We’ve been talking with a chef friend about a project. He called the other day and wanted to check out Panya Bistro (1450 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii). While waiting for The Cat, had a cup of jasmine tea.
I think the manufacturer saves by leaving out the “e”. I remember an urban legend of why Mickey Mouse only has three fingers and a thumb on each hand (or paw as it were). But I digress.
Chef asked what I wanted to eat. My philosophy is when I’m eating with a chef, I’m the passenger, sit back and enjoy. He wanted to try three items.
White noodle with bean sprouts, basil, chive, shoyu, and egg.
From the menu: Malaysian-Style w/Shrimp, Fish Cake, Aburage, Bean Sprouts, Corn, Aromatic Herbs. Served w/ 2 Types of Noodles. I didn’t get a picture of the noodles (chef’s hands were moving too fast), it looked like a ramen-type noodle and a super thin noodle (maybe egg noodles?).
Chef wanted to expose us to foods from different Asian areas. For him to prepare them it would take too many ingredients. Easier to try outside.
I thought the Thai style fried thick noodles were a little lacking in flavor. I prefer beef chow fun, dry style (my opinion). The Cat didn’t mind it because it wasn’t spicy. Chef said the noodles were too dark, too much shoyu.
The spicy Indonesian fried rice wasn’t bad (I thought), Chef agreed (although he still could do better). The slices of tomato and cucumber were correct. It was too spicy for The Cat’s tastes.
It was the laksa that Chef wanted to try. I thought it was okay (I’m not that much into coconut milk). The dish was a little too spicy for The Cat. Chef thought the bowl was interesting (although he wanted another notch for the soup spoon (the two on the bowl were for the chopsticks).
We shared a dessert.
For some reason, the dessert reminded me of the mascot for Genki Sushi … but anyway, I thought this was pretty good way in taming the spiciness of lunch (a little too much cream for me though, sorry TMI).
BTW, he gave us some “new year” pastries his wife made.
The ones on the left are filled with a peanut and sesame seed mixture, the ones on the right, a bean paste. Homemade and tasty.
Enjoy.
The Mouse