MAUI The Filipino Version of Chow Mein "Pancit"

Plate lunches from a Filipino dig are gaining popularity in the islands, as far as Asian cuisine is concerned, Filipino foods to me are one of the more exotic, the aromas range from basil, thyme, ginger, garlic, scallions, fish sauce (patis), vinegar, olive oil, anchovies, shrimp paste, wine, brandy, and a myriad of veggies and fruits. With influences from other Southeast Asian countries and mainland China, and Japan, as well as the occupation  of Spain, Filipino foods are awesome.


If you are a culinary student, the Filipino kitchen will utilize every method and technique you are in school for. Braises (adobos), Deep Fry (Chichorones), Stew (Dinuguan), Roasts (Lechon), Steam (Pork Butts/Fish/Squid).


But if in Hawaii, and you want to learn to eat what locals here eat, go to the nearest Filipino dig, and get yourself some Pancit (Pan sit) it is an egg noodle dish, likened to the Chinese's Chow Mein. Generally speaking, it is bits of pork, garlic, ginger, scallions, mushrooms, stir fried in oil, with some patis in there and some annatto water.


What gives Pancit its kick is the garlic, ginger, and the fish sauce. Try it and see if you like it.
You can add any ingredient to Pancit noodles

THAI STYLE AU PART 2

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THAI STYLE Marlin (Au) on our Lick em UP cooking show from Maui.

THAI STYLE AU PART 1

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PART 1 OF our Lick em UP! Cooking Show, Thai Style Au (Marlin)

Maui- Local Foods Cont. Katsu Don (Japanese Influenced)

Japanese influenced foods are a big part of the plate lunch culture, here I'll explain one Japanese influenced dish that is very popular, and if you can get it, try it. It is called Katsu Don, it is made up of deep fried breaded pork (tonkatsu), onion, and egg on rice. Don short for Donburi means "bowl" hence a bowl of rice with different ingredients make up the Donburi.


Seasonings range from dashi (fish base) soy sauce, mirin, vinegar, sake, or broths of various kinds, but the base of the bowl is the steamed white rice. Japanese is famous for the umami, and the chefs utilize a lot of those ingredients which make up Japanese food.

MAUI Local Faves "Chow Fun"

Chow Fun noodles tossed around in a hot freekin wok, that's excellent, and easy to make. If you are in Hawaii, look for a plate lunch dig that serves up Chow Fun noodles. What are Chow Fun noodles? It is usually made with rice flour, or wheat flour, and looks kind of rectangular and flat in comparison to an Udon noodle.


Some chefs will use these ingredients, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, thin cuts of beef, chicken, or pork. With thin slices of round onions, green onions, carrots, and is cooked quickly. The noodles are usually bought from a supplier, dried or already cooked but soft, and all the chefs need to do is either boil the dried ones to soften, or just blanch the cooked ones and strain them. Basically what Chow Fun is is just a stir fry with the noodles added into the wok or pan to heat through, that's it. 


Sichuan Style Chow Fun (Wheat Noodles)

MAUI Foods Locals Crave Chopped Steak with Onions

When vising 808 the state, and you love beef, find a local dig that has Chopped Steak with Onions, it is a simple dish, served at most diners, it is basically around 8 oz. of sliced flank, or other beef cut, and sauteed in oil, garlic, sometimes with ginger, and is cooked in a concoction of soy sauce, sugar, with onions. Diners vary on how they cook it, some digs will put in oyster sauce, or sesame seed oil, it varies. But the basic ingredients are the steak and onions.


Dousing it with ketchup and more soy sauce is common with the local crowd, and like all plate lunches it is served with the equivalent of 2 scoops of white sticky rice, and a scoop of rich macaroni salad.


So if you want to eat what locals eat, Chopped Steak and Onions is one option that can't go wrong unless the cook really  messes it up by over cooking the meat and onions. Remember, that Hawaii is made up of different ethnic groups, hence there is different influences of Chopped Steak, a Korean chef may make it Korean with the kalbi seasonings, the Japanese chef may turn it into an almost teriyaki style, an Italian chef may add in oregano, basil, garlic and tomato sauce. You get the drift.


You wanna be a true local in Hawaii, ask for chili pepper water, kim chi, and put some mayonnaise on your rice, locals love mayonnaise, ketchup, soy sauce, fish sauce, and just about anything that's rich.

Maui- Thai Kine Food

Hawaii is the melting pot of Asia, so yes Thai food is just as big here as it is anywhere else in this little world of ours. Do I love Thai? Yeah for me, Thai and Indian foods is right up there, me loves them spicy foods.


