Several weeks ago, the Mrs splurged for my birthday
dinner with a trip to Vintage Cave restaurant hidden in the former warehouse of
Shirokiya at the Ala Moana Shopping Center. Vintage Cave has been in business
for about one year and originally was planned as an exclusive, members only
club by brainchild and financier Takeshi Sekiguchi. Sekiguchi-san felt that
there were no high-end dining destinations in the 50th and decided
to create the ultimate restaurant on his own. It also appears that Vintage Cave
is Sekiguchi-san’s personal venue to display his vast art collection – and I’ve
read articles claiming that the artwork alone is worth about one billion
dollars! Yes, that’s with a “B” and it includes 18 original Picasso’s from the
Les Deux Femmes Nue collection and Ardon Mordecai’s triptyque Hiroshima. The cost
for restaurant alone was about twenty million dollars considering that about
150,000 custom bricks were flown in to create the cave atmosphere.
And then there’s the chef, local boy Chris Kajioka. After
graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Kajioka did a stint
with Roy Yamaguchi of Roy’s then moved to the Bay Area to work with Ron Siegel
at Masa’s, Jonathan Benno at Per Se in New York and ended back in the Bay Area
with both Mourad Lahlou at Aziza and Ron Siegel again at the Ritz Carlton.
Sekiguchi-san flew Chef Kajioka back to Hawaii trying to recruit him to run the
kitchen at Vintage Cave. When he was shown the almost completed kitchen,
Sekiguchi-san asked him if he could work in the kitchen or if he needed other
equipment. The Chef asked Sekiguchi-san to replace everything. The response?
“Done”. From there the two traveled to Japan to sample dishes from the most
exclusive restaurants in several cities then found a potter in Los Angeles to
create all of the dishes used in Vintage Cave. Sounds like a Chef’s dream, an
unlimited check book with an unlimited balance with one simple directive from
the owner, “No compromises”.
Though Vintage Cave was originally envisioned as a
private club, they do sell liquor and needed to apply for a liquor license.
Since the Liquor Commission in Honolulu frowned upon private clubs, they set
one provision for the liquor license. Vintage Cave had to be open to the public
for at least 1 month. So that’s when local foodies, bloggers and chefs alike
reserved tables for the $295 tasting menu. And I guess that eventually had
management rethinking the exclusive part so that Vintage Cave is still open to
the public. If you have at least $295 for a meal.
Our meal started with a cocktail then we were served a
foursome simply labeled as “Snacks”. Of the foursome, the Meringue was my
favorite marrying earth and sea (Chef Kajioka cures his own dried bonito)
closely followed by the Macaroon with rich buttercream and salty sturgeon
caviar.
Meringue
Meringue with
wakame gel, flaked wakame and shaved bonito
Macaroon
American sturgeon
caviar sandwiched between vanilla buttercream macaroons
Cracker
Gruyere cheese
cracker
Kale Chip
Crispy kale chip
with apple butter and boiled peanuts
If I had to choose one favorite, the Caviar probably
would be the dish since it combined luxurious caviar on a toasted/smoked
brioche mingled with sweet (maple gel) and sour (crème fraiche). The Tasting of
Sashimi that followed was like a
combination of usual kaiseki with
haute cuisine with chuu-toro and foie
gras or tamago with black truffles.
The Butternut Squash was one of the Mrs’ favorites as she loves anything
butternut squash though her favorite was the Jidori Egg Yolk – Chef Kajioka served this dish at the Hawaii Food
and Wine Festival with an abalone and mushroom stew topped with a slow cooked
egg yolk covered in a mushroom foam. Delish!
Caviar
Golden osetra
caviar on smoked brioche with maple gel and crème fraiche
Tasting of Sashimi
Oyster with tomato
yuzu, Kampachi with kinzuri and pear, Onaga with a ginger scallion miso,
Chuutoro with foie
gras, Smoked salmon with nasturtium, Tako with miso mustard
Tamago with shaved
black truffle
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash
with buttermilk granite and hazelnut
Jidori Egg Yolk
Slow poached
Jidori egg yolk on abalone with mushroom stew
I was looking forward to the Crab (since any shelled crab
is great in my book) but the pickled cauliflower muted the rest of the flavors
(though I will try to fry broccoli the next time I deep fry anything). The Matsutake Porridge was up there as one
of the favorites as I finally “got” matsutake.
I always wondered why people in the Motherland were so obsessed with matsutake. I had it on several occasions
and it simply tasted like another mushroom to me. Not this one, the pine
essence along with the pine brown butter over a fancy okai made it a memorable dish.
Crab
King crab with
pickled cauliflower, fried broccoli and wakame
Matsutake Porridge
Matsutake mushroom
porridge with pine brown butter
We finished with two main courses, the Mahimahi with the
salsify (gobo) being the highlight of the dish for me and the Wagyu (it was a
$30 supplement). Like beef flavored buttah! The Mrs stuck with the menu and had
the Lamb Loin wrapped in cabbage.
Mahimahi
Pan seared
mahimahi with pear and quinoa on salsify with a shellfish emulsion
Mountain Meadow
Lamb Loin
Lamb loin with charred
cabbage, black walnut and huckleberry
Miyazaki A-5 Wagyu
Wagyu with pepper,
shiro negi and a foie vinaigrette
The meal ended with several desserts including the Sphere
which was very refreshing (especially after Wagyu beef), Caramelized White
Chocolate which was my favorite dessert, the Honeycrisp Apple which was the
Mrs’ favorite and the Canele.
Sphere
Lilikoi and citrus
in a gelatin sphere
Caramelized White
Chocolate
Toffee nibs on
caramelized white chocolate
Honeycrisp Apple
Frozen yogurt with
sliced apple
Canele
We also were served Petit Fours to round out the meal and
once the meal concluded, Manager Charles Yoshida gave us a tour of the whole
restaurant including the kitchen (it’s just as quiet in the Vintage Cave
kitchen as the kitchen at The French Laundry). We also toured the members wine
storage area including the wine room which had cases of every boutique wine
from the Golden State. Mr Yoshida explained that most of their members are
either from Japan or Korea where top French, Italian and Spanish wines readily
available but top American wines are a rarity in the Motherland so Vintage Cave
stocks more of the Screaming Eagle, Marcassin, Harlan and Bryant wines than the
First Growth Bordeaux or Grand Cru Burgundy.
So perchance you’re visiting the 50th and want
to indulge… no, make that really indulge… I mean, really overindulge consider
the Vintage Cave. They now offer two tasting menus, one at $195 per person and
one at $295 per person which also includes seasonal items. Of course, wine
pairings are another $100 or so and cocktails, aperitifs, coffee aren’t
included so if you’re not careful, dinner for two with tax and tip can approach
four figures.
Vintage Cave
1450 Ala Moana Blvd #2250
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 441-1744
Lunch 11:30am – 1:00pm
Dinner 6:00 pm – 8:00pm
Bar Lounge 5:30pm – 11:00pm
Men: Semi-formal Attire
Women: Evening Attire
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