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Pahkes, a closer look
Aloha!
1/12/09 - Out on the rainy side of the island, very close to Windward Mall in Kaneohe, sits a Chinese restaurant that's gotten quite a bit of press attention for a long time now. Chef/Owner Raymond Siu is a super-friendly, very gregarious individual with a background that not only involves Chinese eateries, but also some of the top Hawaii Regional Cuisine restaurants on the island. Versed on both sides of the aisle, he's put together a menu that is undoubtedly Chinese, but with a few unexpected twists thrown in, not the least of which are fashionable desserts like house-made ice creams, banana crepes, and triple-chocolate cakes.
The two-story building it sits in is located right off the main drag of Kamehameha Hwy., just east of Kahuhipa St. and next to Kim Chee 1. Parking is right outside the store and usually in ample supply.
After hearing of Chef Raymond's storied past and coveted resume, I can't say I was'nt expecting a whole lotta modern, fusion elements hitting me upside the head right away. Upon walking in, however, I was a bit surprised to find the atmosphere and decor very much similiar to most neighborhood Chinese restaurants, though perhaps on the upper end of the scale. The dining room is large and spacious, with several aisles of open floor revealing a standard, almost classroom-looking vinyl tile of off-white, while glass (or plexiglass) table-tops cover clean, white linen. Above the eye-line it gets a bunch more visually appealing, with intricately-patterned tiles covering almost the entire ceiling, along with intermittent and equally pretty light boxes, both done in Chinese-inspired designs.
This being only my second experience here, mom, wifey, and I actually happened to stop by on Christmas day, and you know how that day goes - the only places open are Chinese restaurants! We stopped by after a scenic flight around the island on this sleek Apache helicopter gunship.
C'mon, now... I kid, I kid! A grown man's gotta have a few toys around the house, right? I can't afford a Hummer or Jetski, nor even a one-man kayak or dirt bike, so I gotta twiddle with palm-sized, battery-operated contraptions like this. I get no respect, I tell you!
The guy at the kiosk made it look so easy, but I crashed this thing so many times I'm surprised it's still in one piece - and I still can't get the darn thing to fly straight! Maybe it's bachi for buying something for yourself on Christmas! The designer shirts wifey bought me were much better, as it's about two weeks after Christmas now and I've used this helicopter all but twice, while my new shirts have all been through the wash several times now.
And by the way, what's up with this whole designer jewelry thing? Knowing how every girl loves Tiffany, I get wifey a cool set of 18k gold, heart-shaped earrings from the store. Yeah, she loves them to no end, but when friends at work take notice, she's too fiercely humble, in a Samurai kind of way, to tell anyone it's a Tiffany! So what's the sense, anyway?! I coulda gotten a similiar one from Sears or Macy's at half the price, and noone woulda known the difference! But in reality, actually, I'm proud of her for not being a braggert and show-off. She loves the look and craftsmanship, and yes, the name, even, but also knows that a piece of gold, no matter how fancy, ain't what makes the woman! Everyone knows it's the shoes.
Moving right along...
I have a sneaking suspicion that while most everyone on the planet has heard of chop suey, few locals ever order it, if even for the hokiness of it all, as if ordering something so campy, so Americanized, so, I dunno... Blaise?
However, I'm not one of them, as I'll often order a simple, no-meat chop suey, especially when nothing else seems to jump off the page or I just want a pure vegetable play, an objective that gets even better at Pah-ke's because they don't use MSG and everything, in general, carries much less of a greasy feel, with dishes that are cleaner and more polished than most Chinese restaurants. In fact, this spot gets a lot of attention from vegan sites for their modern, health-conscious approach, with a large and diverse array of no-meat dishes in tow.
The chop suey itself was simple but tasty, a mound of cabbage, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and snow peas bonded together by a thin, light gravy. We didn't realize it at the time, but for some reason, our next dish was also very low-key and simple - crispy-skin chicken. I guess it was an automatic reflex countering the huge amount of rich foods we've been gorging on throughout this Thanksgiving and Christmas Season, our bodies perhaps craving a return to normalcy and something a bit more plain and homey.
The dish really was the right choice, turning out to be everything chicken should be, with a moist, tender white meat, even through the thickest parts of the breast, and a golden, crispy skin to provide even more fatty taste and goodness. I wish they'd skip the shrimp chips, though, which only served to fill the plate, a fact that leads me to another trait I've found here - they are kinda pah-ke on servings! It's not often I can go with mom and wifey to a Chinese restaurant and not have any left-overs, but that's always the case here. In fact, I still coulda gone for an extra order of gau gee or dim sum after this meal!
Our final dish was a crispy seafood noodle, Hong Kong-style. Unlike local-style cake noodle, which is pan-fried and pressed into a dense cake, this version is deep-fried and very porous, resulting in a lighter, crispier, seemingly more refined product. In fact, I found the entire dish very classy, with a thin, yet tasty gravy that saturates and softens the crispy noodle perfectly. Oftentimes local Chinese restaurants present a thick, overly-cornstarched gravy that, especially after cooling a bit, turns into a crude, almost jello-like substance, but Pah-Ke's version reminded me of the thinner gravies I've had in while in China, itself.
The mix of seafood and vegetables were also excellent, the veggies coming brightly-colored and perky, while every squid, every scallop, and every shrimp came generously-sized, sweet, and oh, so fresh and tender - even the squid! A beautiful sight, it was...
It seems to me that Pah-Ke's caters to a certain set of people, a taste that is perhaps more accustomed to lighter, more refined (that word just seems to keep popping up!), and healthier meals in general. I kinda liken it to a child used to enjoying cheap, greasy McDonald's burgers his entire life, then not particularly savoring the taste of a lean, high-quality North Shore Cattle Company burger at Alan Wong's Pineapple Room or Ed Kenney's Town restaurant in Kaimuki. Hearty eaters used to a lot of grease, MSG, and other brazenly defiant flavors (geez, I make it sound so sinister, don't I?) may come out slightly less satisfied, but those with smaller stomachs or accustomed to fancier, more modern meals will find Pah-Ke's right on target.
Despite my villanous depiction of grease, MSG, and other heavy flavors, I hope I'm not making it sound like I'm above it all, looking down upon cheaper foods with pompous disdain. I can't stand when big-name food critics do that! Although not something I'll do every day (getting older, you know), I'll wolf down a fast-food burger with fries, a massive plate lunch, or a greasy minute chicken cake noodle with gusto, no problem! I may not feel so great momentarily afterwards, but yes, I will have counted it all worth it! Everything in balance, ey?
At the same time, how can we not appreciate chefs offering tastes with a more sophisticated palate in mind, as well, as they definitely deserve credit for constructing quality-oriented meals utilizing the freshest of ingredients and highest levels of skill, all in a vast arena where competition can be as brutal as a Roman Coliseum.
I guess I see why Chef Raymond's restaurant has been getting so much attention. Not that I think Pah-Ke's is a superior or better choice as compared to other Chinese restaurants, but for the certain set spoken of earlier, I do believe believe this Kaneohe eatery will be the perfect fit.
And so, as always, take care and Aloha till next time!
Easy,
Aku
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