If you come to Maui, there's a few Thai digs around in Lahaina, Kihei and Kahului. 

Khao mun kai Steamed rice with slices of chicken with chicken broth, served with fermented yellow bean paste, ginger, garlic, Thai chilies. 


Just one of the faves of the islands, the list is endless man, because we are so diverse.

MAUI- Local Food Continues

Sam Choy made Poke an international dish, Poke (Po keh).


What is it? It's cubed raw fish, generally it's Ahi or Yellow Fin tuna, and mixed up with soy sauce, onions, kukui nut, oils, ginger, garlic, and the list goes on and on as more chefs from different backgrounds start to make Poke their own.


So if you love raw fish, sashimi, sushi and the like go and find some Poke, and that'll make you sort of like one of us. 


When we were growing up, we made Poke, and now you can find a lot of it at supermarkets, and even restaurants.


Poke, go and find it, I'm sure you'll love it, but if the cubed fish looks cloudy, then it's probably old.


Poke Limu (raw fish with seaweed)

MAUI- The Loco Moco

Okay here's more info for our mainland birds flying in to these wonderful Hawaiian Islands, more plate lunch info from yours truly.


Visit a local food dig, and ask if they have a Loco Moco, pronounced (Low, ko, mo ko Not like cow, but lo low, lower than higher) Loco Moco. What ever.


What the heck is a Loco Moco?


Answer: It usually two hamburger steaks, hopefully it's a homemade mixture of some chef's grannies' concoction and not some frozen piece of shit patty. It is topped with 2 eggs any style, and topped with some killer hot thick brown beef gravy, served with 2 scoops of white rice, and a scoop of macaroni salad.


These dishes are very rich, and if done right, we locals say, "Broke da Mouth!"


Prices range from around 7.99 to around 9.99 depending on location of the dig you're visiting.


I love to make my own, and sometimes I'll use pulled pork, and call it a Pork Moco, we get creative here in the islands.

Pictured here is a Fish Moco, get the idea?

Maui- Local Pastry

Sweets? What do we have here that we can call sort of our own? How about this my visitor friend. Look for a local dig that sells a Malasada. It's pronounced (Mah- la- sa dah) it is a deep fried doughnut sort of, kind of, and tossed in some white sugar. It is a Portuguese influenced sweet, and if the New Orlean folks can claim Benya their own, then we Hawaiians can at least say we adopted as our own, the fabulous Malasada.


These are sold at fairs, benefits, concerts, and bakeries. 


Me, I love to drive to Homemaid Bakery in Kahului and scarf a couple with some hot Kona coffee, yeah that's the ticket man. Nothing like a Malasada to halt the stomach's growling.


I won't get into the history of the Malasada, that's boring for now, so just a heads up, you wanna get cultured? Find yourself some Malasadas, and take it home, stash them in your suitcase.

MAUI- Eating Island Style

It's the end of the week, after more focused thinking, I'll get back to talking about food people eat here in Hawaii, and if you want to talk melting pot of ideas, these islands is the place for food. Especially when it comes to seafood island style.


When you visit here, there's a lot of restaurants to get fish, but some places do advertise fresh catch when in reality it's frozen fish from somewhere like New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines or where ever. But if the chefs are any good, they can take a frozen Mahi and make it into an excellent 30.00 plate in a fancy eatery.


Speaking of Mahi Mahi, that's a dish a lot of people like. How do we like it? Anyway that's the way.


Here's what to expect when you come here, Mahi Mahi can be seasoned with simple herbs and spices, and either grilled or sauteed in some wine with lemon, butter, and capers. But the true plate lunch experience will have a local dig do it this way.


Mahi Mahi Plate Lunches: Prices run from around 7.95 to around 14.95 depending on the location. It is breaded and deep fried, with condiments ranging from homemade tartar sauce, soy sauce and mayonnaise, vinegar and chili pepper water, served with white rice (2 scoops) and a macaroni salad. Mac salads are cooked macaroni noodles, tossed in mayonnaise, with minced celery, onions, carrots in general. But some digs will add in canned tuna, potatoes, or crab meat.


Mahi Plates if done right will please the fish lover, because of our diverse ethnic makeup, Mahi plates can have different twists. For instance, visit a Korean influenced dig, expect their Mahi plates to have a Korean sauce on it, with sesames and sweet chili sauce. Visit a Filipino influenced dig, expect garlic and fish sauce as the condiment, but the starches are all common, with white rice, and mac salad on your plate.


So when you are at a local plate lunch dig, make sure the Mahi is moist on the inside, if its dried, send it back immediately. Don't get ripped off.


