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Banana Leaf Italian Bistro, a closer look
Aloha!
11/9/09 - Can't say enough about a simply wonderful evening we had a couple of nights ago, at a relatively new Japanese restaurant in town called Yuzen. Chef and co-owner Edgar, wife Yuuko-san, co-owner Ramone, and Assistant Chef Rich are all a great bunch of folks, and Kumi and I had a blast with all of them, chatting the night away over fantastic Japanese cuisine, drinks, and a truly memorable evening that seemed almost like an outing between old friends! But instead of showing you a closer look of our highly enjoyable evening right away, we plan on returning agin, perhaps with Big Al, Da Gooch, and maybe a few other friends so I can show you even more of the menu, which is impressive, believe me! You definitely don't wanna miss it!
Also, I'm glad to hear that one of the rising young stars of the sushi world in Hawaii is now Head Chef at an entirely new restaurant located at the Atrium Shopping Center in Kaimuki, in the now-closed and vacated Bozu Restaurant. His name is James Matsukawa; the restaurant, Umi no Sachi. Chef James has the distinction of working at several high-profile spots on the island, including Tokkuri-tei and the true honor of a lengthy apprenticeship at Sasabune. They held a soft opening just a few nights ago, and for-sure-for-sure, we plan on checking it out within the next couple of weeks, but feel free to beat us to the punch!
And finally, another udon shop has arrived in the islands, and all I can say is - Jimbo-san, you better watch out! Go-Shi-Go on Keeaumoku St. occupies the same spot as now-closed Taishoken, which was one of the few places in Honolulu that made noodles from scratch. But no worries, as Go-Shi-Go also carries fresh-made noodles daily, but in the form of udon, not ramen! Trust me, this place has got the stuff, as do the first two spots covered earlier.
Meanwhile, in other news, we're headed-out to an entirely separate direction than above as we go from East to West and trade-in rice for pasta:
Banana Leaf Italian Bistro is the slightly fancier brother of Banana Leaf Pasta Cafe over at the McCully Shopping Center, with a more tricked-out menu, higher but still very reasonable prices, and an atmosphere that is clean, well-designed, and pleasant on the eyes. You can tell the place wasn't just slapped together by any ol' contractor, but was orchestrated professionally and in lock-step with the entire theme of the restaurant, which is always good to know. I mean, you just get the feeling that this wasn't a low-budget, piece-meal operation, but something the owners put a lot of planning into, from top to bottom and beginning to end, and it shows the second you step foot into the restaurant.
Ok, it ain't a palace or chic nightclub, but still, nice 'n cozy, with a kind of modern take on Europe that still manages to capture a bit of rustic charm, mostly through soft, pastel paintings, a cool faux brick/stone wall design, and bright-white, boxed windows. In fact, they coulda even added more flowers inside, perhaps even hanging vines or trellises, and maybe a small Roman fountain or something, complete with naked guy peeing into the water if need be, and it still would've kept its rather stylishly minimalistic character and feel, without thought at all of reaching or getting into foo-foo territory. Aaai liked it:
While Banana Leaf Pasta Cafe keeps it simple with things like pizza, sandwiches, appetizers, a few risottos, and simple pastas, Banana Leaf Italian Bistro carries all the above but seeks to also expand on the higher-end products as well, such as King Crab legs ($22.95), Osso Bucco alla Lombardy ($25.95), beef tenderloin w/Marsala wine demi-glace ($23.95), pollo (chicken) alla piccata ($15.25), and fettuccine alla Aragosta ($26.95), or lobster meat fettuccine.
But first thing's first, and before asking, here's a serving of white bread to start the meal. Yeah, no olive oil and balsamic vinegar with sprinkles of fresh herbs, but no worries - this bread was soft, cloud-white, perfectly warmed, and very moist and fluffy both times I've been here.
