Hawaii~Morton's Steak House

One of my favorite restaurants is Morton's Steak House.  When I mention this fact to people, they look at me funny because I am not a big meat eater...especially when it comes to steak.  The steaks is delicious here, but I really like this restaurant because of their jumbo lump crab cakes.  I also like the ambience of the restaurant and the service is impeccable, even if you are dressed like you were shopping at Ala Moana all day. 
Usually I only visit Morton's steak house when they have the 2 for $109 special.  Then I seek out another person to partake in the deliciousness that is Morton's.  For $109, you receive two 4-course meals (soup or salad, appetizer, entree, and dessert).  The portions are huge and we usually end up taking the leftovers home. 

Onion bread-so gooood!

French Onion Soup-Mike really enjoyed this soup topped with bread and cheesy goodness.

Morton's chopped salad-my grandpa really enjoyed this salad. It's filled with tomatoes, bacon, fruit, cheese, and nuts.  I would order the salad versus the onion soup, but I am sure that Mike would disagree with my choice.


Jumbo lump crab cake and petite filet mignon. This picture is not doing the jumbo lump crab cake justice.


Creamed Spinach-Morton's does not skimp on their side portions

Baked Potato-I asked for all the toppings to be placed on the side to be healthier. 

Asparagus

Upside Down Apple Pie

Key Lime Pie

Morton's Steakhouse
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808)949-1300

Matcha Green Tea Powder

Late last year a company called Matcha Source contacted me and asked if I would like a sample of green tea to try their product.  I jumped at the opportunity because I enjoy the taste of green tea and like to experiment with baked goods with an asian flair (incoporating green tea, azuki beans, yuzu, etc). 



I was sent a sample of their Gotcha Match Cafe Grade powder. The scientist in me tasted the powder straight and it had an authentic green tea flavor.   I then tried out Matcha Source's Chilled Green Tea Latte recipe and it was yummy! I did doctor it up with some splenda to give the latte a little bit more sweetness. 

Matcha Source also sent me a bodum frother so that I could froth milk for my green tea lattes. 



I have a little bit of matcha powder left and used it on my macarons (see previous post) and am debating what I want to do with the remaining powder. I was thinking about creating a Green Tea-rimisu (get it? tirimisu) and instead of soaking lady fingers in coffee, I'd soak them in green tea.  I can just imagine it now, a pastel green tiramisu with matcha powder dusted on the top layer of whipped cream. 

Matcha (Green Tea) Macarons!

 

This past Christmas, my friend Erika sent me "I love macarons" by Hisako Ogita.  I would always talk about macarons in lab with her, so in her cute letter to me she wrote, "I saw this book and thought about you." I've attempted macarons before, but this time decided to try Hisako Ogita's recipe with the macaronage method.  The "macaronage" method involves folding and lifting the batter several times to achieve the correct consistency of the batter to produce perfectly textured macarons.

The recipe for macarons is quite simple.  The base formula consists of almond meal

(I bought mine at Central Market in the bulk foods aisle), powdered sugar, granulated sugar, salt, egg whites, flavoring (I used matcha powder from Matcha Source).  Here's  a picture of the mixture of dry ingredients. 

  

I guess it helps to follow the directions and draw uniform circles on the bottom side of the parchment paper so that your macarons will have a uniform size and shape. 

 

Here's the baked macarons (see their cute little feet!).  I followed the instructions, but tweaked a few things.  I did not follow the author's advice to use organic powdered sugar.  I used the typical (and cheaper) powdered sugar because in reality, both sugars contain some kind of starch (corn or tapioca) so I really think you'd end up with the same finished product.  Maybe I'll conduct an experiment on the effects of organic versus regular powdered sugar for macaron-making and run a sensory test to determine the differences...

 I also reduced the bake time a little because I thought they looked dry and done. 

  I kept rolling my eyes as Mike jokingly critiqued the shape and colors of macarons and said that they were "unacceptable" and then popped them in his mouth. I think he liked them because I left a container at home of the "unacceptable" macarons (there were about 10 pieces) and when I got back from work, they were all gone. 

 

My filled macaron.  Mike thought that a dark chocolate ganache would overpower the matcha macarons, so I ended up spreading whipped cream between two cookies. 

If you want to read more about macarons, check out this blog.  It's really interesting to read about all her adventures in macaron-making. 

