The scent of doughnuts wafts through the garage at Chinatown Cultural Plaza. It’s been that way since Regal Bakery moved in, offering its familiar mix of local plate lunches and cake doughnuts. The spot is a great convenience for the downtown business crowd in search of a quick lunch and the early morning pick-me-up of breakfast or omiyage doughnuts.
What’s new opposite the pastry showcase is the steam rising from tabletop burners in the dining room, where the hot pot is a new addition to the diner’s usual menu. It’s available day and night but is particularly geared toward the dinner crowd, at a time when downtown/Chinatown starts emptying.
During the day, when plate lunches of honey garlic chicken ($8.95), barbecue short ribs ($12.95) and pot roast pork ($9.95) are in demand, staffers aren’t quite prepared to deliver the kind of table service the hot pot requires. They’re too busy working the counters. But when you do get their attention, they aim to please.
The hot pot is still in an early experimental stage, and at this point won’t supplant your favorite spot. Meatballs, seafood balls and won tons arrive straight from the freezer, and for me there are not enough condiments. This won’t matter to purists lured by the healthier aspect of the Chinese hot pot, who don’t require much in the way of oils, herbs and spices. But, once you settle in and start cooking, like the ice on the dumplings, your reservations start melting away. The comfort quotient wins you over.
To start, take your pick of seven MSG-free soup bases. The most popular is the Healthy Soup ($7.95), a milky white soy broth accented with goji berries, dragon eye fruit, Chinese yam and tangerine peel. Unique to this restaurant is the soupy jook ($7.95), a light rice soup. Those who love chilies but have never found a hot pot fiery enough will love the hot spicy soup ($7.95) here, with all its runny nose- and cough-inducing charm. I love this soup for flavor, and the Healthy Soup is a nice yin to its yang, if you want to pay an extra $2 for a split pot.
On another visit I ordered the Thai Curry ($7.95) broth, but the cook apparently didn’t read the menu. Instead of the red curry and coconut milk combo I was expecting, I was served yellow curry. Oh well. I took solace in layering on some chili oil.
About those sauces, I’m not really sure how much is offered. Everything comes out of the kitchen instead of from a help-yourself array at the table or a condiment bar. On a first visit our server simply delivered a garlic-butter mixture and a soy-green onion sauce. Limited, but they worked.
On the next visit, I was offered one choice of four sauces, but I only remember mild and spicy. I got the impression you could ask for anything, and if they have it, they’ll bring it.
From there, select one of four combos: vegetarian ($15.95 small, $21.95 large), seafood ($19.95, $34.95), meat lover’s ($18.95, $34.95) or super deluxe ($28.95, $44.95). The small easily feeds two.
In the super deluxe combo is a mix of vegetables, tofu, enoki and shimeji mushrooms, clams, fish balls, Chinese-style orange peel-perfumed meatballs, shrimp won tons and look funn noodles. All the combos come with look funn, different from other hot-pot establishments, which typically offer ramen noodles.
The meat lover’s combo isn’t as meaty as the name implies. Due to the voluminous nature of won bok, mustard cabbage and other greens, the prime rib, beef balls and chicken take up only about a third of the platter. Thankfully, a vast supplemental menu allows you to add anything from Spam ($2.95), Vienna sausage ($2.95) and lup cheong ($2.95) to lamb ($9.95), rib eye ($9.95), beef tendon ($4.95), tripe ($6.95) and cow tongue ($6.95).
You won’t leave hungry, but for those who require dessert, the doughnuts will beckon. More refreshment comes in the form of cold teas ($3.95) pumped up with tapioca pearls, grass jelly (75 cents more) or custard ($1 more); smoothies ($4.50); or shaved ice ($3.95).
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
BITE SIZE
Traditional jin dui, supersized
Whether or not you believe in superstition or ritual to enhance your luck, it is a pleasure to embrace the Chinese custom of enjoying jin dui — the deep-fried, bean paste-filled, sesame-coated rice-flour balls — during the Lunar New Year.
The belief is that the sticky mochi reflects on family harmony and togetherness, and the sticking power of good fortune, while the golden-brown color of the orbs — the color of gold coins — symbolizes abundance and wealth.
As to where to get them, apparently lightning does strike twice. Jin dui has a tendency to be greasy and leaden. But I Love Country Cafe, which only a few months ago introduced the Hokkaido bun manapua, now offers jumbo-size jin dui with such a thin, airy, light and crisp exterior that each is presented in a cup to help it hold its shape.
You’ll be surprised when you gulp down the softball-size specimen in seconds. Was it real or just a dream?
Look for jumbo jin dui at the Ala Moana Center Food Court, at $2 each through the month. Normal-size jin dui are $1.10 each, and Lunar New Year sticky gau is available by the piece ($1.25) or pound ($4.99).
Bite Size documents the new, the small, the unsung.
