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Malibu Chan’s, a California Café and Sushi Bar By: The Lady of The Night Out Why should you eat at Malibu Chan’s? You crave the taste of the Hawaiian islands. You long for poke and poi. Where do you go in LVNV? Roy’s? The Hawaiian Plantation? How about a California Café called Malibu Chan’s? Both the owners and the executive chef grew up in Honolulu. The food is more Maui than Malibu. And that’s a good thing, because this restaurant has Pacific Rim flavors down pat. Who should eat at Malibu Chan’s?
Who shouldn’t eat at Malibu Chan’s?
Ok, so what’s the food like? The lobster was the best item I sampled. What a presentation – a picture perfect salmon colored creature sitting on an elegant black tray. The steamed crustacean was so shiny it looked shellacked. The chef had scored the rock hard shell at critical junctures to ease the extraction but with me it was still a 10 round fight. But it was worth the wrestling match. The meat was perfectly cooked – arriving sugar sweet and mouth watering juicy. The cole slaw was a wonderful mix of sweet and tart. The tart part was a great counterpart to the natural sweetness of the seafood. Another winner was the calamari Asia, an appetizer. Light- as-a-cloud breading cloaked the wonderfully chewy squid. Malibu Chan’s serves two dipping sauces and thankfully neither was marinara. My favorite was a mixture of soy, sake, and mustard that wasn’t afraid to show some teeth. The Thai chili aioli was a touch too sweet for the oceanic squid. Shrimp lovers will be in heaven meeting the colossal shrimp. This is indeed truth in advertising. The sautéed shrimp were almost the size of my hand. They were served with a garlic soy sauce – always a tasty pairing – and a mango salsa, which added a fruity feel. Dessert in the Desert: This be the place for luscious desserts. Don’t miss the baked apple purse. The parchment-like phyllo dough which encases the baked apple makes the desert look like a Kate Spade drawstring bag. Inside the purse, plumped up raisins and candied pecans mix it up with the baked apples. The Hawaiian bread pudding, which uses sweet bread, was perfect for those who don’t like sweet desserts. It was lined with white chocolate, doused in rum, and topped with coconut ice cream. Items to avoid: We were unhappy with our entrees. A lobster tail stuffed with seafood, a special, was overcooked. The seafood seemed to be missing from our stuffing. The blackened lollipop pork chops suffered the same misfortune. They did keep company with some of the best spuds in town. These mashed potatoes were whipped to almost gooeyness. They were so hot the steam I could have enjoyed a mini-facial. Favorite waiter: I ate alone one Monday night and was ushered to the table by the bathroom and was promptly forgotten. I had better service when I dined in a group. History: Warren and Kathy Seta, who hail from Honolulu, opened the restaurant in November, 1999. They also own Mizuno’s Japanese Steak House at the Tropicana. The Setas received Restaurant & Hospitality Rating Bureau’s Millennium International Award of Excellence for Mizuno’s. Malibu Chan’s is the home of LVNV’s annual Poke festival, where local celebrity chefs compete for the tastiest poke. This July Terry Fong stepped into the kitchen as executive chef and culinary director. Also a native of Honolulu, Fong worked at the famed Bacchanal Room at Caesars Palace. For the last six years he was executive chef for Gatsby’s Gourmet Room at the MGM Grand, which won a coveted Five Diamond award from Mobil. Summing Up: The appetizers and the desserts were nonpareil. You’ll never dip calamari in marinara again after you’ve been converted to the Asian sauces at Malibu Chan’s. Don’t bother with the second rate entrees, since there is so much else to eat… except for the fantastic lobster. If you are free on Monday nights, you won’t find a tastier, prettier whole lobster. It made me swear off Monday night football, which you can watch in the bar if you’re desperate! Where is it? On West Sahara at Cimmarron in the same strip center as the original Rosemary’s. (It’s called the West Sahara Promenade Shopping Center.) The address is 8125 West Sahara. Phone: 702.31.CHAN. Web: http://www.malibuchans.com  By: The Culinary Curmudgeon I have never been good at geography. I could be wrong, but I though Malibu was in southern California. So can you chow down on the best Hawaiian food this side of the Napoli coast at a restaurant proud to be a “California café?” I think Princeville Chan’s is a more accurate moniker, especially since the victuals are so regal. That would make the chow more congruent. That’s my favorite new big word. It means everything is in perfect harmony. There’s no scratching your head, wondering, “What were they thinking?” That’s a great segue way into the other incongruent portion of my meal at Malibu Chan’s. I loved my Monday night steamed lobster. That puppy sure looked pretty on that fancy Japanese breakfast tray. It was the most elegant lobster presentation I’ve seen. So what’s with the blue collar plastic cups for the sour cream and butter for the baked potatoes? Those tubs remind me of those down home roadside eateries on the far side of Oahu. Find a fancier way to serve the condiments, kids. Or serve the lobster on yesterday’s RJ and throw the shells on the floor. Just be congruent! I had the sniffles, so I thought the dining room smelled fine. But the Hausfrau kept searching in her purse for nose plugs. She said the cooking smells reminded her of those greasy spoons on the far side of Oahu. My suggestion: add lots more garlic. Now there’s a terrific smell! I love the bargain prices if you don’t mind dining at a time favored by four year olds. I’m thinking of just having lunch at 5 p.m. to take advantage of the half price entrees. Malibu Chan’s has a well populated bar area with two plasma screen TVs. That solved an existential dilemma. Now I can tackle my lobster and Monday night football with one flick of the wrist. Judging by the way the Cowboys are playing, maybe the bartender should flip back to the exciting happenings in the kitchen. You’ve got to love a restaurant that puts itself staff on its own food channel. Aired 15 August 2003
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