New chef adds delightful twists to Bali menu

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort holds quarterly employee rallies that include themed competitions in which all the hotel chefs, up-and-coming to top-level, cook their hearts out. Employees vote for the winner — and that person perpetually was a chef in the banquet department, Benjie Cabutaje.

In November the Hilton put its AAA Four Diamond restaurant, Bali Steak & Seafood, in Cabutaje’s hands as chef de cuisine, and his food reached a larger audience.

The new chef has completed a makeover of Bali’s menu, offering dishes that are at once playful and elegant: classic dishes presented in new ways, with twists borne of his culture and creativity.

“I like playing with food,” he said, chuckling.

Meaning he likes to experiment with ingredients normally not found together. He often starts with foods common to his Filipino heritage and takes them to another level of cuisine, he said.

Cabutaje graduated from Thoburn Memorial Academy in the Philippines and from Gros Bonnet Culinary Academy in Honolulu.

His career has taken him through the banquet kitchens at the Hilton and the Moana Surfrider, then back to the Hilton.

Cabutaje considers Brooke Tadena, the Hilton’s executive sous chef, his mentor.

“Benjie’s inner drive, or ‘motor,’ sets him apart from everyone else,” Tadena said. “He flourishes with passion and creativity.”

AHI TARTARE

This dish is known throughout the restaurant industry, so Cabutaje’s twist was to create sturdy, gluten-free tapioca chips colored with squid ink in which to present the fish. The dish ($26) is served with wasabi tobiko (flavored flying fish roe) and dried ogo (seaweed) on a bed of bubu arare, or little spheres of mochi crunch. This fun plating touch also is a practical way to keep the chips and tartare upright.

WAGYU STEAK POKE

Cabutaje has re-imagined poke as a turf-and-surf appetizer ($25). The seasoned, seared steak cubes are served with briny ogo and sea asparagus, kukui nuts, poke sauce and hibiscus gel, topped with strips of dried red peppers that are mild enough for any palate. “When you look at it, it looks odd, but when you taste it together, oh wow, it’s like a party in your mouth,” he said.

SEARED DAYBOAT SCALLOPS

Scallops ($25) are plated with smoked bacon, wakame (seaweed) puree, creamed corn and tobiko with a rainbow of cauliflower florets and an impressive, red, lacy tuille reminiscent of coral, standing vertically. Cabutaje says the farmers who supply Bali inspired this dish. The wakame puree is made with chicken stock and yuzu juice to accentuate the flavors of the produce.