The New Year Brings New Delights

Synonymous with its name, Anytime Cafe in Market City Shopping Center is always there anytime a craving for superlative fare hits you hard. Be it, breakfast, lunch, dinner or a late-night dessert, this tried-and-true establishment never fails loyal diners who flock here by the masses.

Dining Out recently paid a visit to one of our favorite eateries and caught up with owners Ken and Cindy Wong. This husband-and-wife team wasted no time, as they were eager to share a handful of new and savory dishes that grace the menu starting today. We were lucky enough to catch a sneak peek, and can wholeheartedly agree that great things are in store this year at Anytime Cafe!

DO: Anytime Cafe is embarking on its third year in business and has garnered much success. The restaurant appeals to just about everyone, correct?

Cindy: Yes. Our menu has more than 100 items, from Chinese cuisine to American, Italian and more. The concept here at Anytime Cafe is similar to a cafe you would come across in Hong Kong, where Ken and I are from.

DO: Taking a glimpse at the menu, there’s so much to choose from, and it all depends on what you’re craving most. What are a couple of the restaurant’s most popular dishes?

Cindy: Two of our most requested dishes are Wonton Noodle ($7.95) and Thai Style Pork Cheek ($6.95).

DO: Now that a new year is upon us, Anytime Cafe is welcoming 2013 with a slew of new dishes. When are they slated to hit the menu?

Cindy: There are four new items that we’re excited to feature and we will offer them starting today.

DO: How exciting! Tell us about these dishes.

Cindy: Yes, we’re very excited, too. First of all, we have Vegetable Lasagna ($15.95), which features a fresh spinach pasta sheet layered with eggplant, mushrooms and ricotta cheese. Then we’re eager to offer Squid Ink Linguine with Calamari. Priced at $16.95, fresh squid ink pasta is tossed with calamari rings and our house marinara sauce. Seafood fans also will enjoy Spinach Linguine with Swai Fish ($16.95). This is a delicious entree that comes with fresh spinach pasta tossed in our house marinara sauce and topped with baked swai fish seasoned with a special sauce with onions, olives and capers. Finally, we have our new dish of Spinach Linguine with Shrimp and Scallop ($16.95), which consists of fresh spinach pasta with pesto cream sauce, and topped with flavorful pieces of shrimp and scallop.

Basically, the big draw is that we’re now using fresh pasta, and we believe not many restaurants carry fresh pasta.

DO: Fresh pasta dramatically adds to any dish. What are you hoping the response will be to these new dishes?

Cindy: Of course, we’re hoping that these dishes will be a hit with everyone. We’ve been giving samples to our regular customers and they seem to love it.

DO: What brought about the addition of these new items to the menu?

Cindy: Many customers asked us about fresh pasta, so we got some from our pasta supplier on Christmas, and we tried it and we loved it very much. During our last visit to Hong Kong, we noticed that many restaurants carry fresh pasta, the most popular being squid ink pasta.

DO: What else will the new year hold for Anytime Cafe?

Cindy: Well, we would like to further promote Green Monday at Anytime Cafe. It’s all about going meatless on Mondays — an easy and effective way to reduce your carbon footprint and improve your health. According to a recent study, the meat industry is responsible for nearly one-fifth of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world. That’s more than all the cars, trains and planes combined. We will offer 10 percent off our vegetarian dishes on Green Monday this month. Please support Green Monday!

Anytime Cafe

Market City Shopping Center
2919 Kapiolani Blvd. #218, Honolulu
735.3888
Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-midnight
Saturdays, 8 a.m.-midnight
Sundays, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.