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Cafe Miro, a closer look
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Aloha!
2/7/10 - Yup, it's one of the biggest little secrets in town. Cafe Miro in Kaimuki is the home of France-trained Japanese Chef Shigeru Kobayashi, where the gourmet fare is basically French, but also reveals glimpses into both Japanese and Hawaii Regional Cuisine, as well. Though virtually unknown, or at least as yet unexperienced, by all but the most consistent of foodies, Cafe Miro has actually been around now for almost 12 years, consistently drawing-in regulars as well as a sizeable contingent of Japanese National's, who are made aware even before the majority of locals because of the wide scope and circulation of advertising in the islands through Japanese print and media. Chef Kobayashi-san began with only a small portion of what he began with, virtually doubling the size of his restaurant just a few short years ago, after already having proved himself successfull.
From the outside, Cafe Miro blends inconspicuously with its neighboring tenants facing Waialae Ave., the main street cutting through mid-Kaimuki, almost resembling a hole-in-the-wall, with very little in the way of loud and heady visuals to draw attention to itself. Why, it looks much like any other Waialae Avenue dessert shop, okazuya, or small retail store from the street, its humble manner concealing the hidden treasures that lay inside.
Located between 8th and 9th Avenue's, in the one-story facility hugging the 9th Ave. side, there's usually enough parking in the lot it shares with Hawaii National Bank, which is just behind the property and accessed from 9th Ave. Keep in mind you can park anywhere in the lot only after the bank closes at 6pm, otherwise, street parking may also be available.
You know, I once thought of Chefs in general as right-brain thinkers, the artsy, ethereal, holistic type of person that goes with the flow of a subjective mind and wild imagination, instead of the seemingly more rigid left-brain thinkers, who value order and build upon a highly statistical and structured mind-set. These days, however, I'm beginning to think that Chefs are more of the latter mind, as I now view highly-regarded Chefs as more engineer and chemist than writer and artist. I guess both sides do build upon eachother, and the best build upon a foundation of structured learning and objectivity first, then apply that little something extra, that flash of originality, that intuitive, out-of-the-box creativity that separates a good job from an outright masterpiece!
When Einstein said that "the imagination is more important than knowledge," yeah, that inspires all of us to no end and offers every little boy and girl out there hope to dream of the impossible, but spoken later in life, it was easy for him to say that, because he already had more knowledge than just about anyone in the history of mankind! In other words, he had already substantially built his base, his foundation, his... left-brained side? Without that under-girding, there would be no Einstein today! Yeah, I guess had he not coupled that with the imagination of his right-brain-side, there would yet be no Einstein, just the same. Both are necessary. However, which came first?
Or maybe I shouldn't be saying more engineer than artist. Perhaps I should be saying first, engineer, then, artist? By golly, Aku, I think you've cleared your psyche better than your own personal shrink. Not that anyone else cares, genius-in-your-own-mind.
I'm only talking to myself on the matter because Chef Shigeru Kobayashi is a bit of a prodigy himself, and seems to flourish not only in fine cuisine, a highly dedicative science as well as art form, but also in other areas, as well - did you know he built just about the entire dining room with his own hands? I mean, how many of us have ever even attempted to build an entire table or living room set before, much less, while also building your own menu? That takes a whole lot of knowledge, skills, and yes... imagination, as well.
Here's a few scenes from Chefs' largely hand-made lair:
The place does have a nice feel to it. There's enough sophistication and upscale ambience to merit special occasions, but is also very homely and casual, with warm, earthy tones of wood, faux stone, spring-time flowers, and, interestingly enough, a ubiquitious, but not overly-controlling nor intrusive tone of light pink throughout the dining room. It's modern and contemporary, yet with a country-style, village-like, slightly Mediterranean accent. I like it.