Aloha and Mahalo Ron

Ron

Maui's Only Rocking Cooking Show Lick em UP

RD Lick em UP! We gotta say, today is Thursday, January 26, 2012. Yesterday both D Play Danny Agdeppa and I shot our latest Lick em UP! episode for Akaku TV Maui, and to be posted on You Tube channel: chefboymaui, it was a fun shoot, some mishaps like we did a Thai Style Au (Marlin), the recipe called for a sauce with cilantro in it, well yours truly the t.v. chef spaced out and forgot to put it into the pan when all the other ingredients was cooking down. Oh well, we used it for the garnish.


So that was our latest episode, in fact You Tube should have it on soon. But when I was in the studio editing for the credits I posted a Get Well to Kumu Cliff Ahue, he was dying of cancer. Well I fell asleep at the desk, woke up at 6am, I got a text from my niece, and she said that Kumu died around 3 a.m. The morning I put him on the credits to get well, it's the same one that God took him home. Real, so real. Over the last several months backing into last year, I did lose some inspiring people in my life. Well, this time here on earth is really short.


Say "I love you," to those who care about you. Go the extra steps or miles for those that truly matter. Once the ones you love are gone? That's it baby, you will never see them again. Don't wait until it's too late. I know life is hard, we get busy, and at times we can't help it, but we do need to slow down some, and check in with the people in our lives that truly matter.


If you're on Maui, the shows can be seen on cable access channels 52 and 54 Akaku TV. Warning: It is not prime time shows, expect the unexpected.


Mahalo
Ron.

Maui Cooking Show

We are building a simple, (not for prime time) cooking show. Over the past few years it's been on local cable access Akaku TV Maui.


Title of show: RD Lick em UP


Executive Producer/Writer/Talent/Post Production Ron Sambrano


Camera Danny D Play Agdeppa


You Tube Channel: chefboymaui

HOSTESS files for bankruptcy

I got back from Vegas last month, and my girlfriend  & our boy wanted deep fried Twinkies. Not me though, screw that right? Yup, no way, I was never a Twinkie dude. I was more of a freekin Ho Ho's dude, I liked the chocolate more than anything.


But as I read the latest issue of The Economist, on page 7, under the red heading Not So Sweet, the Hostess company is filing for bankruptcy protection. The cause? The high cost associated with the pension and medical benefits it provides to its workers, which 83% of them are with the union.


Wow! I'm not a Hostess fan really, but to see those gas station marts without it would be different, those well preserved sweets, that goes great after a meal consisting of fried canned Vienna sausages, and canned sardines.

Jerk Chicken Part 1

LICK em UP episode, Jerk Chicken with Yams Homestyle on the stove

MAUI CRATER DOGS Kahului Maui

Okay I was turning in our latest video to the Akaku TV station in Kahului on Dairy Road. If you drive to or from the airport they're next to Minit Stop.


After a few chit chats with the Akaku crew, with the likes of veteran programmers, Pete Sullivan, Shawn Michael, CEO Jay April, and long time producer Katt Tracy, I headed to that hot dog stand in the parking lot.
When I got there I noticed a girl in a bikini laying down on the ground...well it was a cut out of a pretty blonde holding up a Crater Dog sign.
I called out to the guy behind the counter, "Hey brah, sup?"
He looked at me and smiled, "Hey man how you doin?"
"Not bad, so how's biz?"
"Oh not bad man, just that the county wanted me to take down that sign of the bikini girl and another sign that was leaning against the palm trees, but it's okay... Hey you wanna try our hot dogs? No worries man, it's on me."
"Okay, my name is Ron."
"I'm Ray... hey do you have a cooking show?"
"Yeah that's what I'm here for, I just turned in our latest show at the station."
"Cool man."
Ray was telling me that the buns are made at Four Sister's in Wailuku, and that the buns have holes drilled in them and toasted on the inside, nice I thought. I watched him as he put the bun on to this steel looking sharp thing, it looked pretty interesting, like a nun chuck with a pointed edge, the bun is slid down and it is toasted so the outside of the bun is soft, while the inside is toasted, so you still get that toasted taste.


Then Ray asked me what kind of flavor I wanted with the Polish dog that was gonna go inside, I chose the Jalapeño Mustard. He filled it up with the concoction, and slid the dog inside, wrapped it in some foil, handed it to me, and asked me if I wanted a drink, I told him a Coke.


My first thought as I bit into the dog was that it was very good, very simple, but the shit was ono, very delicious. I ate the whole dog, and washed it down with the ice cold can of Coke.


