Chai’s Choice

Mongolian Style Lamb Chops

The restaurant Chef Chai can be described in a few words: elegant, innovative and absolutely delicious. Located on Kapiolani Boulevard, across the street from Neal S. Blaisdell Center, it’s the perfect place for a night on the town as it exudes sophistication and tranquility.

World-renowned chef Chai Chaowasaree surely lives up to his reputation as one of the top Hawaii Regional Cuisine chefs. Known for his creative and beautifully presented dishes, Chaowasaree also makes it a priority to use as many fresh and local ingredients possible.

Once a month, customers are encouraged to get a little taste of Chef Chai’s signature dishes at its Monthly Full Moon Concert. This event takes place on the night of each full moon throughout 2017 (next one is March 12), and guests are invited to enjoy dinner at 6 p.m., followed by a show at 7:15. Chaowasaree partners up with Robert Cazimero and Halau Na Kamalei to bring guests a 4-course meal accompanied by great music beneath the full moon. For $75 per person, visitors may indulge in a starter, appetizers, choice of entrée, selection of dessert and concert.

Appetizer Sampler (Part of the Monthly Full Moon Concert, $75 per person)

Can’t make it to Full Moon Concert? Another way to try some of Chef Chai’s signature dishes is its Early Bird Menu, offered daily from 4 to 5 p.m. For $40 per person, patrons will enjoy a selection of starters, an appetizer sampler, entrée and dessert.

Chaowasaree recently sat down with Dining Out (DO) to discuss his Monthly Full Moon Concert and what guests can expect on the menu:

DO: Which entrée choice seems to be most popular among concert diners?

CHAOWASAREE: All of the entrées are our signature items, but once guests come (to Monthly Full Moon Concert), they come again and again and want to try everything at least once.

DO: One of the entrée choices is the Mongolian Style Lamb Chops with Brandy Demi, Mashed Potato & Stir-fried Sugar Snap Peas. Can you explain how it’s prepared and the inspiration behind it?

CHAOWASAREE: The lamb is marinated with hoisin, brandy and sesame oil — like Mongolian style — and then we grill it. We do Asian-fusion here … to me, plain lamb is just kind of boring.

DO: What else can guests expect at the concert?

CHAOWASAREE: It’s normally sold out, so I recommend making a reservation. We can only seat about 50-60 people and once people come, they always want to come back.

Visit chefchai.com/monthly-full-moon-concert/ for more information.

Chef Chai

Pacifica Honolulu,
1009 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu
585-0011
Nightly, 4-11 p.m.
chefchai.com