Kumi and I sat right at the bar instead of a table, where the vantage point was perfect - seated high, facing the rest of the dining room, and with an open peek into the kitchen, not to mention the open bar, we had a birds-eye view of the entire operation in action. And the action did get hot 'n heavy, believe me. When needed, bartenders played waiters, managers played bartenders, and everyone played everyone else's roles when called upon, as most are long-time employee's that know exactly how the restaurant ticks. Our main server was Grant, the jovial and friendly bartender who kept us laughing the entire night, although several other folks also provided prompt attention and service, as well.
The menu here at Cafe Miro offers only two options - three-course and four-course price-fix menus. However, left unsaid are plenty of diversions. Each course comes with a choice of several different dishes and there are a few side dishes in addition. Plus, being the affable, easy-going place it is, you can also try your luck at special requests (no guarantees, though!), and there are often specials available off-menu. Be sure to talk to your waiter. Though the largest option (four course fixe) may seem like very little compared to lavish 10 or 15-course meals at comparable restaurants, know that there is an appetizer tasting plate, where you'll receive no less than five different dishes in a single course!
Perhaps even more important a matter are costs. Three-course menus are, with single appetizer, a very respectable $38, while the four-course meals are listed as an astounding $49! For this kind of quality and variety, I can't think of anyone else on-par!
Check out this gorgeous platter, housing four of the five appetizer dishes on the tasting plate (forgive the Coleman in the background!):
From bottom, an ahi carpaccio with wasabi mayo, crisped garlic, green onion, and a light ginger sauce:
A tiny oyster escargot-style, broiled with herb garlic butter:
Uni (sea urchin) in carrot gelee:
Salad of honey-drizzled prosciutto and mozzarella, topped with roasted walnuts:
And the last fifth of this incredible appetizer tasting plate, a kind of house-made tapenade over crisped bread and a lox 'n bagels off-shoot, with cured King Salmon, salmon caviar, and dill vinaigrette, all wrapped in a crepe-like, delicate shell:
Appetizers are typical of the small, fun, tapas-like dishes I luuuv seeing anytime dining at a fine establishment like this. There's no better way to sample the best of any Chefs' offerings. Not only are there the excellent choices found above, but others as well, such as a beef tataki with sliced Maui onion, paprika, and garlic soy sauce; a warm seafood salad with orange yuzu vinaigrette; and a variety of other choices not even found on the menu. I'd prefer one dish served at a time, and even more so if each were paired with a small wine pouring, but no worries. Actually, while the menu doesn't recommend a pairing for each dish, there are several house wine choices of red, white, or dessert, and bartender Grant, the waiters, manager, and even Chef Kobayashi-san himself are more than happy to recommend wines for each respective dish.
Kumi and I actually started with Budweiser, but after the appetizer platter was presented, that just would not do! It was like eating foie gras or caviar out of a Styrofoam take-out container on lunch break at the construction site - it just didn't match! Still good, by the way, just not optimal!
With the staffs' expert guidance, here's four of the wines we were paired with tonight:
Splitting our first glass of white wine, a 2008 Chardonnay from Tunnel of Elms Winery in Napa, California, we enjoyed the sweet, crisp taste with all the appetizers, as well as with our second courses, in her case, a couple of sauteed Hokkaido scallops in honey curry cream sauce:
With shiitake mushrooms, blanched or sauteed greens, a braised garlic piece, and a two-sauce combo that was pleasing on both the eye and tongue, there was a great fusion of flavors all coming together in one dish - near-eastern curries, Asian greens and mushrooms, and light, buttery French sauces to bolster a perfectly-cooked duo of scallops. Doesn't get any better!
There were only two choices for the second course, the other a days' catch. Upon asking, and realizing the catch was opakapaka, I quickly jumped on the opportunity:
Yup, it tasted as fabulous as it looked! Sitting on a bed of grilled vegetables, lightly sauteed, drizzled with an almond buerre noisette (browned butter), and topped with sliced almonds and fresh herbs, the delicate, white flesh fell apart in large, perfectly moist, silky flakes, revealing why opakapaka is the cooked fish of choice with island Chefs.