There are a few genuine steal's here to mention, all from a short list of special complete meals, which doesn't include dessert, but does offer either a soup or salad with your choice of entree, and all for just under $10! Not too shabby, ey? I was a bit hesitant about Kumi choosing a shrimp spaghettini from this list, however, as I surmised, judging from the special price, that they'd shrink it down to the size of a French horse' dourve or something! When the plate arrived, however, I was more than happy and surprised to see that her plate was just as large as my regular order!
What can I say about an Italian pasta meal, complete with soup or salad and warm roll, that costs maybe a buck more than a plate lunch and drink? While it wasn't a dish I'd be recommending to a friend at the office, I really can't complain much, not at these prices. I just couldn't help notice that the cream sauce was a bit, uh, ordinary, and lacking in any real complexity at all, like something made from scratch with fresh ingredients always is. Eeeh, a little extra parmesan and a smidgeon more of chili pepper flakes, and it was aaalll good.
The soup that came before it, however, helped raise the bar immensely:
This tangy, tomato-based vegetable soup hit the spot for both of us, coming with a light and refreshingly acidic base and with just the right amount of fresh vegetables like eggplant, carrot, onion, and potato. It seemed to hit a perfect balance of home-style goodness and fine restaurant savvy, the kind that leaves you with warm feelings inside (the home-style side) but also accolades to the Chef for his learned skills in the kitchen (the restaurant-savvy side).
It's always a curious change of events when I order a red sauce and Kumi orders white (the same goes for wine!), but this was precisely the case, as I opted for a fettucini alla Amatoriciana, or pancetta bacon and onion sauteed in a spicy tomato sauce:
$12.95? I'd say it was well worth the price! It's really a very simple dish, with lots of tasty, smoky-sweet cuts of pancetta, which always kicks things up a knotch and reminds me of Emeril and the Baaaam! every time. The tomato sauce was light and not over-bearing, with onions mixed-in to also balance and mellow the strong flavors of pancetta.
Another occasion here saw mom ordering a shrimp and scallop fettuccine in cream sauce ($15.95):
The sauce was pretty much identical to Kumi's shrimp spaghettini shown earlier, and with roughly the same amount of shrimp, but with the addition of scallops, as well. Both seafood items were delicious and cooked well, arriving crunchy-tender, moist, and sweet, as perfectly-done seafoods should be.
My order on this particularly fabulous day was a trio shrimp spaghettini in basil pesto($16.95), with bay shrimp, grilled tiger shrimp, and a single, whole, stuffed shrimp on-top:
I gotta say, I was a bit disappointed when the dish finally arrived, not so much because it was a terrible dish, but more because it looked nothing like the bright, beautiful pictures presented on the menu! In fact, the whole, gorgeous-looking prawns with their long, sexy pincers depicted in all the shrimp pics were steamed and bright-red, but the one presented to me was obviously baked, with any sign of pincers completely absent!
I don't know what this shrimp was stuffed with, but it didn't have much taste or character at all, and the total amount given was very small. On the other hand, the crispy-charred shrimp legs were delicious, as were the tiger shrimp tails that were cooked to perfection, just as in the other shrimp dishes above. I must say, I wish the basil pesto sauce was a lot thicker and more pronounced, but maybe that's just the local-boy in me craving a stronger taste.
But all in all, it seems a predominant theme here is that the sauces are very light in both taste and application, except, that is, for the texture of the cream sauces, which were very much on the creamy, thick side. You won't get a whole lot of Italian authenticity at Banana Leaf Italian Bistro, that's for sure, but what you will get is a great atmosphere and some very reasonably-priced dishes. Except for some of the more high-ticket items, which you'll never find cheap anywhere, the bulk of the menu remains below $15. I hear the crab risotto, at $16.95, is very good, coming with bits of real crab and topped with a deep-fried soft-shell crab, but I haven't yet tried it personally.
Geez, I'm gone for only a couple of weeks, and it seems I've a lotta catching-up to do! I heard from someone that the excellent yakiniku house Toraji has now closed, and also Chef Donato's Pasta Basta at Restaurant Row? Wow. Getting tough here these days, I tell you!
Hey, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! I gotta work right through, with an over-nighter shift, too, so no hibachi for us this time! Hope you're luck is better!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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