Update: OEC Cafe is Oishii!

UPDATE 7/14/14: OEC Café is now open at 7:00 a.m. again to serve you breakfast. In addition, they added Panini Sandwiches ($8.50) and Fruit Smoothies ($4) to their menu, updated daily. According to OEC's Facebook page, both of these new items are offered for breakfast and lunch. Be sure to check them out and let me know what you think! http://www.facebook.com/pages/OEC-CAFE/316165641862185


UPDATE 6/12/14: OEC Café has changed their hours of operation and no longer serves breakfast, much to the dismay of my lunch buddy, MC. Their new hours are 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday - Friday. Closed most holidays. Go to their Facebook page for updates and weekly menus: https://www.facebook.com/pages/OEC-CAFE/316165641862185


ORIGNAL POST 2/24/14: I finally tried OEC Cafe after it came highly recommended by two of my foodie friends. My foodie-coworker raved about their muffins but admitted that she had not tried much of their lunch service. So we made a date and off we went to OEC to try their daily specials. This relatively new cafe is located on the ground level of the HGEA building on Queen Street in downtown Honolulu, behind the post office. There have been several eating establishments in that same spot over the years, most recently an Italian place. Given the small square footage of this very clean and trendy-looking cafe, "dine in" means sitting outside in the courtyard at one of the tables under the trees.

In addition to the three daily lunch specials, OEC offers just a few more items given the small staff. Besides the co-owners, an assistant was just hired and is being trained to help dispense the completed orders. The everyday items include Roasted Chicken Salad, BLT sandwich, and a Tri-Sandwich (half each of ham/cheese, tuna salad, and egg salad sandwiches on Japanese-style bread). The sandwiches are between $4 and $5 and the daily specials are between $8 and $9.

I ordered the Vegan Special, which was comprised that day of spinach soba with soy dressing on the side, tofu with a miso paste and a small inari sushi. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the noodles were perfectly cooked! I love noodles and really appreciate a chef who doesn't boil the noodles until the order is placed. The care the chef took to prepare my simple but tasty dish, instantly made OEC Cafe my new favorite restaurant for lunch!

My coworker had the Chicken Stew with Rice Pilaf. She was in heaven as she tasted the creamy white stew, which she compared to "a very upscale chicken ala king." She let me have a taste of the rice pilaf. It was perfectly seasoned and would have been delicious all by itself. The specials come with a slightly tart side of potato salad and a small green salad (with the exception of the vegan special).

You must also try their muffins, which changes weekly. So far, I have only tried the apple-almond muffin ($1.50) but I plan to try other varieties if I can just get there before they sell out. This week's muffin offerings include blueberry, orange-walnut, and sweet maple-yam-chestnut. My other foodie friend also recommends their yogurt for breakfast. She said that it has just the right amount of fruit and granola. Oh, and give the cheesecake a try, too. It is light and creamy goodness on a thin graham cracker crust ($2). 

Since my initial visit, I have gone back to OEC a few times to try more of their fare and I have yet to be disappointed. My boss was very impressed with the Roasted Chicken Salad and compared the quality of the toppings to something you would find in a fine dining restaurant. When I told him that the owners once worked for Morimoto, he replied that it was no surprise. With its clever name - OEC is a play on "oishii" or "delicious" in Japanese - I hope they will be around for a long time. I highly recommend OEC Cafe!

OEC Cafe

345 Queen Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (808) 888-9328

Hours:
Monday - Friday

7:00 am - 3:00 pm

Their website is under construction so visit them on Facebook to see their daily specials:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/OEC-CAFE/316165641862185

Vegan Special - Spinach soba and soy dressing, tofu with miso paste, inari sushi

 

Chicken Stew with Rice Pilaf

 

Chicken Parmesan on Fettuccini
 

Swedish Meatballs on Rice

 

Chicken Stuffed Cabbage on Pasta and Foccaccia Roll

 

Apple-Almond Muffin

Special Valentines Day Brownie (It was heavenly!)

 

Cheesecake!