As for main choice entrees, there are several to choose from. Besides the two you'll see in just a bit, there is a roasted breast of chicken with Morel cream sauce; sauteed pork tenderloin with tomato caper sauce; roasted duck breast with balsamic vinegar reduction; beef tenderloin steak with garlic teriyaki; and Prime Rib steak with choice of three sauces - daikon fusion, red wine, or anchovy butter.
But even before any of our main entrees arrived, we figured, may as well go all the way! I mean, at $49 for excellent cuisine like this (not including drinks!), we decided to throw-in and share one of their excellent side dishes before the finale, wanting to draw-out the entire experience just a while longer! And why not, as this particular side was my all-time favorite, one I never fail to shamelessly sing the praises of every time given the chance.
You got it - foie gras! I'm sure you're sick of me talking about it already, but I'm sorry to inform you that not only will there be no shortage of this delicacy on my blog in the future, but rather, an increase! Or at least that's what I'm hoping for! However, I won't get too far into the subject right now - if you're new to the site and don't know exactly what foie gras is all about, check out the 3660 on the Rise page, where I expound a bit further.
Served over a round of well-softened daikon, then sauteed, drenched in a rich truffle sauce, and topped with a small dollop of daikon oroshi, the price tag of $22 was right about in-line with similiar-minded fine restaurants, and, as usual, worth every penny! And the great thing about sharing with Kumi is that she only had the stomach for a tiny corner, leaving me almost the entire piece! I love my wife, boy.
Check out the insides of this-most decadent, divine, doubly delectible, diabolically delicious delicacy:
Aaah, doesn't get any better. I've also been lucky enough to sample the foie gras don here, for $14, which is described on the menu as a Cafe Miro Masterpiece! It definitely lived up to the name, coming every bit as delicious as the above piece, only the cut was a little smaller and served over a tiny bowl of rice. Scooping-up all that luscious sauce after soaking into the rice? Aaaahhh... A slightly different twist I'm sure you'll love as well!
Paired with our foie gras was a 2006 Chateau de Cosse Sauternes, a classic combination with this particular dish. The French brand is actually a dessert wine, and I guess you need something heavier and sweeter to stand up to the rich, bold flavors of fattened goose livers, although the pour is not quite as heavy nor sweet as a Port or Madeira. For some reason, though, I actually think a really sweet white wine, much less viscous, would also bode well, accentuating and highlighting the foie gras even more, its crisp sweetness cutting straight through, standing firm in its own way to the fatty dish? No? Or would it simply get drowned-out and over-powered for lack of presence? Who knows - If anyone's ever tried a sweet, non-dessert white wine with foie gras, please inform me!
Getting back to our main entree choices, the duck sounded very enticing, as duck always does, but unfortunately, they were out on this particular evening. No problem, as the braised shortrib with Port Wine reduction sounded just as well, thank you:
Despite the blurry pic, these succulent morsels were among the best braised short ribs I've tasted yet on the island, and I believe that's saying a lot, as just about every Hawaii Regional Cuisine restaurant here features this very dish, and I've already tried a bunch of 'em. No knives necessary, thank you, as these fall-apart chunks were laden with globs of buttery-soft fat and amazingly delicate sections of meat, the both of which were so tender you could hardly separate the two, both kinda melting into one single conglomeration of beefy, fatty, dare I say, almost foie gras-like richness? And not to forget the sturdy yet complex, glaze-like Port Wine reduction, a perfect match with this hearty dish. Despite the bold, strong flavors of beef, there was yet, at the same time, a kind of delicate mouth-feel over-all, the soft, tender textures and fine, sophisticated sauce imbuing a kind of dualistic appeal that played-off both sides masterfully. In fact, it left you wondering how to grasp the entirety and scope of the dish in the first place, whether it was heavy or light, simple or complex, savory or sweet - it was a kind of enigmatic riddle that kept you guessing, wondering just what the Chef did to create such a work, inspiring your mind to push past the limits of pre-convieved notions and everything you ever thought a single dish was supposed to be. It's exactly how you want to be challenged when exploring the intricate, craftsman-like works of a great Chef.
