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JJ Bistro, a closer look
Aloha!
2/25/09 - JJ Bistro on Waialae Ave. in Kaimuki was first known for the fabulous French pastries of Chef Jinjie (JJ) Praseuth Luangkhot, who himself received extensive training under Jean Marc Burillier at the very popular, very chic Maxim's in New York. His signature chocolate pyramid, which we'll soon see, is a must-try and the most popular creation here, but there are also many other beautiful and sophisticated desserts to choose from, as well. Through a glass display case you'll be impressed from such items as an almondine tart, lilikoi mousse, green tea cheesecake, poached pear in red wine, ice drop frambois, tiramisu, and so much more.
It was only a matter of time before Chef JJ began gaining a reputation, not only for fancy desserts, but also for equally impressive bistro dishes of a classy Euro-Asian touch. They include such fare as baked opakapaka, seafood brioche, garlic shrimp a la Maison, Lao pizza, quiche, and sandwiches like baked tuna wellington and a Parisian, which is a duck mousse with truffle and port wine sauce on French bread. And guess what? Perhaps most surprising of all is that each and every item mentioned above is less than ten bucks! Whaaa? In fact, you won't find any single dish in double-digits here! Of course, they do come a bit on the small side, but still... We are talking about a bistro, yes? The very word suggests small meals, trendy but stylishly simple dishes, hang-outs frequented by a more educated folk, and oh, yes, let's not forget the other word that goes with bistro... French! You won't find plate lunch fare with giant loads of meat and starch here, that's for sure!
Chef JJ's Bistro used to be a bit smaller, but like all good things, it just keep growing. Not only can you find his baked treats at places like Chai's, The Willows, Neiman Marcus, and Singha Thai, but he also bought out the place right nextdoor and now has an expanded dining room big enough to satisfy a growing meal-time crowd, effectively more than doubling (maybe tripling!) the shop!
Sorry, but I didn't feel very comfortable taking a shot in the new section. There were only a few people in there, but sometimes that's even worse than a crowded room, as noone gets quite as self-conscious with so many people on-board. Not to worry, though - it's much the same as the original side, except much larger and with wooden tables instead of glass like you see here.
Opposite window-side is the single display case proudly featuring the prized desserts which make up the backbone of this operation, a couple of which you'll see in just a moment. Sorry 'bout the glare!
As I said earlier, there are no dishes going over $10, but that doesn't mean your entire meal will necessarily be under that price! You'll have a hard time not going with one of their price-fix menus, as they top-out at just under $25 and consist of a Chef's recommendation four-course meal, with soup of the day, an appetizer, your choice of any entree, and your choice of any dessert from the dessert counter. Other, cheaper price-fix menus come with a choice of entree along with a sliding scale of various smaller courses, which could mean minus the dessert, minus the soup, minus the soup and dessert, etc.
Wifey and I both opted for four-course meals, which first came with a delicious asparagus soup. The unusual shape of these bowls contained an opening just barely large enough to fit our spoons, and since it was so large, was only filled about a quarter of the way. It's funny how anything different from the norm, even a whimsical cup/bowl like this, can prove so entertaining, as anyone who eats out often is always looking for a new presentation, a new flavor, or some kind of twist or new outlook in general - anything to mix things up a bit!
Even besides that, and even if served in a more normal-looking bowl, this soup was impressive - delicate yet flavorful, full of the great taste of fresh asparagus and just the right hint of cream to add that luxurious, rounding last-touch.
After soup, we were served a trio of lobster dynamites over toast, all surrounding a mound of sprouts, tomatoes, and green apple cuts. It was billed as a lobster/avocado dish, but the only avo' came in the form of a kind of creamy aioli that provided a dressing for the sprouts, or even a dip for the lobster. I loved the large chunks of lob' here, which didn't come with other items like onion, peppers, or anything else thrown in as fillers, but alone (except for the tangy dynamite it was housed in). They were sweet, succulent, not over-cooked in the least bit, and came as quite a surprise considering the over-all cost.
