Tadd Fujikawa: Professional Edition

Tadd Fujikawa dropped in for a visit, a day after turning pro. We can confirm for you that it is the same Tadd Fujikawa who visited us as the amateur who dazzled the golf world at the Sony Open.

But there was one difference:. Tadd came with just his parents last time around. This time, mom Lori was back, along with his new agent/attorney Kevin Bell (in the dark jacket) and two other people, who I think were Bell’s assistant (on the high chair) and a local publicist (not in the photo; the gentleman in the glasses is the publicist for another guest, which I’ll discuss shortly). I looked at the group accompanying Tadd, and told him, “I can tell you’ve turned pro; now you have an entourage.” His response? He cracked that big smile and started laughing. As for the entourage, they remained pretty much in the background. There was no advice, at least in the studio, on what to say or how to say it, no extra makeup people. They just followed Tadd around, and Tadd’s still Tadd. We wish him luck in his pro career.

Got something to say about the Taddster turning pro? Click on “comments” below.

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The first thing Tadd said to me as he stepped into the studio was, “Oooooh! I smell food!”

This is some of the food from one of the groups that will be at the sixth annual Korean Festival, tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Kapi`olani Park (and the reason for the publicist with the glasses mentioned above). As with good food cooked up on the show, it didn’t get anywhere close to the end of its shelf life.

Helen Chock, 1917-2007

Helen Chock, the owner and matriarch of Helena’s Hawaiian Foods, died last week Friday. The photo above comes from her obituary in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. She would have been 90 years old on July 27th.

Her restaurant is more than 60 years old. I was a relative newcomer, becoming a “regular” only in 1994, at the original restaurant on North King Street, near Farrington High School. At the time, I was working at KHNR/CNN Radio, and once I started coming in on a regular basis, Helen and the waitresses would try to greet me by name. Except they couldn’t remember my name, but they knew where I worked. So they called me “CNN” for a few years.

Helena’s is a place where you don’t go for the ambience; you go for the food. I would go once every week or two for the pipikaula; the lau lau; the lomi salmon with raw fish and limu; the squid lu`au; the fried butterfish collar; the Maui onions and the haupia that came with every meal. There was a spell last year when I wasn’t able to drop in for a few months. When I returned, Helen greeted me from behind the cash register and we talked story for a little while. When I was done eating and got up to pay my bill, she looked at my check, put it on the spindle, and said simply, “Next time,” without letting me pay. That was the only time she did that, but she knew I’d be back. And frequently. And I was.

The last time I saw her was probably May, just before she was diagnosed with cancer. The last time I was there was last week Thursday, the day before Helen died. Her daughter, Elaine Katsuyoshi, told me she was sleeping a lot in the hospital, and sometimes wasn’t aware of what was going on. But there was a sense that the end was near, that her time was done, she was ready to go and her restaurant was in good hands. And it is: her grandson, Craig Katsuyoshi, has been doing the cooking, and will continue to run Helena’s.

Condolences to her family, especially to Elaine, Craig, and his sister Charlaine. A celebration of Helen’s life will be held Saturday, July 21 at Nu`uanu Memorial Park and Mortuary, with visitation from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., followed by services.

Meantime, the restaurant will reopen Tuesday, July 17.

Hot Dogs!

This morning, we finally settled on a long-standing bet. To recap: Dan and Dave picked the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Championship, while Mahea and I picked the Cleveland Cavaliers. You’ll recall the Spurs swept the series. And it took this long to figure out what we would do, as the losers. Taking a cue from the world-famous Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest on Coney Island, we tried to eat at least one hot dog from Great Hawaiian Hot Dogs.

Mike “Ramsey” Fujita cooked up the weiners, and I think I won, finishing my hot dog first.

Of course, seemingly on cue, there were two dogs and their owner on the sidewalk behind us, and one of them was a wiener dog. Of course I fed them, and the dogs enjoyed the dogs.

The crew didn’t mind that we only ate one dog each. Fujita stayed afterward to cook up some ‘ono steak hot dogs, which promptly disappeared. The dogs didn’t get those. Oh, yes — one was delivered to Dave Hisaka at the traffic management center a few blocks away, fresh out of the cooker.

How Long Would You Stand In Line For A 76-Cent Plate Lunch?

How about four hours and 15 minutes?

I got to cover this story, which is how I know that that’s how long friends Brandy Quinn, Debbie Loeffler and Suzie Yamamoto (pictured above) stood in line for a 76-cent plate lunch from the L&L Drive In inside the Ke`eaumoku WalMart. They also got commemorative t-shirts, which were given to the first one hundred people in line.

L&L first did this promotion last year to celebrate its 30th anniversary (if you already did the math, you figured out they opened in 1976). L&L’s president, Eddie Flores, Jr., said they had so much fun last year, they decided to do it again.
Just like last year, a line of hundreds snaked around the WalMart parking lot for the cheap eats, which were available only between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. today.

Once inside, people were able to get the food pretty quickly; L&L had prepared the three choices (chicken katsu, kalua pork & cabbage, and hamburger steak) in advance, so people just had to pony over their 76 cents, and get their lunch instantly. If you wanted a drink, it cost another dime.

By the way, all the proceeds go to Goodwill Industries of Hawai`i.

Will Flores and L&L be doing this again next year? “I’ll keep doing this every year until people don’t show up,” he said. Looks like this is going to be an annual event for some time to come.

The Moana Comes To Us

The Moana Surfrider, Waikiki’s oldest hotel, and one of its most elegant, is changing hands tomorrow, to be branded the Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort. For most of us, of course, it’s just the Moana.

