As 2013 comes to a close, it’s time to look back and savor the flavors and food memories we shared, and the friendships forged over ramen bowls, green drinks, pricey beef and dessert platters. I look forward to more culinary excitement in 2014. Happy New Year!

We embraced new cuisines

For the longest time, ethnic food in this city meant standard Mexican, Italian and Asian options, and not much else. Restaurateurs were reluctant to introduce new cuisines because of a conservative dining climate.

But a new generation of diners weaned on novelty and the Internet seeks the new and trending. Each new cuisine now becomes a notch in one’s belt and a source of bragging rights.

This year, Rico Rico Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken introduced a small taste of South America, Kan Zaman brought the Middle East to the heart of Honolulu, and Dagon opened up the wonderful world of Burmese cuisine. A French-South American restaurant is slated to open soon on Hotel Street. Can’t wait to see what that’s like.

Noodle love

Within a matter of weeks in October, it seemed one noodle shop after another opened, sending ramen aficionados rushing to see whether the newbies lived up to, not Hawaii, but Japan standards.

Lines formed at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka outside Don Quijote but dissipated when ramen lovers learned the best thing on the menu is neither broth nor noodle, but the tender toroniku cha-shu (simmered pork cheek).

Agu at 925 Isenberg St. became the shop to beat with its rich tonkotsu broth and delicate noodles.

Japanese Ramen Kai opened at 1430 Kona St., and though not new, Kiwami Ramen moved from Waikiki to 641 Keeaumoku St. (near Panda) to be closer to the local action. It’s known for its tsukemen, or dipping-style noodle, with bright acidic flavors that tend to be more popular in Tokyo than Honolulu.

For those who prefer the chewy texture of udon, Marukame Udon added a second location, at Fort Street Mall, for noodle enthusiasts downtown.

Dessert reinvented

Oh, chocolate cake, wherefore art thou? Desserts were once all about ending a meal on a sweet note, but next-gen pastry chefs are challenging the diner to try a taste of the sour, bitter and savory in final courses that sometimes resemble appetizers more than finales. They offer combinations such as goat cheese ice cream and arugula, or white chocolate yuzu bavoraise (Belgian cream) finished with candied basil.

Desserts at Chef Mavro, MW Restaurant, Arancino at the Kahala and Vintage Cave are now deconstructed and reconfigured so your chocolate cake or tiramisu may take the form of meringues, granular crystals or liquid-filled spheres, the various components carefully arranged like edible sculpture.

Of course, not everyone likes people messing with their dessert, so the equal and opposite reaction has been a return to old-fashioned treats such as kanten, brownie fluff, cobblers and dense chocolate served up at The Little Oven. Ice cream sandwiches are also making a comeback, whether sandwiched between homemade cookies or thin-sliced pieces of cake.

We drank our veggies

Smoothie joints have proliferated in the post-Jamba Juice era. While sweet blends allow us to feel good about getting our daily dose of fruits, more people are adding vitamins and reducing sugar content by tossing vegetables into the mix.

Whole Foods Market makes it easy to  pick up the likes of ginger-beet juice or kale-apple juice. Diamond Head Cove won over clientele with the likes of its "Sunrise at the Cove" blend of celery, lemon, apple, ginger, beet and carrot; Uncle Clay’s House of Pure Aloha is winning converts to its kale-spinach shave-ice syrup; and Blue Tree Cafe turned juicing into a catalyst for changing one’s life with its cleanse programs. (More on this next week, or visit my "Take a Bite" blog to see how I fared on this five-day liquid detox.)

Rising Stars set up shop

Two of the most highly anticipated openings of fall 2013 were the arrival of MW Restaurant from husband and wife Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka in the former KGMB building, and The Pig & the Lady at Lemongrass Cafe by chef Andrew Le and family.

All three chefs, named Rising Stars in 2012 by StarChefs.com, lived up to their honors. All put in stints at experimental dining space Taste on Auahi Street before opening their permanent spaces.

Another Taste vendor most likely to go solo in 2014 is Onda Pasta.

Taste, as we know it, will come to an end next spring to make way for more changes in Our Kakaako. But folks involved promise it will go out in style with an all-star lineup of next-generation chefs, including Mark Noguchi, Chris Kajioka and Lee Anne Wong.

Go west young chef

There’s an ebb and flow to restaurants coming and going in the heart of Honolulu, but what I’ve noticed is that on the west side, restaurants have staying power. The dearth of restaurants on the Leeward side means that people have little choice but to patronize, if not love, the ones they’re with.

Last year saw the addition of Peter Merrimen’s Monkeypod Kitchen, and Motoko "Moco" and Isamu Kubota’s Sushi YuZu in Ko Olina. El Mariachi and the Italian restaurant Le Nonne opened in Kapolei Shopping Center.

According to the West Oahu Economic Development Association, the area population is expected to increase 4 percent to more than 218,500 by 2016, with consumer spending in the region increasing from $3.6 billion in 2011 to more than $4 billion in 2016. Considering this little demographic detail, I’d say there’s room for more restaurants.

High-end comeback

After years of belt-tightening, the number of pricey restaurants opening seemed to suggest an economic comeback. It all made it harder for me to stick to my budget when dinners for two without alcohol easily hit the $200 mark at Arancino at the Kahala, Sushi Ginza Onodera and Signature Steak & Seafood, which brought life back into the longtime empty Top of the Ala Moana Hotel. Budnamujip also took the cost of a Korean barbecue to new heights.

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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.