No, we didn't go to his house for dinner. I guess when he created his new digs, he decided to name it like Mavro (Chef Mavro is the actual name of Mavro's restaurant). And for the umpteenth time, I waited until the promotional value on mt Groupon almost expired. I told myself that I'd never purchase another Groupon mainly because we usually wait until the last minute to redeem it. But I did have a $15 credit when Indigo closed and Groupon offered another $10 credit so I got Chef Chai's usual $131 sampler menu for two for the Groupon price of $99 minurs my $15 credit minus the additional $10 credit so my overall cost was $74. The only catch with Groupon is you have to dine either between 4 to 6pm or 8 to 11pm but we're early eaters anyway so it was no problem.
I love this chandelier made of wine glasses...
We started a round of cocktails, the Speakeasy ($12) for the Mrs with Bulleit Rye whiskey, mixed berry syrup and fresh raspberry. A very nice refreshing starter...
And the Cherry Blossom ($12) for me with Tanqueray 10, sake and ginger liqueur - another cocktail revelation as I'll try to duplicate this in my personal bar... and the barkeep and server get additional kudos since it was served with a fine ice line (I hate when my martini sits on the bar until it warms up)
The 1st starter was the Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce. The accompanying pickled cucumbers were like a good namasu while the peanut sauce had loads of flavors goin' on. While it's listed as a "course", several Yelpers state that it's served to all diners as an amuse bouche.
Next up was the Quartet of Appetizers
Including Chai's famous Kataifi and Macadamia Nut Jumbo Tiger Prawns - these were as large as shrimp get
The Fresh Ahi Katsu - another standby from the Bistro days with both a yellow curry and wasabi "sauce"
The Salmon Gravlax Roulade on cucumber - I'm not sure if this was one of his previous dishes from the Bistro
And the Roasted Butternut Squash and Lobster Bisque - a Yelper mentioned that she enjoyed it but couldn't taste the lobster. I beg to differ, this was lobster all the way with the butternut squash playin' 2nd fiddle
I also sampled a glass of Acacia Pinot Noir ($14) when our mains were served including the Kabayaki New Zealand King Salmon with sugar peas and baby corn... this was the BEST salmon I've had this year - perfectly cooked so that it melted on the palate...
And the Asian Style Braised Kurobuta Pork Osso Buco with shimeji mushrooms, carrots and haricot vert. Very tender and rich... and filling.
Served with Coconut Milk Ginger Brown Rice
We ended the evening with the White Chocolate Amore Gelato Truffle filled with raspberry sorbetto on a raspberry guava sauce. Look at the photos on Yelp and you'll see about 20 pictures of this dessert - visually stunning but good and surprisingly light.
So the verdict? We did patronize Chai while he held court at Aloha Tower but the menu never seemed to change. It seems like he did create new dishes with his current incarnation and there were several pluses - a perfectly shaken, served and flavorful Cherry Blossom martini, one of the best cooked salmon dishes I've sampled, excellent service and even the Mrs was pleasantly pleased... So yes, we'll probably be back...
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