"We get all of the dogs from Chicago," said Ray. "And Four Sister's bakes all of our buns."


Another vendor does the condiments he said so that the products are consistent, hey it's a good gig, they just purchase, put it together and sell. Nothin wrong with that number. When I was done, some County Health inspector came down to ask Ray if he had all the pertinent permits to conduct business, well he did. Though Ray did not own the shack, he ran the place and knew how to handle one of Maui's finest. Ray gave him a dog, he ate the same dog I ate and was on his way. No problem, Ray's shack was legal, polished and shiny.
Go to Maui Crater Dogs on Dairy Rd. They do have Kamaaina rates, the average dog runs around 6.50

Cooking Show RD Lick em UP! Jerk Chicken Homestyle

Today we just finished taping our second RD Lick em UP! show. We did a simple Jerk Chicken with boiled yams.


We had some fun, the picture on the left is half of a chicken breast, boneless and skinless. I marinated it in soy sauce, vinegar, pineapple juice and pineapple chunks. In it I blended in some ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, bay leaf, garlic and ginger. Let is soak for several minutes, 


Then I got a hot pan out, put some vegetable oil over medium high heat, and seared the side where the skin would have been, turned it over, and stuck the pan in a 350 deg F. oven for about 20 minutes. Then I took the breasts out and let it rest on the cutting board. Took some of the juices out of the original stainless steel pan, returned the pan to medium high heat, and put about half a cup of Bacardi Premium rum, and set it on fire to burn off the alcohol. Next I returned some of the marinade to the pan over boiling heat, and reduced the sauce to half and added some pineapple chunks to it, it turned out syrup like. I dressed both chicken halves after slicing it. Tossed the yams with butter, fresh ground sea salt, and fresh ground black pepper. with some butter.


You can see the show on Akaku TV Channel 52 in the next few weeks, it will be in the post production stage right now. And it will be on Youtube as well, type in chefboymaui.

Co-Producer/Sony Bloggy Tech/Writer/Director Danny Agdeppa samples some of the yams and Jerk Chicken.

Me Posing (No Close up)

An Aspiring Business Owner Talks

I'll call him Billy, he doesn't want to be known right now. Billy is a local guy from Maui, in his mid forties, out of work, has some money, and wants to start a food business. The business is a food truck selling local plates. Billy has worked in the construction biz, but that came to a major halt, he and his wife is struggling, and their thoughts are, "we need to be creative in these times can't depend on the government." So what's his plan? Well, he has the big picture thinking, now he's doing some strategic planning, what he needs to do, and how he's going about getting it. Well, he has some money for the truck, but now what?


"It's a hard business to get into when you don't have much cash on hand to start, I have enough for an old school bus, I can fix it up myself and get it running so we can sell food near the beaches and parks, but it won't be a lunch truck that will travel from one end of Maui to the other. It won't travel far, and I'm good with hooking up all the warmers."


Billy needs to get some money for other things, like money to survive for a few months too, "I got money right now to get the truck running but after that what do I do? The money I'm using is from savings, if I start the business, I'll be flat broke. I have to plan this out and really focus."


Like most business owners, finding the cash is hard these days, Billy has a relative, an uncle who worked for a power company on the mainland, he's retired, and Billy is contemplating asking his uncle for some financial help. "He's the only one in my ohana that can possibly loan me the money for this venture." But he is hesitant because his uncle is a hard nosed person when it comes to money. "He'll drive a beat up truck until it dies, I know he's got money, but it is his to do what he pleases, I just know I can make it, I just need some help, someone to believe in me and my wife, just one person can get me going, someone that can loan me money, because I have bad credit like millions of people in this country, but I'm not playing the victim, I want to work, for myself, for my ohana."


Billy understands too, that he'll need a professional kitchen to cook his local foods, and he'll need insurance, and licenses and all of that, he really knows his stuff. "I know what needs to be done as far as setting up the business, but man, money to start it off, if I had that, I'd be selling my product, not complaining about not having the cash.


I asked him what he'd cook to break the frustration he was sharing with me and he said he'd make fried fish, stir fried tako, salmon, shrimp plates, his mom's meatloaf, and adobo. "I'll stick to what I do best, I'm really not a trained chef, but the stuff I can do well, people eat all of it, so that's what I'll be known for hopefully, hopefully."


Let's keep people hopeful shall we? If someone is sharing their dreams with you, help them keep their dreams alive, never kill it, keep it alive!

Young Chefs Think Quality All of The Time

If you are a young chef, and you are responsible for the special of the day at your gig, that's one of the most exciting things you can be responsible for. Especially if you went to a culinary school, and the owner of the dig tells you to come up with a lunch special that will kick major ass. You take this opportunity to shine like you've never shined in your life. Hmmm, what to create?


