Two words: Duck Wellington.
That’s just one of the dishes you’ll find at Carte Blanche in Kaimuki. The eatery, owned by chef Kenneth Lee (who also owns XO Restaurant and now-closed AV Restaurant), opened last November, but has since revamped its menu. While I had attended its media preview last year, I returned recently to check out the prix fixe menu — and can’t stop thinking about it.
The first thing you’ll notice upon entering Carte Blanche is its ornate, bedazzled interior. The large chandeliers and overall gold theme will make you feel as if you’ve been transported from Kaimuki to a blingy, Vegas-like establishment.
“Carte Blanche means ‘the freedom to do as one pleases,’” says Lee. “It opened last November; the permit took from 2021 to November 2022, then it took one year for construction/getting it started.
“XO was slowly renovated, as I could barely scrape together enough income (for it), and AV was a partially built-out skeleton,” he adds. “With Carte Blanche, we had the freedom to build from underground to above the roof. It’s the most I’ve poured into a restaurant, since it was completely empty and not a restaurant previously.
“Both of my previous restaurants are darker themed, so I wanted to make the complete opposite and make this bright and reflect the time and work that went into it.”
When the restaurant first opened, it was supposed to feature a set menu. However, under executive chef Anthony Shimaura, the five-course prix fixe menu (that started in May) costs $74 per person (optional wine pairings for an additional $54). It’s a steal, considering the portion sizes and the high-quality, locally sourced ingredients used.
“We took pieces of the opening a la carte menu and added some new ones to make a new, focused, cohesive seasonal menu that combines traditional ideas, flavors and ingredients of Hawaii with modern techniques,” Lee explains.
The prix fixe menu started with caprese pani puri. This fun twist on the traditional Indian dish featured the delicately crispy spherical shells, but instead of the typical filling (a combo of onions, chickpeas, peas and diced potatoes), this one contained petite pieces of burrata and a pesto spread. Diners are supposed to add tomato water into the shells, then eat them in one bite. It was a refreshing way to begin dinner.
Next up was French onion soup with caramelized onions, melted Gruyere, pate a choux (filled with caramelized onions) and croquettes filled with melted leeks or onion soubise. It was rich and hearty, and I found myself wanting more — and I typically don’t love onions.
After a brief intermezzo (cucumber and melon granita with pickles) came my favorite course — cold-smoked Ora king salmon. This one pays homage to a traditional luau, as it included lomi, luau, roasted rice and smoked pork fat charred cabbage (a step up from kalua pork and cabbage).
The salmon was the star of the show — not only was the portion generous, but the filet was so moist and buttery that I barely needed to chew.
For the next course, we had two options — the 72-hour not-just-braised short rib “steak” or upgrading to the aforementioned dry-aged duck breast pretzel brioche Wellington for $15 more per person.
While the short rib was flavorful and tender, I highly recommend splurging for the duck Wellington, just because it is so unique. I don’t eat duck often and tend to be a little wary of its sometimes-gamey flavor, but rest assured, this one is cooked perfectly — tender, not gamey, but not overdone. It was served with a truffle-and-chicken mousse, ume port wine sauce and furikake. The slightly chewy pretzel brioche was baked to a delectable golden brown and the furikake topping added to its savory flavor.
At that point, I was pretty full, but I can never say “no” to dessert, which, in this case, was a molten and frozen fried ube potato pie. It was like a gourmet toaster strudel with coconut creme de patisserie and icing on top.
While it was delicious, I missed one of the previous desserts from the restaurant’s opening menu — a baked-to-order chocolate chip cookie sandwich with Laie vanilla bean ice cream. I’m hopeful that it’ll make a comeback in the future.
“Every dish so far has received about an equal amount of comments about it being the customer’s favorite,” Lee says.
“The first bite (pani puri) is the most flavorful; the dessert is the most homey; the duck is the most impressive; the salmon is the most surprising, in terms of ingredient quality; and the short rib is the most unctuous.
“Individual dishes will be swapped out every month, rather than a menu rip (change) every quarter.”
Carte Blanche
Address
1133 11th Ave., Honolulu
Phone
808-425-5726
Hours
Wednesday-Saturday, 5-10:30 p.m.
Website
xorghawaii.com
Instagram
@carteblanchehi
Price: $ $ $
PARKING: Free parking in front of restaurant or paid parking municipal public lots in Kaimuki
