VALENTINE’S BOXES SUPPORT CAUSE

The nonprofit Touch a Heart bakery is offering an array of signature cookies and biscotti bites, specially wrapped for Valentine’s Day.

Prices are $12 to $40 for different combinations. Proceeds from the group’s Baker’s Heart line benefit food service vocational training and apprenticeship programs for those facing barriers to employment.

A large Valentine’s box for $40 includes five-cookie packs of cranberry-chocolate chip, coconut- macadamia nut, sea salt chocolate caramel-coffee and espresso-white chocolate chip; and two 10-piece biscotti bites: cranberry-almond and chocolate-almond.

Order online at touchahearthawaii.org/bakersheart.

LUNAR NEW YEAR FEST A GO

Crave columnist Lynette Lo Tom has made a tradition of preparing a dinner at Mud Hen Water in celebration of the Lunar New Year.

That’s not practical in these pandemic times, so Tom and chefs Ed Kenney, Dave Caldiero and Alika Chung are instead collaborating on a seven-course takeout meal to be warmed up at home.

The dinner for two features a J. Ludovico Farm half-chicken with mochi rice stuffing and Mapo Tofu Lasagna, along with traditional jai. Cost is $120.

Order by Saturday at toasttab.com/ mudhenwater (scroll to the bottom of the menu to select the Good Luck dinner; the full menu also is posted there). Pickup is

2 to 5 p.m. New Year’s Day, Feb. 12, at Kaimuki Superette, Mud Hen’s sister restaurant, 3458 Waialae Ave. Questions: Email lynette@brightlightcookery.com.

STEAK MEETS SPIRITS IN HILO

New in Hilo: A restaurant that pairs premium steaks with a global selection of whiskeys. Whisky Steak Wine the Steakhouse, which goes by the nickname WSW, opened in the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel Saturday.

The menu showcases angus steaks and chops starting at $36 for 16 ounces of prime rib. A Tuesday special is a 32-ounce wagyu-grade tomahawk topped with truffle butter for $120. Seafood selections include a skillet of snow crab, Norway lobsters (langoustines), crayfish and clams for $87.

Spirits are poured by the glass from a tableside whiskey cart.

The new restaurant is on the lobby level of the hotel, with a view of Hilo Bay. Hours are 5 to 9 p.m. daily. Visit wswsteakhouse.com or call (808) 969-6470.

FILIPINO FORUMS

Filipino cuisine, the challenges facing its chefs and the evolution of the indigenous food of the homeland will be discussed in two free online events this month:

>> The Savor Filipino Summit-Hawaii: 1 to 4 p.m. Monday, offers panel discussions on defining Filipino food, branding, drawing media attention and surviving the pandemic as a business.

Eddie Flores Jr., founder of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, will give the keynote speech. Panelists are chefs, restaurateurs, business owners and media representatives.

Sponsored by the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu and the Filipino Food Movement. For a full schedule and registration go to filipinofoodmovement.org.

>> Pinoy Food Stories: Evolution of Philippine Cuisine: A five-week online course covers topics from foodways of the past to the international reach of Fili­pino food today. Classes run 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fridays, Feb. 12 to March 12.

Speakers include Pia Arbo­leda, executive director of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa; and Paolo Paculan of Manila, an author and teacher of Filipino language and literature, and consultant with the Mama Sita Foundation, which supports Philippine culinary heritage and agricultural sustainability.

It will be hosted by Markee Micu, a UH student organizer and member of the Philippine studies center.

For a schedule of topics and to register, go to pinoyfoodstories.weebly.com; for inquiries email pca62@ hawaii.edu.

Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.