperature.
• Built the salad; paint the balsamic thyme glaze on the plate, arrange the mozzarella slices alternating them with the tomatoes. Top with pesto, extra EVOO, sea salt, yukari, shiso & fresh cracked black pepper.
Terry Shintaku's Green Growers farm in Hauula Location: 54-190 Kawaipuna Street Phone: (808) 293-5477 Founded by Graf Shintaku in 1955 and now opertated by his son, Terry Shintaku. These tomatoes were grown using hydroponic technology. Hau'ula Green Growers also grows Kai Choi (Mustard Cabage), Tahitian Luau Leaves, Green Onions, Baby Pak Choi.
You can find Chef Ronnie Nasuti at Tiki's Grill & Bar in Waikiki. www.tikisgrill.com
At Tiki’s in Honolulu, you could make a meal from their large selection of appetizers (called pupus in Hawaiian).
In Honolulu, Tiki’s Grill and Bar is a great choice for an authentic taste of Oahu. Talented Chef Ronnie Nasuti works with local farmers and food purveyors and serves delectable farm-to-table island dishes.
We went to Tiki’s for dinner and sat on a second floor deck surrounded by palm trees, beginning our meal with sweet, crumbly pink taro rolls served with vanilla butter.
The restaurant offers a huge appetizer ($12-15) menu (called pupus in Hawaii), including light, fresh ahi tartare with truffle oil and tiny rice balls; grilled ahi (cooked rare) with thinly sliced mango marinated in rice vinegar with sesame seeds; crispy coconut shrimp with garlic aioli; panko crusted calamari steak; cold shrimp salsa; and, one of our favorites, sweet, fruity guava gazed ribs.
The mac nut crusted mahi mahi at Tiki was lightly crusted and seared.
For entrees, there are plenty of fresh fish options. The grilled ahi was cooked rare and had a nice smokiness. It was served with garlic potato shreds, grilled asparagus, and a buttery scampi sauce with fresh tomatoes. The macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi was lightly crusted and seared. It was served over orzo pasta, mushrooms, spinach, diced tomatoes, roasted garlic, and lemongrass cream sauce. Delicious!
The portions at Tiki’s Grill and Bar are generous, but do save room for dessert. Their specialty is warm green tea butter cake served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis that will make you swoon.
It was great to have Chef Ronnie Nasuti dessert included in MARTHA CHENG'S article about bacon desserts from Honolulu Magazine.
Monte Cristo from Tiki's Bar and Grill. Photo courtesy of Tiki's
I love Monte Cristos—classic ones are essentially a ham and cheese sandwich, dunked in a French-toast like batter and deep-fried, with a bit ofjam to lighten and sweeten the deal. Tiki's twist makes it a tempura-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich with bacon on a taro bread pudding. Sure, the Monte Cristo sandwich is not diet food, but I might sub in a thinner-cut bread to scale back the heaviness. We could only a manage a few bites with the combined richness of peanut butter and the batter. But, of all the desserts we tried (aside from the chocolate-dipped bacon), it was the most bacon-prominent. $6, 923-8454, tikisgrill.com
From five-star restaurants to hidden holes-in-the-wall, Biting Commentary will let you know what’s hot and what’s not. Find out the latest restaurant news—who’s opening, who’s closing, which chef is moving on, where the great special dinners are. Discover the best menu items, fabulous wines, stunning cocktails, hand-crafted beers. Be the first to hear about upcoming food events and festivals.
Food editor Martha Cheng graduated from Wellesley College with degrees in Computer Science and English. She's a former line cook, food truck owner, Peace Corps volunteer and Google techie. Follow her on Twitter @marthacheng.
Chef Ronnie cooks up Big Island Beef Loco Moco, Foie Gras Fried Rice, Sunny Side up Quail Egg on KITV morning show.
Saturday, April 13, 2013 * 5:30 p.m. The Royal Hawaiian Ocean Lawn and Monarch Ballroom Semi-Formal Attire * Black Tie Invited
Sip refreshing libations ... Sample culinary delights ... Shop amazing silent and live auctions ... Strut the night away on the dance floor ... Support a worthy cause.
Tantalize Your Palate with the Many Flavors of Hawaii ...