General manager Erik Berger and Executive Sous Chef Kahau Manzo of the Moana brought the hotel — or at least the food and the setting — to the front deck to mark the changeover, which includes renovations and restorations to the 106 year-old hotel. Chef Manzo whipped up a lot of ono food, including salmon and other fish dishes, and some really good breakfast omelettes. One of them was eaten by another guest, actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who ate his breakfast at a dinner table on the deck with full linens and dinnerware. I would’ve taken a picture of that, too, but I was too busy eating.

Pineapples And Roller Coasters

On Thursday, our newscast had a bit of a double punch: Fred DeAngelo, owner and chef of Ola Restaurant, dropped in for a visit, along with spokesperson Merrissa Uchimura of the Wahiawa Pineapple Festival. Fred was great, being able to make two quick dishes in the allotted time (which is frankly, pretty short). When the newscast started years ago, Fred was the first regular weekly chef. And even though it’s been a few years since that regular weekly stint, he was able to get right back into it, just like riding a bike.

I helped him with one of the dishes, involving crepes with hazelnut chocolate sauce, quickly fried with some pineapple and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It will likely hold the record as the dish that had the briefest survival rate after it was cooked. During the commercial break right after the segment, the crew and guests descended upon the crepes and pineapple like ants with forks. By the time the break was over, the food was absolutely gone.

Thursday was also the day Dan went for a preview of the 50th State Fair at Aloha Stadium, including the “Wild Mouse,” the roller coaster pictured here. It ain’t something from Six Flags, but it’s still pretty impressive. And we’re also impressed that Dan went aboard for a few rides — he’s not a fan of roller coasters. And while the Wild Mouse didn’t change his mind, he says he still had fun.

She’s Part Of The Only Thing That We Had Actually Planned In Advance

This, of course, is Sweetie Pacarro, the Saturday morning producer for the Perry and Price Saturday morning show on KSSK. Sweeite was here as a spokesperson for Kraft foods, to show some summertime grilling tips.

Good thing she’s in broadcasting. Although her segments had been planned far in advance, breaking news made those appearances much shorter than they otherwise would have been. Fortunately, she understood completely why we were moving rather briskly through her segments, and adjusted accordingly.

One breaking news item, as you know, had to do with a drive-by shooting in Kane`ohe that left one man dead. Police were on a manhunt for two suspects in Hale`iwa while we were on the air. And we also had a two-alarm house fire that broke out before dawn, lighting up the dark sky with flames and leaving seven people homeless. Mahealani had live reports through the newscast to keep us updated. And then when the program was over, Dan headed to the North Shore, where police found a second suspect in the shooting. All in all, it was a busy day — and we’re glad Sweetie was here as well.

Beer & Clams From Kona Brewing Company

The folks from Kona Brewing Company at Koko Marina were on the newscast this morning, treating us to some great Wailua Wheat Ale, a beer brewed with passion fruit. (I only took a sip, I swear!) It tastes just like it sounds, and it ain’t bad, with a slight passion fruit aftertaste.

Beer chef Dan York used the brew to make some Wailua Wheat Ale Clams (also known as Kaiwi Clams on their menu). And they were absolutely delicious! York also served up some Kettle Chip crusted fish with Big Wave butteryaki sauce, which unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to photograph or even taste.

However, I can try this at home, and so can you. York was kind enough to share these recipes.

WAILUA WHEAT ALE CLAMS
1 TBL BUTTER
2 TBL CHOPPED GARLIC
¼ CUP DICED MAUI ONION
1 12 OZ BOTTLE WAILUA WHEAT ALE
1 TSP CLAM BASE
¾ CUP WATER
1 TBL BROWN SUGAR
2 TSP GRANULATED SUGAR
½ TSP KOSHER SALT
½ EACH JUICE OF ONE LEMON
½ LB MANILLA CLAMS

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and onion and sweat for two minutes.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
4. Add the clams and continue to boil until all of the clam shells have opened up.
5. Serve immediately.

BIG WAVE BUTTERYAKI SAUCE
1 Tbsp salad oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 12 oz. bottle of Kona Brewing Co. Big Wave Golden Ale
¾ cup shoyu
¾ cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
¼ cup chopped green onion
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 Tsp minced ginger
1 Tsp black sesame seeds
1 lb butter

1. Heat salad oil in a small saucepan until oil is shimmering then add garlic.
2. When garlic starts to brown, add the shoyu, sugar, and Big Wave Golden Ale and bring to a boil.
3. When foam settles, add cornstarch and water mixture and stir.
4. Remove from flame and add green onion, ginger, sesame seeds, and cilantro.
5. Cut butter into 1 inch cubes and stir into warm sauce.

Makes enough sauce for 8 orders.

Mahalo Dan for the recipes! Bon appetit!

Big City Meal

We featured Big City Diner at Pearlridge last week. If you were watching, you heard that Mahealani and I both ordered Kim Chee fried rice with two eggs, over easy. Dan took our orders before going out to the live remote and brought the plates back. And they were huge! This photo doesn’t do it justice, because it doesn’t show how deep the rice went.

Yes, I’ve eaten at Big City Diner before, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a take-out plate quite this big and heavy. I didn’t ask Mahealani if she was able to finish hers in one sitting. But I took two days.

Shawn’s Back! And Mahealani Has…Food?!

Mahealani is in Hilo for the Merrie Monarch Festival. And tonight, Shawn Ching returned after being on leave for a few months. So, in the spirit of the morning newscast, Mahealani had to show off some of the Big Island grinds to Shawn. But we actually got a preview. Our Merrie Monarch production crew had to send some videotapes from Hilo by air cargo to Honolulu, and along with the tapes — Big Island food from Mahaelani!

Thanks, Mahealani! And welcome back, Shawn!