We all know that food serves as more than mere sustenance. Food is a source of joy, a symbol of connection and conviviality, a balm for the lonely and an enemy of dieters.
During this pandemic, the idea that food is medicine rings true in more ways than one, as it has become a mechanism for getting through the day.
Conversations with those who peddle food has led me to uncover three categories of coping styles that have grown out of this stressful situation:
1. Embracing healthy food: This group of eaters has been proactive in taking steps to stay healthy and boost immunity by cutting the bad stuff out of their diets and adding more nutritionally sound fruits, veggies, spices, prebiotics and probiotics.
2. Drown your sorrows: A boost in alcohol sales suggests some people find the most comfort in tuning out. Let’s not go there.
3. Comfort on a plate: When things are amiss, some long for happier days, and comfort foods contribute to a sense of restored order. Desserts play a big role because they often take us back to childhood times, when worries were few.
Desserts and sweets have the power to lift spirits and bring smiles. It’s the reason that even in these hard times, lines continue to form when there’s the promise of a treat at the end.
HOLEY GRAIL DONUTS
Ward Centre; 650-3164
Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays to Sundays
>> Also on Kauai at 5-5100 Kuhio Ave.; call 808-212-7147; open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays to Sundays
Holey Grail Donuts got its start two years ago as a Sunday-only pop-up operating out of a burger truck in Hanalei, Kauai. Lines were long, more days were added and soon demand for doughnuts outstripped that for burgers, so brother- and-sister owners Nile and Hana Dreiling decided to go all in on the sweets.
All the while they had been envisioning an all-natural sustainable doughnut, and their signature taro doughnut was born.
History is repeating itself now that Holey Grail has arrived on Oahu, operating out of a sunshine-yellow food truck at Ward Centre’s Diamond Head end.
When weekend pop-ups brought lines in late August, Friday service was added, and a permanent Ward Village site is in the works.
Before getting into the doughnut biz, Nile was an ecological engineer and Hana was a personal chef. Nile said they were obsessed with doughnuts even as children, and Hana has developed their 60 flavor profiles, rotated in and out of the menu, four at a time, each weekend.
Each doughnut will set you back $4 (a tasting box of four is $15), because all ingredients are prepared fresh.
Recent examples include Wild Guava, a taro doughnut glazed with a sauce of wild-foraged strawberry guavas and finished with a sprinkling of local bee pollen, and the “L&L” rolled in Meyer lemon sugar and dotted with Tahitian lime curd and finger lime caviar.
“We developed the product to be something we wanted to eat and that we could feel good about sharing, without the guilt of eating something poor for your health,” Nile said.
Doughnuts are cooked to order. Each takes two minutes to fry in coconut oil, and about another minute to be dressed, hence the long waits when most people decide to go for the tasting box.
Liquid refreshments include a matcha latte, Holy Chaiand vegan chocolate “mylk” of coconut, cashews, cacao, organic maple and sea salt.
HALEKULANI CHEFS GO SOLO
A few weeks after the first shutdown in March, Alison Yokouchi, on furlough from the Halekulani Hotel, was one of the handful of pastry chefs around town called to participate in a pop-up bake sale at Restaurant XO.
Soon after, she got a call from Ethel’s Grill owners Robert and Minaka Urquidi to also offer her cookies and banana pudding at their Kalihi mom-and-pop restaurant.
She’s grateful for the support that got her off her couch and back into the kitchen.
“There definitely is a market there. Everyone is looking for little indulgences, the little things that make them happy. They’re looking for a lot of comfort food and the small-kid-time stuff, like banana pudding and plain chocolate chip cookies or something colorful, like confetti cookies.
“It’s all very different from what I was doing a year ago, which was very upscale desserts … I don’t think people really want that now. They just want simple, very nostalgic stuff.”
At Ethel’s, she offers a handful of packaged items daily, such as cookies, granola and banana-brown butter mochi cake. More items come out on Saturdays, when Yokouchi is there in person, including chilled desserts such as her banana pudding and chocolate pudding trifle.
Her favorite thing to make is her Valrhona triple chocolate brownies, “just because of the smell of the brown butter and chocolate while it’s baking.”
Although she longs to have her job back, she said she’s grateful for the demand that keeps her using her skills. “I was worried I was gonna fall out of the practice of working. I need to keep going because I don’t want to lose that ability to keep up the pace.”
Find Yokouchi at Ethel’s Grill, 232 Kalihi St.; 847-6467. Open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays.
MARY JOY Tanap, a banquet cook at the Halekulani, sat out much of the early months of the pandemic, hoping the hotel would reopen.
“I thought that we would have gone back to work by July, but when that didn’t happen, I had to find something to do until the end of the year into next year.”
She’d been keeping up with what others were doing via Instagram, and a widespread interest in baking led her to experiment in her own kitchen.
Last month she began offering baked goods for sale and was surprised how quickly she was able to grow an audience through Instagram.
Her specialties include ube cheesecake, chocolate malt cheesecake brownies and her own version of pastel de nata, the Portuguese egg tart with a filling like a Filipino-style leche flan. They come in vanilla custard or haupia cream flavors.
She’s wondering if her baking business is something she wants to continue when a return to work can begin. “I’m not sure what I want to do. Everything still feels pretty unreal.”
Order via Instagram at @tofubx.
JEJUBING DESSERT CAFE
Ala Moana Center, lower level, makai side, near See’s Candies; 468-7620
Open noon to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and noon to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Christian Lee grew up with local-style shave ice, but after visiting his mom’s native South Korea a few years ago, was blown away by their version of shave ice, bingsu. “It was different, very fluffy and delicious,” Lee said. “It’s hard to explain. People have to try it to understand.”
Fast-forward — Lee opened Jejubing Dessert Cafe at Ala Moana Center three weeks ago, “the wrong time to open,” he said, but he’s optimistic his bingsu will sell itself.
“It’s very addictive. I’ve seen the same people come back for more four to six times in two weeks.”
The cafe is named for his mother, who hails from Jeju Island, though his style of bingsu can be found throughout Korea, where the most popular flavor is injeolmi ($7.95 regular, $10.95 large). That summery milk shave ice is topped with sweet red bean paste, mini mochi, almond flakes and a generous dusting of roasted soybean flour that can make you feel like you’re choking on the dry powder.
For that reason, locals may prefer the sweetness of fresh mango or strawberry bingsu ($8.95/$11.95). Many people have trouble deciding between the two, so recently combo orders have been allowed.
Other flavors include Oreo, green tea, tiramisu and black sesame.
Injeolmi toast is also available in several flavors, but this carb-filled mochi sandwich doesn’t have the sweetness most dessert lovers crave.
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