Mahalo to the KITV morning show for supporting “Plate Up Niu Valley” a major fundraising event for Niu the Valley Middle School, organized by parents
Where Hawaii’s top chefs donate their time and expertise to mentor 48 interested students, and bring awareness and knowledge in the food industry. Hosted at the Hyatt, FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012 6:00pm
Chef Ronnie has already had the students from his team over to Tiki's to learn about the dish he is featuring.
Les Anges de la télé-réalité is a reality TV broadcast on NRJ12 on the occasion of 10 years of reality TV in France, hosted by Fabrice Sopoglian and moderated by Matthieu Delormeau and Jeny Priez (from Miami season).
Hawaii’s newest TV station — MeTV Hawaii — celebrated its launch with a gathering Thursday evening at Tiki’s Grill & Bar
Hawaii’s newest TV station — MeTV Hawaii — celebrated its launch with a gathering Thursday evening at Tiki’s Grill & Bar. The KITV station officially launched on Monday on Oceanic Digital Cable 126 and over the air on 4.2. November 18, 2011
MeTV Hawaii is aiming for a retro-hip vibe that revisits what many consider Hawaii’s golden age of TV. The channel features classic TV shows from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, including “M*A*S*H,” “Cheers”, “Perry Mason,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Batman,” the original “Star Trek,” “The Brady Bunch” and more. During commercial breaks, they’ll be classic local vignettes, sourced from KITV’s archives. For a full schedule, visit kitv.com/MeTV or go to MeTVHawaii on Facebook.
Guests at Thursday’s celebration, including KITV President Andrew Jackson and morning anchor Mahealani Richardson, enjoyed pupu and drinks, as well as a performance by the local funk and jazz band, Quadraphonix.
CHOICE OF ONE APPETIZER: Prime Rib Poke - A special poke for meat lovers – flash seared prime rib cubes topped with our housemade pipikaula aioli on a bed of locally grown baby greens from Nalo Farms.
Homemade Pancetta & Warm Kula Onion Salad - Sweet Island grown Kula onions & Hawaii’s best vine ripened Hau’ula tomatoes on a bed of fresh baby Nalo Tatsoi. Smothered in our own house made pancetta bacon & sherry vinaigrette with bleu cheese shower. Soft Shell Crab Po’ Boy -Furikake crusted and crisped soft-shell crab, spicy chili mayonnaise, Kula lettuce, Hau’ula tomato on an Island made taro bun with house made kim chee. CHOICE OF ONE ENTREE: Cajun Seared Ahi Tuna - Ahi tuna steak dusted with cajun spices and seared medium rare served over our famous kalua pig mashed potatoes. Topped off with soy wasabi white wine butter sauce and roasted asparagus. Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts - Chicken breasts coated with parmesan cheese and fried to a crispy tenderness and drizzled with rosemary sundried tomato chardonnay sauce. Served with broccoli linguine aglio olio. Local Style Japanese Curry Spiced Beef Short Ribs - Slow cooked tender boneless beef short ribs on buttery wasabi potato puree, soy braised island farm root vegetables including taro, dasheen, lotus root, Molokai potatoes, curry beef reduction sauce. CHOICE OF ONE DESSERT: Peanut Butter & Jelly Taro Bread Pudding Monte Cristo Island Sorbet with Fresh Kula Strawberries Okinawan Sweet Potato Macadamia Nut Tart
$30 per person (tax and tip not included)
Restaurant Week Hawaii is a seven day celebration of the cuisine scene in Hawaii. Participating restaurants will feature special menu items, promotions and discounts.
Restaurant Week is a reminder that Hawaii is a culinary destination with top chefs, farm to table dining, wonderful wine and a lot more to discover and explore.
The goal of Restaurant Week Hawai`i is to realize a vision of an advanced culinary campus—the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Diamond Head. Graduates of Hawai`i's first four-year culinary program will go on to serve Hawai`i's restaurant and hospitality industry and ultimately the greater community.
Each year, HONOLULU Magazine readers vote for their favorite restaurants in the Islands. Categories include Best New Restaurant, Best Service, Best Value, Best Wine Program, Little Restaurant You Love and many more. This was the 28th year for the award event to be held.
The winning restaurants were announced at a gala reception held November 6 at the Royal Hawaiian's Monarch Ballroom.
Tiki's Grill & Bar has won again with a: Bronze Award of "Best Place to Take Visitors".