If your mouth waters over a menu of triggerfish nitsuke, braised pork belly, twice-cooked duck and a lemon-black tea semifreddo with strawberry coulis and candied pistachio nuts, you’re not alone.
Judges at the national Jeunes Chefs Rotisseurs Competition on Saturday had the same response, and they named Hawaii’s Shaylyn Funasaki runner-up for her tasty lineup.
Competitors in the Charleston, S.C., competition made appetizers, an entree and dessert with a basket of mystery ingredients: whole duck, triggerfish, Chinese red bean, mung beans, loose-leaf black tea, a block of salted butter, pork belly and cheese.
Funasaki, 26, is a recent graduate of Leeward Community College’s culinary program and now a pastry student at Kapiolani Community College, is also a pastry cook at MW Restaurant. The competition, open to chefs under age 27, brought together 10 regional winners from across the country. Funasaki represented the Hawaii-Pacific region.
NEW ON THE STREET
Two new food stations opened last week at The Street Food Hall at the International Market Place, chef Michael Mina’s grab-and-go venue on the ground floor of the center:
>> Indie Girl: A wellness bar that has merged with the Lamill coffee bar, offering such items as the Banzai Pipeline with black bean dirty rice topped with long beans, carrots and greens. A veggie burger made with roasted beets and brown rice is featured in a vegan loco moco and in a sandwich with mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts and avocado. Hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
>> The Street Test Kitchen: Modeled on a similar outlet in San Francisco, the test kitchen allows Mina and his chef team to try out new menu items. The menu will include a changing roster of dishes being judged for possible placement in a Mina Group restaurant. First on trial are poke bowls and rolls, among them a salmon and kim chee roll or bowl, and another made with shrimp, shredded green papaya and coconut Sriracha. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
PIZZA, POPCORN FOR A CAUSE
Support the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii by having a meal at California Pizza Kitchen or a bag of popcorn at a Consolidated Theatre.
Today and on May 30, CPK restaurants will donate 20 percent of diners’ checks to the charity. Diners must bring a flier, available through 808ne.ws/cpkdonate.
Consolidated will donate all the proceeds of a special $2 popcorn.
The goal of the Great Futures Day promotion is to raise $250,000 toward the youth programs supported by the Boys & Girls Club.
Donations are also being accepted online at 808ne.ws/greatfutures.
Quickbites is a weekly listing of dining events. Email items to crave@staradvertiser.com.
