“You have to get the scallop pot pie,” says Pomaikai Shishido, owner of Kakaʻako-based Chef Chai.
It’s the first day of the eatery’s new dinner menu. Chef Chai still features signature dishes like miso black cod, grilled beef tenderloin, vegetable terrine and fresh ‘ahi tartare with avocado mousse — which come in mini waffle cones — but the restaurant added customer favorites to its menu.
“We added things from either Chai’s Island Bistro days — when it was at Aloha Tower — or his cookbook, or wine dinner favorites,” Shishido says. “Usually, for our wine dinners, we don’t serve the same item twice but we serve this one (the scallop pot pie) three times already. People like it.
“The menu is never the same for our wine dinners; it’s (the dishes) paired specifically to the wines,” he adds.
The new dishes are the result of customer feedback, according to Shishido.
The scallop pot pie — a medley of onions, baby carrots, scallops, spinach and sweet potato gnocchi — is served piping hot and topped with a housemade puff pastry.
But that’s just one of the new dishes on Chef Chai’s menu.
The hamachi crudo appetizer comes with yuzu ponzu sauce and is garnished with scallions, watermelon radish, cucumber and jalapeno. Meanwhile, the wok-fried jumbo black tiger prawns ($45) includes Thai chili-ginger sauce over stir-fried vegetables; Shishido notes that this was a favorite at Chai’s Island Bistro.
The restaurant always featured a crispy whole fish with chili ginger sauce, but now it’s available in three different styles. Customers can choose from chili ginger sauce, steamed Chinese style or spicy Thai style. The latter features a Southeast Asian-style sauce, which is sweet, tangy and spicy. The eatery also added Chef Chai-style cioppino ($60), which features a twist on the traditional seafood stew. It includes shrimp, fish, scallops, Manila clams and corn, along with housemade garlic bread.
“It’s a little different because it’s a lemongrass coconut milk broth instead of a clear broth,” Shishido explains.
He also notes that the “curries, rice and noodles” section of the menu — with choices like yellow, green and red vegetable curries, pineapple fried rice and Chef Chai’s garlic noodles — is a new option. The dishes in this section are all $25 or less.
“People think that Chai’s is super expensive,” says Shishido, who explains this section is the eatery’s response to creating more takeout-friendly dishes.
The green vegetable curry ($25) is a Thai green coconut curry with Thai basil and Island vegetables. Meanwhile, Chef Chai’s garlic noodles ($22) — a popular recipe from his cookbook — features green onions, cilantro and garlic, cooked in garlic oil.
Curries come with steamed jasmine rice.
New desserts include the poached pear melba ($17), vanilla crème brulee ($12) and bruleed banana with pandan sticky rice ($15).
The poached pear melba consists of vanilla ice cream and a poached pear sandwiched between puff pastry layers, topped with roasted almonds, and a raspberry guava puree.
“The pear melba used to be at Chef Chai’s Island Bistro; we’re bringing it back,” Shishido says. “The kitchen was making a few of the dishes from the Aloha Tower days; this was my favorite.
“Because the restaurant is Thai inspired, we wanted to do a pandan sticky rice,” he adds. “We wanted to do something different from a mango, so we did a bruleed banana instead."
Chef Chai also recently launched a new happy hour, available from 4 to 6 p.m. at the bar and patio from Wednesdays to Fridays. Customers can enjoy a variety of signature pūpū and small plates, ranging from steamed Manila clams ($18) and Hurricane fries ($10) — the eatery’s twist on Hurricane popcorn — to mini oxtail ramen ($25) and 1-800 hotline wings ($18). The latter is spicy, according to Shishido; customers can choose from chicken tenders or wings served with mango coleslaw.
CONTACT
Chef Chai
1009 Kapiʻolani Blvd., Honolulu
808-585-0011
chefchai.com
Instagram: @chefchaihawaii
Open 4-9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 4-10 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays, closed Mondays and Tuesdays
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