Let's say you are in charge of the kitchen, and you want to make something that will be new to the crowd, the old chef was lame the customers say, "He just didn't have any creative blood in him, and when he had a special, well, it wasn't special at all." Okay now you, my young chef, what are you gonna make?


So you decide the lunch crowd needs something of quality, you decide to run a French Onion soup, a Salad Nicoise, and a Shrimp Scampi. The wait staff is nuts, "Wow chef, about time we got some quality in here." And the owner says it's alright to get the fine stuff to test out, yay that!


So it's time to post that special on the board in bright letters, SOUP French Onion; SALAD: Salad Nicoise; ENTREE: Shrimp Scampi.


So you tell the prep cook and the saute cook what to do, they understand how to make it, they've never done it before, not this simple culinary moves, the previous chef was.... lame. You got all the items prepped, the soup is hot and at the ready, the shrimp is cleaned, the wine is there, everything is ready to go. The lunch crowd comes in and they see the soup, salad, and entree special. But... they're hesitant, they know the dig is good, the standards the owner has is always to standard, but the specials never rocked, hence the dismissal of the other chef.


As a chef you tell your wait staff, to sell the specials, and they do. Why? You took the time to use quality, display quality in appearance and flavors. What really rocked was your Salad Nicoise, because of the lunch crowd foodies that are into light fare, your Nicoise rocked. Instead of canned tuna to top off the veggies, you seared fresh Ahi tuna. Wow, you are a major hit, something so simple as a classic Nicoise makes the day for the lunch crowd.


The scampi was a hit, but the lunch crowd got their fill by just the salad, and guess what chef? Once your name is in the town's culinary circle, your hall of fame tickets are in print for that day you retire from cooking, as long as you keep in the know of what's happening in food and customers. Keeping it simple always works.
Seared Ahi over veggies a higher quality Salad Nicoise

Star Anise

Star Anise (star anniss), also known as Chinese Star Anise in Chinese pinyin baijao "eight horn" or "eight corners" is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor. It is a small evergreen tree commonly found in northeast Vietnam and southwest China. This spice is grounded into powder, and is a major component in India's garam masala, and in China's Five Spice. It is very flavorful, adds flavors to meats, and into liqueurs. 

To purchase Star Anise, look for a good brand in an Asian mart, those are the best. But chain supermarket brands will do as well. Gourmet chefs will not use anything but the highest quality Star Anise. Ideally if a chef can get the pods fresh and dry them and then grind it the aroma says it all. Upon opening a bottle of Star Anise, if there's no aroma, you just wasted your money.

The Burdock Root (Gobo)

I was introduced to the burdock root at a very young age, mom used to make a very sweet dish with pork, and tofu with this plant called gobo a Japanese term for burdock root. All I remember is that gobo, or burdock root was an earthy tasting plant, I guess because it is a root vegetable like carrots, and radish.


Burdock root is utilize in many Japanese dishes, it is sliced thin and pickled and colored orange and placed in sushi, it is cooked with fish and other seafood, it adds texture where needed, and it does have some good nutritional value as well. 


The Europeans believe the burdock oils helps in the health maintenance of the scalp, it has essential fatty acids and of course fiber. Also in Korea burdock root is used about the same way as the Japanese, pickled and braised, they call it tong u eong. 


How to utilize burdock root (gobo) in a Japanese dish.


1 lb. of thinly sliced across the grain flank steak, marinated in 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of sake, 1/8 cup of mirin, 1 tsp. of ground ginger, 1 tbsp. of minced scallions. (1 hour soak)


1 cup of gobo (burdock root) washed, peeled and sliced very thin.
1 cup of sliced scallions
1 cup of soaked shitake mushrooms (if dried)
1/2 cup of carrots sliced thin
1 cup of chopped celery


1 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of sake or wine
2 tbsp. brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste


1. In a wok or skillet, heat up about 2 tbs. of cooking oil, over high heat, sear the marinated flank. Once browned, turn down heat to medium high. Add in the gobo, and cook for about 5 minutes to ensure its softness, then add in the rest of the veggies.
2. Add in the soy sauce, sake or wine, and cook it for about 5 minutes, add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with rice.


Note: Some people like their greens crisp, if so, add in the celery after it is cooked, for me I don't mind sometimes celery getting hot and softened.

