CHEF SAMBRANO: PRIME SANDWICHES In China Town Honolulu Hawaii

Saturday, March 18, 2017

PRIME SANDWICHES In China Town Honolulu Hawaii

China Town Honolulu, a hustle and bustle part of the island with lots of history. Walk the streets, and turn of the century architecture surrounds you. The heat of the streets gives you a sense of something, maybe it's that inner you that says, "I feel like I'm back in time here, the buildings look old, there really isn't a lot of modernization going on."

As you walk by mostly Asian marts, eateries, and kitchen supply shops, you will notice however that there are other shops not conducive to the Asian fare. OK China Town is well-Chinese, we see a lot of Chinese entrepreneurs here, also Vietnamese, Japanese.. that kind of rhymes. But pizza? Or should I say sandwiches? OK I'll say it, there's a killer sandwich shop located at 1120 Maunakea St. #186 called PRIME SANDWICHES. What is Prime Sandwiches? Here's the good thing, my good friend that I've known for over 30 years Peter Pao is the owner of this little sandwich heaven, according to Peter his sandwiches are unique. Open over eight months or so, Prime delivers the unconventional.

"If you want conventional, go to Subway," says Peter, very confident in what he does, always. Ever since I've known him, he was always a doer, if he says he'll do something, guess what, he's going to do it, and not half ass. He'll do it full blast the way he envisions it. "Look at the menu Ron, what do you notice?" Hmmm, well, I look. And I say, "Looks like you have prime rib as the root of all your creations." Peter looks at me, "You got it, that's why I named it Prime. I've been doing prime rib for decades, I know the science behind cooking this thing." I must also add, that Peter has sold restaurant equipment to restaurants and professional chefs for well-decades. Peter sold professional knives, pots and pans, you name it. In fact, I still have a 10" serrated blade he sold me well-over 20 years ago.

"I not only do I do prime rib, but pork belly, all slow roasted in an Alto Shaam cook and hold oven, low heat for 18 hours." Wow! "The prime rib comes out perfect, not dried, the pork belly gets a crisp skin, and juicy inside. It's all about quality and execution, the Alto Shaam cook and hold ovens are perfect, we utilize two of these." According to Peter, the Alto Shaams, will hold the meats without ruining it. The units comes with vents that you can control to help with moisture.

"This area has lots of foot traffic, but we could always use more business since we are just open for lunch. On the weekends we got breakfast, I'm working on a waffle creation." Knowing Peter, that waffle creation will be unique. "We have an ingredient, it's not a liquid that you might think it should be, but it's a slice." A slice, now get this, it is a slice of gravy. "It's dehydrated, we slice it, and just think of a slice of American cheese, that's it." Man that's creative. "And we don't use mayonnaise, we use guacamole instead. It's not that I want to serve healthy, just think, guacamole is tasty, it's creamy, it's perfect for a sandwich. We have a bottle of mayo in the refrigerator, but haven't used it yet."

And what else? "We got adobo flavored chips if you want with your sandwich." Hmm, never heard of it before, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, I can dig it. In fact, vinegar chips, sour cream and green onions chips, all good.

Call them at 808-536-8462