Work Travel

Currently on another work trip.   Over the years I have honed in my traveling skills and breeze through the drill of airport security and am one of those people who you see in line and think, "Wow, she must travel a lot. She's got this down to a science."  First bucket-Shoes and jacket (shoes in the first bucket so that you can put them on as you wait for your other items to go through the xray). Second bucket- Unzip laptop case, make sure it is not covering the laptop, throw in the clear plastic bag with liquids (use a quart size zip-slide bag for ease instead of a zip-lock bag. it's more user-friendly for travel).  Backpack and luggage to follow.  Oh and I also do not wear a belt or metal jewelry. 

This has been my fourth work trip since the beginning of the year, so I am now becoming an efficient packer. I now can pack my suitcase in less than 5 minutes and can fit more than four days of clothes in carry-on luggage.

Here's the necessary toiletries I pack:

*lotion (to be used on face and hands), *deodorant, *contact solution, *contact case, *travel size hairbrush, *tooth brush, *toothpaste, *floss, *facial soap from lush *eyelash curler. 

I end up using the shampoo, conditioner, and soap the hotel provides to save on space in my luggage. 

My typical travel breakfast.  Soy chai and a pastry (key lime crumb cake).

Airplane food.  BBQ chicken salad with crunchy topping. Stacy's pita chips. Most times I have been lucky when I travel and have been sitting in first class!  That means that we're given snacks and a meal.  Although you soon become spoiled with all the perks of flying first class that when you're placed in coach, you think, "coach? ugh."  (yes, I've become a slight "flying snob").

 

My last breakfast during my last business trip to Canada.  Vivanno orange mango smoothie without the extra protein and a thai tuna wrap.  I don't think they have this flavor of smoothie at Starbucks in the USA, but it was pretty good.  The thai tuna wrap was unusual; it was like a spicy tuna salad with bits of rice in it.  

Food during work travel varies a bit.  Mike sometimes gets jealous because we sometimes eat at nice restaurants.  But it is often balanced out with trying to find restaurants that are open late at night, which means that we end up eating at fast food joints or gas stations.   

Hawaii Restaurants~Sansei

Way back in September, Mike, my parents and I enjoyed a dinner at Sansei located in the heart of Waikiki.
Sansei has always been one of my favorite restaurants…especially when we go for the early bird 50% off special on Sundays or Mondays. I love the flavor combinations of all the sushi there and this time since there were four of at dinner, we tried some dishes that we had never ordered before.
Miso Butterfish
Shrimp Dynamite -one of my favorite dishes. Deep-fried shrimp drizzled with a spicy sweet mayo sauce and unagi sauce.
Japanese Calamari Salad California Roll
Agedashi Tofu
Lightly fried tofu with a mirin-soy dashi
This was my choice. I will stick with my favorites.

Kalbi
Asian Shrimp Cake
This was a little bit too oily for me. It tasted good, but compared to all the other items we ordered, this was one of my least favorite.

My favorite dish at Sansei would have to be the crab and mango salad hand wrap. I love the blend of mango and sweet chili sauce. It was a slight bummer that the mango was canned, but it still tasted good. I gladly ate the extra piece without any hesitation.

I was not a big fan of the kalbi, the butterfish was good, but we felt that the portion was small for the price.
I am not sure if I’d pay the regular price for a meal at Sansei, but when the menu (except for alcohol and the specials) are half off, the meal is definitely worth it.

Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar
Waikiki Beach Marriot Resort and Spa
2552 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
808-931-6286

Hawaii Restaurants~Gyotaku

I'm currently in the airport, waiting for my flight to board and decided to continue posting about the Hawaii restaurants Mike and I checked out last September.  With all this work travel these past few weeks, I figure that the best time to write blog posts will be in the airport. 

Gyotaku is one of those restaurants that I have never ever dined at in my life.  I have no idea why, but when my family goes out to eat Japanese food, we usually go to Tadashi's (Aiea), Hifumi (downtown), or some restaurant that was recently reviewed in the newspaper.  I was pleasantly surprised by the food at Gyotaku, and even though I wouldn't rank it as one of my favorite restaurants, but I would go back there.  Inside out California roll with tobiko (flying fish eggs).

Ahi Poke Bowl. My dad really enjoyed this dish


Mochiko Chicken Salad-I ordered this salad because I wanted something light and I love mochiko chicken.  The salad tasted okay, but I felt that the presentation was so much better than the taste.  There was mochi crunch and edamame on the salad! That's a creative alternative to croutons or won ton crisps on top of a salad.  Unagi don bowl
Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura.  -Everyone at the table seemed to enjoy their tempura.  

Gyotaku
98-1226Kaahumanu St.
Pearl City, HI 96782
(808)487-0091