San Francisco chef Anthony Yang, whose resume reads like a travel guide to top U.S. restaurants, shared his culinary perspectives in Hawaii for the first time at the Ante Meridian 808 Brunch Pop-Up, based on a four-course breakfast meal he pre­sents in pop-ups at home. Three seatings were held this weekend in Manoa.

Yang, 29, tinkers with standard dishes according to what’s in season or, in this case, what’s produced in Hawaii.

His first course of yogurt, for instance, featured Naked Cow yogurt, coffee granola, and lilikoi and beet puree, sprinkled with pea shoots.

Other dishes included a Brioche Bread Pudding served with roasted pineapple, macadamia nut and corn purees and thin slices of squash; Koshi­hi­kari Rice Porridge, a gruel accompanied by toga­ra­shi pork, pickles, poached egg and furi­kake; and Black Truffle Waffles with maple syrup.

The waffles, among Yang’s signature dishes, are crisp and airy, thanks to the addition of yeast, and have a hint of saltiness provided by the truffles. He says his take on the familiar dish illustrates his culinary approach.

"I’m over the fine-dining thing. My food is not pretentious. I want it to be approachable," he said.

Clean plates throughout the room during the first seating Saturday indicated he hit the mark.

"One of my favorites was the yogurt," said Lauren Araki of Kapa­hulu, who attended with husband Rene Julian and their daughter Kelsi Julian-Araki. "You get the beet flavor with a different texture than usual, and everything went well with the pea shoots. It was really nice."

Following an externship in 2005 at The French Laundry in Cali­for­nia, Yang worked in such New York establishments as Country, Adour Alain Ducasse and Per Se. In 2012 he moved to San Francisco where he was a sous-chef at Michael Mina.

A year and a half ago he started the popular Ante Meridian, which will go from bimonthly to weekly pop-ups in August.

The Hawaii pop-ups were the first outside San Francisco for Yang, who was assisted by buddy chefs Chris Kaji­oka (Vintage Cave) and Mark Nogu­chi (Pili Group).

They made the job easy, he said, unlike brunches back home, which are "kinda nuts to do."

"Most of the time I’m a one-man band. I do all the shopping, prepping and cooking alone. But the upside is freedom: I try to change the menu each weekend."

Yang was raised in Southern Cali­for­nia by Chinese parents born in Korea.

"I had the best of both worlds," he said. "The rice cooker was always on. I grew up on dumplings, ja jiang mein (a Korean noodle dish) and two eggs over white rice with Spam, just like a Hawaiian boy. My porridge dish is a reflection of what I grew up eating."

This was Yang’s fourth trip to Hawaii but his first time cooking here. The trip prior was particularly memorable: "I proposed to my girlfriend, now my fiancee."