Chowder in Maine

The beautiful thing about life here on Maui is that I get to meet people from all over the world, I mean I met people from all over this globe. Recently I ran into some peeps from Maine, here away from the cold of the east coast, a friendly couple in their mid-fifties I presumed. They were asking me where to get some great plate lunches, local Maui style. Well that was easy since I was just cruising around my home town of Lahaina, I pointed right across the street to No Ka Oi Deli.


Well, long story short we get to talking, and I find out they are from lobster country Maine USA! Man I can't eat lobsters anymore because I swell up, so I asked them a question they just asked me, I wanted to know where to eat if I ever got to Maine, the husband told me they frequent a place called Cappy's Chowder House in Camden Maine. 


"That's the place to get some great seafood chowder," he says. "But you if you want lobster, you may not get it in the spring." But his wife smiled and said the same thing, "They're really family oriented, I think you'll enjoy dining there." Hmmm, family oriented, I like this east coast thang going on. So I looked them up, and I think I'd go there if I get to the east coast some day. Cappy's Chowder House.


I pasted their menu from their website, looks good. I think I'll save up for my plane ticket.

Cappy's Chowder House Menus

Below is a brief list of the kind of food we always serve.

Click here for an up-to-date seasonal menu in PDF form.

The following is some of our most popular items. But we have loads of sandwiches, burgers, salads and other goodies. Our menu changes monthly, so the following list is approximate.

Cappy's Famous Clam Chowder

Maine Chowder Law says white! . . . never red! We've been making our traditional MAINE chowder for almost 32 years. It's rich and creamy and chock full of clams and potato. Small mug $7.99 Large mug $8.99 Take-home pint $9.99

Daily Zoups and Chili

See what the Chef came up with today! Add a Grown-Up Grilled Cheese to your bowl of Zoup, Chowder or Chili!

Arancini Sicilian Risotto Balls

Jo’s Nanny brought this recipe from Sicily 8.99

Lobster Lobster

our MAINE lobsters are brought to us fresh, straight from the Bay!
when available . . . SEASONAL . . . market price

Old Fashioned Fish and Chips

Maine Haddock breaded and fried Downeast style served with coleslaw and fries 15.99

Cappy’s Cakes of Crab

This is Faith’s favorite! Our own recipe and it’s wicked good. Served over field greens with roasted corn salad and a lemony chive dressing 14.99

Maine Shrimp Basket

Served with curly fries and coleslaw 12.99

Cappy’s Panini- Our version of a Maine favorite, served grilled on Rosemary bread from our bakery

• Lobster Salad with Cheddar and Tomato Market Price
• Crab Salad with Cheddar and Tomato 13.99
• Roasted Turkey with Cheddar and Cranberry Chutney 10.99
• Traditional Rolls available Market Price

Cappy’s Chopped Salad

Chopped romaine topped with bacon, tomatoes, caramelized onions and gorgonzola cheese 8.99

Short Ribs

Boneless short ribs are braised, then slow cooked to perfection and served with local root vegetables under a puff pastry. Served with small salad 16.99

Lobster Mac and Cheese

MAINE lobster, shell pasta, and our four-cheese sauce make this a mouthwatering dish. Served with a small salad 15.99

Polenta Lasagna

Roasted Vegetables are stuffed between layers of cheese and polenta with our house marinara sauce. Served with small salad 13.99

Market Steak

Changes at the Chef’s whim. Served with small salad. Market Price

Catch of the Day

Ask your server what the local fisherman has brought us today market price

Don’t forget … Cappy’s Camden Curly Fries 3.99 or Crock of Coleslaw 3.99

History of Chow Mein

Chow Mein is a Chinese institution, go to any Chinese restaurant outside of Hong Kong, I mean quite frankly us guys here in the states, and when we talk Chinese food, we automatically think "Chow Mein." Why? It is a simple dish like Italian pasta, made almost by the same methods, it's talking cooked noodles, and tossing it around in some flavorful concoction of herbs, spices, and liquids from stocks, broths, etc.


So how did this dish actually come into play in the culinary world as we know? When I was a kid, in Lahaina, there was a local Chinese dig called Golden Palace, and the place was styled after the Cantonese style of Chinese, sweet and sour sauces, lots of ginger and garlic. They had noodle dishes made from the Chow Mein family and they made it dry, or the made it with a Chinese style gravy or sauce, usually made of seafood. But Chow Mein noodles are really good, made out of egg noodles, dishes come out smelling rich because when the egg noodles hits the hot oil, it releases an aroma that makes you come alive, and Chinese chefs do utilize everything, shrimp sauces, oyster sauces, sesame oils, lots of garlic and ginger, scallions too.