Mysteries aside, all I know is that this buggah was ono! Check out the insides, with all that juicy fat, tender meat, and rich sauce everywhere:
Man, I'm living the experience all over again! Paired with the dish was a 2008 Cab from Grayson Cellars in California (shown in earlier pic), a deep, dark, full-bodied red with the sweetness of dark berries and a long, lasting finish.
Kumi's main entree choice, unsurprisingly, was a lamb, this one containing a couple of ribs from a rack with shiitake mushrooms and mint sauce, served with a starch of mashed potatoes:
Typical of French cuisine, it came with a sophisticated, complex, well-constructed sauce that I can't even begin to describe. The lamb itself was so soft, and blended so seamlessly well with the sauce, it seemed as if the whole thing was a kind of slow-cooked stew. Normally, at least in most Hawaii Regional Cuisine restaurants on the island, you'll find a rack of lamb arriving with a char-grilled, fire-roasted taste and texture, but this one was much more delicate, with a taste and feel that seemed to modify itself to the sauce, not the flame. Once again, perfection achieved!
Her lamb was paired with a 2008 Pinot Noir from Cartlidge and Browne in California (shown above). As with my Cabernet Sauvignon, this one was a red, albeit lighter, dryer, and with less body. We both blind-tested eachother on the two, and I'm happy to say, not only could we tell the differences, but we both much preferred the richer, fruitier taste of the Cab. All you wine snobs out there are now laughing that we're celebrating for realizing the differences between a Pinot and a Cab (big deal, right?), but no worries - we're both still learning, and right at that ignorantly blissfull place where everything learned is a magical step deeper, no matter how basic as compared to anyone else! Main thing? Grow and have fun with it, no matter who's looking, yes?!
For dessert, there were but two choices. The first, a platter of cheese, at Kumi's behest:
So sorry, but quite honestly, I was so focused on learning the various wines and excellent types of cuisine, I didn't even bother to ask about the cheeses. I have no idea what they were, although I do know that, like any good cheese platter, there was an escalation of mild to sharp, good contrasts of firm to soft, and variations from seemingly common to pungent, tangy, and wild - after all, what can you expect from rotting, curdled milk? Right on que, there were some wild, mysterious, far-out tastes on this platter, for sure! A good thing, I hope you know...
My dessert was an assorted plate of different treats:
As everything else here, the tangy, refreshing sorbet, the creamy, rich creme brulee, and strawberrry Mousse cake were all house-made, and you could tell with one bite of each. I coulda used a bigger scoop of sorbet and maybe another ramekin of creme brulee, but no, that would have pushed me over the top, as I was already well-satisfied and full after all that great food!
Yup, Cafe Miro is a bit of a secret spot, and for such great prices and variety of dishes served, it's very difficult to get away with such a fantastic meal anywhere else! I mean, you'll no doubt find excellent complete meals at other spots, but you start getting into the 5, 6, 7, or more course meals (total of 8 tonight, not including the foie gras!), and I don't know anyone out there who can feature so much for so little ($49), at least not on these quality levels. Menus, curiously, don't change every quarter or so, but whenever, with many being fixtures that have been around since the very beginning, over a decade ago. But as stated earlier, if you do become a frequent guest, just talk to your waiters, and they can inform you of anything new off-menu, or of dishes available on a temporary basis.
Honestly, for affordable French Cuisine with a few island/Japanese twists, you best be checking this place out!
