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Day 3

Golf in Hawai'i is considerably nicer than on the mainland, especially Southern California.  Courses in Los Angeles are always congested and overbooked, and the courses aren't in the best shape.  You're frequently in a five-some, with a five-some in front of you and behind you, so it's slow play AND you still feel rushed.

(Kahili Golf Course practice range, overlooking Ma'alea Bay)

We golfed at the Kahili Golf Course yesterday, which was very unlike golf as I'm used to it.  The course was very open, so much that we started almost 30 minutes early.  Throughout the entire 18 holes, we never saw a group behind us, and never caught up with the group in front of us; it felt like we had the course all to ourselves!  The scenery was very nice as well, but because the course is situated alongside a hillside, we had to deal with 20-mph wind every once in a while, which took several of my slicing tee shots into the neighboring fairways...

We had dinner at Roy's , an Asian-fusion cuisine restauraunt near our condo in Ka'anapali.  I must say that it was a better dining experience than Sansei.  The menu was more gastronomically thoughtful, and the wine list more impressive.  I had the sea bass over saimin noodles--fresh, flavorful, and I appreciated the presentation.  Roy's is more along the lines of what I expect of when I think, "Asian fusion."  The chef's creations were aggressively creative, but everything went well together and I never felt like menu items were just trying to be impressive on paper.  I had a chance to have samples of other dishes from my family members, and they each had a unique identity that was as equally tasteful as my own selection.  I recommend Roy's, though I hear it's not as good on the mainland as it here on the Islands.

I'm sitting here on the balcony of our condo unit, enjoying the cool tropical breeze on this 71ºF evening.  The sun is setting, and now it has set, but I'm slightly distracted by the episode of "Deadliest Catch" on the television behind me.  Tiki torches illuminate the pool area below, and there's but one person swimming now at 8:00pm.  Focusing my ears to the west, I think can hear what sounds like 1.5-foot waves "crashing" on the beach.  As paradisiacal as this setting is, I find myself asking, "why did I eat so much at dinner?"

We had dinner at Sansei near the Kapalua Golf Course in Maui.  It's a fusion-esque Japanese restaurant, with a handful of sushi roll ideas/creations/combinations I hadn't seen before.  The sashimi was fresh and of good texture [maguro (tuna), sake (salmon), unagi (freshwater eel)], but I can't say i was completely impressed by the rolls.  In one of my earlier blog entries, I describe myself as a minimalist when it comes to many things including food, and some of the creations at Sansei were a little too intense for my personal preferences when it comes to Japanese and Japanese fusion, which I confess are often very demanding.  One of their award winners, the Mango Crab Salad Hand Roll, was enjoyable, but the sweet Thai chili vinaigrette was a little much on top of the sweetness from the mango, and both subdued the taste of the Kula greens a bit (maybe the greens were mostly for texture?).  Another item was the Panko-crusted Fresh Ahi Sashimi Sushi Roll, which is yellowfin tuna wrapped in arugula, panko-crusted then fried quickly, served with soy wasabi butter sauce.  I give points for creativity, but I must withold my accolades as far as its effect on my palate.  I really liked the compliment of textures, but the flavors just didn't do it for me.  The tuna got overcooked during frying, and it almost made it taste like chicken, and again, I would have enjoyed a lighter sauce to accompany it.  

Don't get me wrong, I throroughly enjoyed dining there and would again in the future if I [God willing] have the chance, espcially if I get the 25% early bird discount again.  It's just that I'm disappointed when Asian fusion cuisine emphasizes combination of many unique flavors instead of focusing on harmony of texture and taste.  In my humble (and possibly wrong) opinion, I believe that Asian fusion is not about packing in all these creative combinations of flavors for the sake of creativity; some of the best fusion cuisine I've tasted had 3 ingredients.  Fusion should be about the harmonious marriage of complimentary flavors and textures, not inundating taste buds with more flavors than identifiable.  With that, here's a simple recipe I adapted from Everyday Food, altered to suit my own tastes.

Scallop ceviche:

Scallops, bay or jumbo
Cucumbers
Red onions
Limes
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil for all you non-Food Network, Rachel Ray watching people)
Salt or Fleur de Sel if you have it (thanks Grace & Susan)
Pepper

*Note* I don't have measurements because I don't know them.  Just wing it.*

If you use bay scallops, you won't have to cut them, but using jumbo scallops will give you a more tender result.  Season the scallops with salt and fresh ground pepper, but take it easy.  Sear in evoo on high until barely brown on both sides. Center will be a little rare, but if you're adverse to that, you can cook them longer.  It's safe to eat scallops completely raw; it is, after all, a sushi dish.  Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature.

Halve cucumber(s) then seed.  I do this by using the tip of a spoon to scrape out the seeds.  This is optional, especially with European/English cucumbers, but I still seed them for presentation's sake.  Bias-cut the cucumbers into slzes suitable for a salad, maybe a bit thinner.  Cut onion(s) to make small 1-inch slices of the same thickness.  Toss cucumbers and onions in mixing bowl with light salt (fresh ground pepper optional) and the juice of a couple of limes.  Once evenly coated/mixed, combine with scallops and toss.  Refrigerate and serve cold.  

I like the crispness and coolness of the cucumbers paired with the sharper taste of uncooked onion, with the scallops providing the substance of the dish.  The lime juice "ceviche-fies" the dish, though ceviche is usually raw [fish], and gives a tart contrast.  You can add zest of the lime as a garnish, too.  Maybe zest of lemon would be a better color?