"The Joy of Sake" - touted to be one of the events of the year, with 300+ sakes available for…read moretasting and delectable morsels of goodness from restaurants around the island, including Chai's Island Bistro, Morimoto's, Hakkei, Lewer's Lounge (?! Yup, you read that right), Gyotaku, Rumfire, Yoshi-ya and even some "out-of-town" guests, like Banzai (Haleiwa) and Marian's Catering (Wahiawa).
The event was *packed*! Sake connoisseurs, aficionados and newbies alike all filed into the second floor ballrooms of the Sheraton Waikiki. 6-8 tables scattered across the ballroom and the foyer displayed bottles upon bottles of sake available for tasting. "How does one manage to taste sake with reasonable pours with that many people wandering around for tasting?", you ask. By tube droppers straight out of chemistry lab class. Each fill was probably around a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce, and was probably just enough to get the flavor of the sake, while still allowing you to try as many sakes until you ... well, yopparai ni natta.
Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo - all of the different grades of sake available, from different prefectures and different regions of Japan - an amazing variety! Some attendees took a scientific approach to tasting, documenting their tastings with notes and/or pictures of the bottles. To be honest, it was really the only way to effectively get much information out of the tasting - after that much sake, how much do you *really* remember?
As varied as the sake selection was, so too was the variety of food samples available! I'll hit just the few personal highlights of the event:
- Hakkei: my personal fave. Chicken dumpling, with assorted vegetables, immersed in the "famous" Hakkei oden dashi. This was delicious. I couldn't get enough of the dashi. After our first taste, Kyle H. and I were already planning out the next time we could make it to Hakkei for dinner! Delicious, delicious stuff. It's a must try.
- Rumfire: Chad Y. and Kyle H. were also in agreement here - the spicy ahi sampler was amazing! (Pic: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/rOerYe1whpfcIDFWiexf2A?select=8D5MJgRwSPuueb_acdtpNw ) It's a shame that the appetizer would probably cost you ~$15 at Rumfire, though. (Joking ... but not by much.)
- The Kahala: the Kahala (formerly known as the hotel that had the word "Mandarin" in it somewhere) had two dishes available - a butterfish dish and a beef medallion with a lotus root chip over a potato with gravy. The butterfish was "ok", and the beef medallion was good - a bit savory, good texture with the lotus root chip.
- Yoshi-ya: a new (?) Japanese restaurant located in the front of the Sheraton Waikiki, this booth was popular, with the familiar post-imbibing scent of deep fried tempura. The batter was light and crisp, the shrimp tasted great - was ono! This was another item that had us talking about the next time we'd be going to dinner! Reality hit when we passed by the menu on the way out and noticed that the shrimp tempura was about $4/pc.
Positives: .... are you kidding me? 300+ SAKES AVAILABLE FOR TASTING, 15+ RESTAURANTS SERVING FOOD. Try *not* finding a positive there!
Drawbacks: Unfortunately, it's only during this 2 1/2 hour alcoholic trek through the country of Japan that this spread is available. Leaving the event was bittersweet - as though saying goodbye to a friend you won't see for a while and who you've only been able to spend a few blurry hours with.
Props to Emily & Thomas for tirelessly running the Yelp area and bringing in people to take pictures under the Yelp banner (and if they didn't, to come back in an hour, lol). And big mahalo goes out to Emi - THANK YOU!!!
The Joy of Sake 2011 was an impressive event, living up to the hype created. The wide variety of sake was virtually a guarantee that one would walk away with some good memory(ies) of the event, taking away the name of their new obsession. Unfortunately, for this wet-behind-the-ears sake taster, most of them starting tasting the same after a while. (Obviously, your experience will vary here.) Loved the company, loved the food, loved the sake ... I just wish I could remember all of them.
Ah, well ... sho ga nai. (Cannot help.) Til next year!