So enough of that, where did this come from? The word Chow Mein came from the people of Taishan, which is a city located in the Pearl River Delta, southwest of Jiangmen. It is 140 km west of Hong Kong and consist of many islets. Taishan is well known for Chinese volleyball. Hmm, Chow Mein and volleyball, cool.


Different regions cooked Chow Mein differently, the chefs in Hong Kong fried the noodles crispy, while the other regions opposite of Hong Kong steamed the noodles, all the while all Chinese chefs used a hot wok to cook the finished product. Here in the U.S. there's differences in how Chow Mein is cooked, most people on the east coast tend to cook Chow Mein Hong Kong style which is crispy, while the west coast counterparts steam the noodles, or lo mein.


This noodle is so popular, that Chinese travelers introduced this type of noodles to many countries, India uses a noodle similar to Chow Mein, the Filipino's adapted Chow Mein and made their own called pancit, it is a very interesting noodle like the pasta noodle.


The noodle is made very simply, but it tastes really good, and can be purchased dried, and then boiled to loosen it up before hitting the wok, or fresh, and it still needs to be cooked in hot water, strained and then stir fried. A chef or home cook can use these noodles for a soup, by simply stir frying favorite ingredients and adding a soup stock to a boil, and adding in the noodles at the last minute, these noodles become a great noodle for Asian soups.
Subgum  Chow Mein

Subgum Chow Mein is the standard dish in American Chinese digs, usually with the noodles, meat, seafood, and vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, shitake mushrooms, and a nice thickened broth. It is a Cantonese style Chow Mein.

French Food of The Day

French food of the day is Pain de Seigle, it is a French Rye Bread. How is it pronounced? Well, I met some French people from Montreal, and it sounded like this, "Pen dee saygle" Maybe I need to clean my ears, but they were French, and that's how it sounded, and when I repeated it, they kind of nodded "ok."


So now when you go to some French restaurant, and you want rye bread, ask for it and speak in French, at least try what the hell? Your date maybe impressed, or you'll both share a good freeking laugh. "Can I have the Coq au Vin, and a side of Pain de Seigle?"


There's your French food of the day, Pain de Seigle, or just ask for "French Rye bread"

WINE TERM OF THE DAY

The wine term of the day is tannin, it is defined as a strong taste, kind of woody ha ha, no not that kind of woody, let's not go there. But bitter would be more like it, such as a strong cup of tea, or when you accidentally bite into a seed of a fruit, yeah you get the picture.


So when some wine bozo is talking like this, "This 2008 Merlot is fruity, yet the tannins are somewhat strong, this bottle is less sweeter than the 2007 Merlot from Dickhead's winery just outside of Monterey." Well I don't know if that's how they'll be speaking, but something like that.


Tannin= that bitter taste, that strong tea kind of taste, why can't they just say it in simpler terms I have no idea, so there you have it. Tannins.

My Take On Food Critics

Food critics get paid to critique restaurants and the chefs that create the menu, recently a well known food critic in Hawaii passed on, and I'm sorry he did, I did not know this guy, but from what I understand he was a harsh critic, and restaurant owners prayed for a great or at least a decent review. I understand journalists have that constitutional right to write, and share their opinions at times. However, the power that some critics have on the masses is enormous, and I was just thinking if I was a restaurant owner, and had some critic come in and destroy my establishment through his or her columns, I'd be worried and pissed at the same time.

Say I am here on Maui, which I am, I have a good local following, but some hot shot pen pusher comes in and just hates me, and my restaurant, and he pens it, I can't help but think, there goes some business, maybe, maybe not so bad, but I do think there would be more bad than good.

I do think restaurant owners who have a following, don't need to have some hot shot critic come in and critique their establishment, if you're selling your product, you're okay and good to keep on going. No one needs in these economic times to have a bad review, your local customers will let you know right off the bat if our filet mignon sucks. Yeah, you don't need the critic in there. And with social media, there's a good bet, people are Facebooking or Tweeting your dig now anyhow, that's better, you get real feedback from real customers.

Critics are part of that industrial age, who needs them, outsource your own critics, your customers are the best ones. Again, I'm all for honest feedback, but if my meals need a makeover, I don't need a critic telling the whole world about it, my local foodies will do, and we'll get to making it more valuable again. All I'm saying is critics suck, from music mags, to movie reviews, who needs them. I go by friends, "Hey Ron check out this movie it's great man." "Hey Ron try out this restaurant, it's good." I'll go by word of mouth, and then again, maybe critics do serve a purpose for people far away... What the hell, critics are there, restaurants are there, hopefully a bad review won't bankrupt some mom and pop on Main Street USA right? It can happen, I mean a bad review can crumble someone without a heavy stash of cash. Bad news travels at the speed of sound.