Wifey almost got the Asian Classic, which is an assortment of salmon, scallop, shrimp, leek, shiitaki mushroom, red bell peppers, and Chef's special black pepper cream sauce, but our kind host revealed upon questioning that the Fisherman's Pot Pie was indeed the most popular dish here. I don't know about you, but when I hear pot pie, I like to think of a creamy mix of hot items completely encased in a dough, then baked to a golden brown all-together. It seems that so often, and not just here, a pot pie comes as a stew, and the only dough you get is made as an entirely separate item and simply thrown on top of the stew! That's not to take away from the contents nor the pastry item on-top, though, as they can both be really good, but it's just not as impressive when done this way, is all.
And this mix was good, coming with a distinctly Asian taste of coconut milk-added green curry, along with salmon, scallop, shrimp, bamboo shoots, eggplant, red bell peppers, and zucchini. Imagine how impressive this would have been, though, had it been baked like a steak or salmon Wellington! I guess then the runny curry would be a problem, though. "Oooh, oooh, I know - How 'bout all the hard ingredients baked inside, then the whole thing placed on top of just the curry?"
Allright, allright - I'll stop... All that fuss, and it wasn't even my dish! My entree order wavered between a sea scallop Napolean, made of eggplant, red bell's, and zucchini in lemongrass curry, and a baked classic hen, which came marinated in Laotian herbs and a rosemary sauce. I chose the latter.
The hen was perfectly done and beautiful, coming much larger than the frozen supermarket varieties I've purchased and cooked myself, with a plump, juicy, tenderness that comes with that dark-meat-everywhere taste and feel of smaller birds like hen or quail. Alongside came a criss-crossed, double-layer of fried potato (or shall we say frites?) and red bell pepper, drenched with the same delicate rosemary sauce as the hen.
After enjoying our first three courses, our last leg of the journey began by walking over to the dessert counter, where we both had free reign to anything in the display case. As Chef's signature pastry, you already knew we ordered the chocolate pyramid, which comes as a cocoa-dusted treat modeled after I.M. Pei's glass and metal pyramid at the Louvre Museum in France. Not quite a mousse, not quite a cake, it can either come as a straight chocolate filling or combined with raspberry. I've long known why everyone is so high on this treat, as it's a pure chocolate lover's delight - not overly sweet nor heavy but penetratingly dark and luxurious at the same time - just the right balance of bold stimulation and subtle, skilled refinement.
Every choice of dessert also comes with a small serving of creme brulee, which came with a deliciously sweet, crisp, burnt-sugar crust, but the contents underneath were very much on the dry side. I guess they have to make a lot of them, so at least on this day, they weren't as great as I know this shop is capable of making them. They sure were pretty, though!
The last time here, I ordered a white chocolate mousse, which I actually enjoyed even more than the chocolate pyramid! This time, however, and since I couldn't find the words white chocolate mousse anywhere in the display case, the kind server led me to another pretty dessert that he said contained what I was looking for. The only problem was, it really wasn't!
First of all, you know how I just mentioned that fruit and chocolate generally don't combine well for me? Lo and behold, all it took was a single bite to reveal a distinct fruit taste, and on top of that, hidden within the chocolate-encased housing of my order was a big 'ol strawberry! Aaargh! But no worries there, mate, as most people in this lovely and diversified world of ours would die for a taste of chocolate and strawberry, right? Just count me as wierd, is all - I'm pretty sure anyone else would have loved this fan-topped tower of decadence.
And here's the fruit-infused white chocolate filling I was talking about:
Rushing a bit because I had to drop wifey off at work, she ended up boxing her chocolate pyramid to eat later on lunch-break, which I must admit, kinda bummed me out a bit - no samples for me, not even a little corner! Hey, no worries. You win some and you lose some. And sometimes, even when you lose, you still win when you lose for the ones you love, ey?
JJ Bistro is a great place for an inexpensive, quality-oriented meal in an atmosphere that is comfortable and stylish, all with prices that'll make you wonder how it was all possible. The dishes are fabulous any way you look at it, and when combined with such prices, you really can't go wrong. As for Chef JJ's desserts... Trust me, you'll wanna check this place out. I just scratched the top of the iceberg today!
So as you make plans to explore more from this little haunt in Kaimuki, also make plans to have a great and wonderful week, especially with the weekend almost upon us!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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