Who's boss today? I haven't seen a complete NFL game in perhaps twenty years, and the only thing I know about the Colts and Saints is Peyton Manning and Drew Brees (I didn't even know Brees was still playing 'ball until about a week ago!), but we're all headed for bruddah Trace's house to watch this years' Superbowl on his crystal-clear 64 inch (or something like that!) screen! I could care less who wins or loses, but there'll be great company, great food, lots of drinks, and lots of cheer, so I'm on it!
You all take care, and Aloha till next time!
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Comments:
Special Note: This article came out in the Honolulu Advertiser just a couple of days ago, and it is spurring debate all over the islands.
frk mode1 - 2/8/10 - Hope you can continue blogging about foie gras as the legislature is trying to do what Chicago did but repealed after a year. Ban it. What a waste of time spent on the taxpayer dollar!
Aku - 2/8/10 - Aaaah, I heard about the foie gras thing! People are so PC and silly these days. This practice of force-feeding has been going on since our earliest history! Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days when everyone had to chop the head off of a live chicken or shoot and gut a pig themselves instead of soothing their conscienses through pre-packaged, pre-cut sections of meat from supermarket shelves. Maybe then, we'll stop being so wimpy, and realize that animals have to die for us to eat, and special occasions call for things like fattening the cow for slaughter!
Hey, my brother is a vegetarian based on his belief that killing animals is cruel and inhumane. I can respect and admire that position - at least he stays true to what he believes, shunning all animal products entirely. No problems there. He can even work to have the whole society believe what he believes - free country, ey? But you wanna change the law and use the Government to implement your beliefs, so guys like us can't enjoy foie gras? Not gonna happen, as has already proven the case in Chicago, where the elites and special interests slipped in the law, but when the people by and large heard about it, they pushed back and repealed it!
After hearing of the news you gave me on Chicago, I did check on the matter, and it was hilarious! Even restaurants not selling foie gras there decided to bring it in to show solidarity with the restaurants that did, declaring that Big Brother had no place micro-managing and butting into everyones business like that, while restaurants that did began not charging for it, but giving it away instead, as to not break the law and continue pleasing their customers.
Just a thought - Do these people realize how terribly other animals like cows and pigs suffer before being so cleanly and guilt-soothingly packaged at the supermarket?
As you said, what a waste of taxpayer money, something that seems to be going on a lot these days...
Hey, my brother is a vegetarian based on his belief that killing animals is cruel and inhumane. I can respect and admire that position - at least he stays true to what he believes, shunning all animal products entirely. No problems there. He can even work to have the whole society believe what he believes - free country, ey? But you wanna change the law and use the Government to implement your beliefs, so guys like us can't enjoy foie gras? Not gonna happen, as has already proven the case in Chicago, where the elites and special interests slipped in the law, but when the people by and large heard about it, they pushed back and repealed it!
After hearing of the news you gave me on Chicago, I did check on the matter, and it was hilarious! Even restaurants not selling foie gras there decided to bring it in to show solidarity with the restaurants that did, declaring that Big Brother had no place micro-managing and butting into everyones business like that, while restaurants that did began not charging for it, but giving it away instead, as to not break the law and continue pleasing their customers.
Just a thought - Do these people realize how terribly other animals like cows and pigs suffer before being so cleanly and guilt-soothingly packaged at the supermarket?
As you said, what a waste of taxpayer money, something that seems to be going on a lot these days...
Aku - 2/22/10 Up-Date: Looks like the foie gras issue has been resolved in the city legislature - it's been thrown-out, as quickly as it came. Had it passed, I'd be picketing down at the capital, right alongside Chef Miro, Chef Mavro, Chef Wong, Chef Siu, and everyone else!
Kyo H (6/6/10) Hey Aku! Thanks for the awesome review on Cafe Miro! I've been wondering about that place ever since I heard about it last year. After reading your review, though, I am definitely going to put it on my list of must try places!
Aku (6/6/10) Thanks Kyo, you bet, the blending of quality, variety (many different courses in a single meal), and affordability make it a definite must try!
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