Creating a healthful kitchen seems to come easily to a generation of up-and-coming chefs raised on quinoa and açai, but crossing over to greener platters represents a big step for one of Hawaii’s premier chefs.
By his own admission, Chai Chaowasaree isn’t a poster child for healthful eating, but over time, watching people he knew decline from diseases and conditions like Alzheimer’s, he said, “It’s so sad to see someone go through it. Even if they’re not aware what’s happening to them, you see how it also affects the people who care about them.
“I wanted to know more about what causes Alzheimer’s and what might prevent it, so I started doing research, reading and reading, so when I wanted to start a new restaurant, I knew what I wanted to do was go in a healthy direction.
“I know it’s a trend, but if it’s something I can do to help a little bit when people go out to eat, and if every chef does the same thing, it will do a lot of good. So it’s good to start.”
That’s not to say mainstream diners won’t find all their favorite meats and seafood on the menu.
“I like a lot of protein. I like carbs. I don’t believe in vegetarian or vegan diets. I believe in moderation,” Chaowasaree said.
What he’s done, for starters, is take the butter out of his kitchen, add more vegetables and cut some of the fat and sodium out of his dishes. Those who don’t know about the switches probably won’t miss a thing because it isn’t in-your-face health food. For all they know, Chef Chai is an upscale restaurant with a big-city, jewel-box interior and a heavenly ceiling of cloudlike lamps, perfect for date night. Those who do know about the menu changes will appreciate the consideration for their well-being.
One example is his lobster bisque, thickened and flavored with roasted butternut squash instead of butter and topped with a crispy seafood dumpling for added oomph.
My first thought was that it was grainier than a regular lobster bisque, with the vegetable substituting for the butter, but it was a satisfying solution.
The menu seems overwhelming at first, but that’s just because the front pages are a compendium of Chaowasaree’s food tips and top-10 lists, as in the top 10 vegetables to lower blood pressure, top 10 vegetables for weight loss, plus veggie cures for what ails you, such as rosemary for coughs and curry powder to ease achy joints, and the omega-3 and vitamin content of various fish on the menu.
If you liked the menu at his former Chai’s Island Bistro, you’ll be glad to find such appetizer returnees as a Japanese eggplant and zucchini soufflé with tomato basil sauce ($15) and gravlax salmon roulade with cream cheese and crab meat on rounds of cucumber ($13). His signature kataifi prawns also make a comeback on an appetizer platter for two ($35), also featuring the salmon roulade, Alaskan king crab cake, goat cheese wontons and the aforementioned lobster bisque as shooters.
What’s new is a more extravagant summer roll with spicy grilled garlic gochujang shrimp and crisp apple kim chee ($14). And one of my favorites is a rich-tasting seafood tortellini ($13) with lobster sauce, sautéed corn and edamame. I could swear it has butter in it, but no, Chaowasaree insists, adding anyone can check his monthly invoices from Y. Hata & Co.
He has also eliminated butter from his catering operation and has cut its use at Hawaiian Airlines, coming up with a 50 percent Okinawan sweet potato butter for travelers to use on their bread.
As for entrees, you have a choice of lowering your blood pressure by choosing a healthful veggie stir-fry ($19) or veggie terrine of asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, red and yellow bell pepper, purple sweet potato and butternut squash, wrapped with thin layers of eggplant.
If all this sounds a little too healthful, you can find your bliss guilt-free with nearly melt-in-your-mouth New Zealand king salmon ($32) slick with kabayaki sauce, grilled Mongolian lamb chops with brandy demi ($39) or pork osso bucco ($37) prepared with an Asian-style brown sauce perfumed with cinnamon, cloves and star anise. The only thing missing is the marrow.
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Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