Imagine, a full load of passengers on a 767, a hundred of them read a bad review of your restaurant, and all of them said, "Yeah Jim the foodie said 'Ron's suck' let's not go there." That's a hundred possible customers that will not show up. I'm a student of business, and numbers, so yeah a food critic giving a bad name to a dig can kill it. Sorry, I think I'm right.

BACK TO EATING RIGHT

Let's face it we're all sinners, and if you my friend are saying, "Nah not me!" bullshit, you are a sinner too. If a hot young lady is walking by in a tight bikini, you may not stare, but I bet you a mill, you took a glance, hence you too are a sinner.


This past holiday season, the sweets tempted me and won! The roast meats, and steamed veggies were great, Asian foods were found at every gathering, and I loves me some Asian food. Especially some greasy pork stuffs that only home cooks can manufacture, man I was in hell, or... was it heaven?


Okay I know for sure, I had one too many cookies, and one too many sodas, and one too many sweetened coffees, and one too many high quality things to eat. Now I have a hard time tying my shoes, get the picture?


Okay so what's on the menu for this year? Well, I got to eat less sweets period, I got to eat less salty foods. And I need to go and run around and sweat a little bit, or maybe a lot. One, I got to get away from the job I have which is driving a shuttle bus. My friends tell me that I'm a good cook and should do more of that, maybe private parties, that way at least I'll be busy and running around instead of driving and sitting on my fat ass and gaining more pounds. I'll focus on that.


But here's eating right for anyone.


1. Eat more fibers in the morning, more whole foods and all natural if you can get it, like apples, oranges, bananas, papayas, instead of that greasy sausage and eggs. If you want to eat some of that greasy shit, maybe just eat one egg, and less than 4 oz. of meats.


2. Drink more water, less sugar laced drinks.


3. For lunches, eat fruit, and a small amount of protein, and lots of water, if you can't get any good food but you're stuck at Mickey D's, eat a sandwich there, cut it in half, give the other half to a homeless guy, and save money by asking the girl at the counter for a cup and drink water, if you want the fries, buy a small one, and eat only half.


4. For dinners, eat a salad with protein, hold off on the heavy starches like rice and breads, if you'll eat a salad, grill some chicken without skin, cut it up and place it over the greens, use a low fat dressing, or make your own if you aren't tired from working all day.


5. Cut out your late night eats, instead of polishing a sub sandwich, eat some whole grains, or some unsalted nuts, and again drink water.


And let's get running around and lose some weight, it's all good, there's nothing wrong with eating like a maniac.. sometimes.... but if you like myself are getting huge, it's time to watch what goes into our mouths and stomachs.


Aloha

THE AHI

The Ahi is a very good eat, the meat is a nice reddish color, and firm and sweet. Local fishermen catch Ahi via pole and line, and in Japan, long line fishing gathers most of the sashimi, the higher grade of tuna which is sold to sushi bars and restaurants across the globe. A pound of Ahi during the holiday season can fetch a lot for a pound. Over 20.00 a pound in some cases maybe more.


The Ahi is built for speed, studies show that Ahi will hang around depths of up to 230 feet deep, and will dive to deeper depths. Ahi fishing can be anytime during the year in Hawaii with factors such as wind, tide, moon rising etc. to keep in mind, but fishermen have stated that prime time for Ahi can be from June through August, or the Summer months.


Size of Ahi caught in Hawaii by sports fishermen can range from small 10 pounds up to 200 pounds. This fish is a prime fish, sold at auction to the markets, bidders battle for the most prime of cuts. The meat is firm, and sweet unlike the Skipjack tuna or Aku which is a little more fishy in taste, and the meat is at times, not as clear as the Ahi, hence a heavier taste.


Local cooks love to take Ahi meat, from any part of the fish and make it into poke, or steaks. The fatty belly parts are prized by many a diner in sushi bars and restaurants. Chefs are known to sear the meat just until in turns color, leaving the whole center of the cut raw. Though this has been popular because of local celebrity chefs and their marketing of their restaurants, many locals cook the Ahi, almost well done, and if done right, this is very tasty, and not everyone loves raw food.


A simple recipe for Ahi is this.


Take an Ahi steak, about 6 oz, and sprinkle some salt and pepper over it, heat up a nonstick pan with some vegetable oil, over high heat, sear the steaks until it turns color then flip it and cook it until it turns color, and serve with a soy sauce mixed with wasabe, miso, ginger, and a squeeze of lemon. Or cook it through for those who don't want raw fish. Serve with hot white sticky rice.