Accidental Lentil Soup

2 cups dried Lentils (brown/green variety)

1 Tbs olive oil

1/4 cup onions - diced small

1/2 cup celery - diced small

1/2 cup carrots - diced small

1 cup spinach leaves (I just grabbed a loose handful)

1 can chicken broth (15 oz)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Water for boiling

1. Rinse lentils in water and pick out the broken pieces and any floaters.

2. Boil in enough water to cover lentils by 2 or more inches. 

3. Simmer until lentils start to get weird and mushy. Turn off heat and put aside.

4. In a separate pan, saute onions, celery and carrots in oil olive. Do not burn.

5. Add lentils using a slotted spoon so only a little of the boiling water is added to the veggies. Add chicken broth and spinach. 

6. Cover and simmer until veggies are soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Why is this recipe "accidental?" Because you don't need to par-boil lentils when making soup. I started out boiling the lentils to make a salad and ended up with soup instead! However, boiling the lentils separately allowed me to scoop out just the nicer beans and leave the mushy mess behind.

I had this hearty soup for lunch today

Review: Hy's Steakhouse - Waikiki

Now that I've had my fill of over-rated, trendy new restaurants that seem to come and go with the wind, I was happy to learn that Hy's Steakhouse is still doing what they do best. My husband and I had dinner there to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary last month. I haven't thought about Hy's in years but when I found out that they still serve Beef Wellington, I was eager to return. The waiters still wear tuxedos and the warm wood decor and plush seating welcomed us back. We were seated in one of the corner booths where we could see the entire room. The hostess said it was one of the best tables in the house. Audy Kimura entertained us with his timeless, relaxing guitar music just as he did when we dined at Hy's for our first anniversary back in 1983. It was so nostalgic.

We started the meal by sharing an order of Escargot ala Hy's. It was prepared the traditional way (garlic butter) and served with bread. My husband ordered the Onion Soup Gratinee which I helped finish after he ate all of the rich cheese on top. For our entrees, he had the 14 oz boneless rib eye steak (Delmonico) which came with delicious whipped garlic mashed potatoes. I ordered the Beef Wellington, of course, accompanied by a baked potato with all of the decadent toppings (butter, sour cream, bacon bits, and chives)! My first bite did not disappoint. The puff pastry shell was light and crispy while the beef tenderloin was perfectly cooked and so tender. Let's not forget the delicious pate/mushroom layer in between. My mouth is watering as I type this post!

We were pleased with not only the classic preparation of our delicious meal but also the classic-size portions. I cut my Wellington right down the middle and took half home for dinner the next day. My husband did the same with his steak. The only thing that was a little disappointing was the Cheese Bread. Thirty years ago, they served it with a savory garlicky bread. Perhaps my taste buds have changed over the years but I didn't find it to be as special as I remembered.

For dessert, we were treated to a piece of cheesecake which we took home for our daughter. I was looking forward to having Cherries Jubilee instead. Our dessert was prepared for us tableside by Marc, the assistant manager. When our dish was ready, he carefully served the fat cherries and warm sauce over vanilla ice cream. It was a large serving. I think I counted 10 cherries in my serving alone. I'm not sure because I was too busy enjoying my dessert.

Although we dined on a Thursday, the restaurant was packed. Despite having many tables, our friendly waiter, Chris, provided excellent service. Coincidentally, we discovered at the end of our meal that we know Chris' father. What a small world!

The only minor drawback is the restroom is located in the lobby of the hotel instead of in the restaurant. On the plus side, the valet parking was free. Our entire bill for this wonderful dinner (with leftovers for a second meal) was less than $200. I highly recommend Hy's Steakhouse for your next special occasion!

Hy's Steakhouse

2440 Kuhio Avenue

Honolulu, HI 96815

Ph: (808) 922-5555

www.hyshawaii.com

Onion Soup Gratinee

Beef Wellington with baked potato and all the toppings

Complementary cheesecake

The preparation of a classic dessert - Cherries Jubilee

Yummy!