Turning culinary dreams into reality

Once you start sprinting on the treadmill called making a living, it’s easy to get so caught up in daily survival that there’s no time to reflect on past dreams and set future goals.

Chef and culinary instructor Jason Peel had spent a couple of decades as a respected right-hand man helping other chefs realize their dreams of opening restaurants and helping students pursue their culinary ambitions. Along the way, he had forgotten his own ambition until he was cleaning up at home one day and discovered a paper written by his student self in 1999.

“I said I dreamed of owning my own restaurant someday.”

But on his journey, it became comfortable to continue working for other people rather than taking a risk on a business with, according to the National Restaurant Association, a 30% failure rate.

Finding the paper filled him with a sense of urgency as he realized, he said, “I’m teaching these kids, but I’m not even doing what I’m teaching.”

And just like that, he opened a place of his own, Nami Kaze, in January. Starting slow, and mindful of pandemic restrictions that did not ease until March, the restaurant launched with contemporary okazu to-go that proved so popular that it became difficult to secure one of Peel’s creative bento boxes.

Next came a fantastic brunch lineup in June, but I held off on writing about it while waiting for dinner service that would fully realize his vision of a sustainable, contemporary izakaya focused primarily on seafood and vegetables.

I waited, and waited some more. Patience has paid off with a menu that would come as a shock to anyone looking at the restaurant’s name and expecting a traditional Japanese izakaya.

Instead, expect to find a global fusion menu that’s bound to reawaken the palate of the most jaded diners.

Peel had me at the outset with a simple but eye-opening appetizer of oysters ($9 for four) with pickled garlic-jalapeño tosazu. The Tosa-style soy sauce with a touch of smoky bonito dashi enveloped the oyster in rich umami that had everyone at my table bursting out with a “Wow!” after gulping it down.

The parade of flavors continued with patatas bravas-style fried ulu ($9) accompanied by a plate dotted with Kewpie mayo, Hawaiian chile gel and teriyaki gel. I’m not much of a sauce person because I usually prefer to taste the main ingredient itself, and this particular combination that we were supposed to swipe the ulu through didn’t sound particularly scintillating to me. It turned out to be quite fantastic in combining creaminess with a touch of light salt and heat with the crispy breadfruit.

Another version of ulu ($10) saw them baked tots style and stacked, flavored with an Asian barbecue sauce and grated goat cheese tomme.

There were also two ways to enjoy eggplant. One was marinated in a gingery tempura-style dipping sauce with oroshi and wasabi oil ($9). I opted for the Middle Eastern-spiced roasted eggplant ($9) with tzatziki sauce and a dash of berbere chile oil, with no regret about the choice at all.

When offered a dinner roll, we thought two were enough to split among four people. You will definitely want one of your own when it comes to polishing off a dish of butter-grilled Kona abalone (market price) or Kauai prawns ($19) with herbed house butter and hot-sour gel. The bread comes in handy for relishing every ounce of butter remaining in the pan after the shellfish is gone.

Ahi tartare ($20) served with a crisp rice cracker also delights with texture and flavor, with fish sauce gel, crispy fried shallots and herbs meant to be stirred into the fish before consuming.

There are also sushi rolls and fish dishes that seem less interesting when compared to the flavor explosion of smaller plates.

Kampachi crudo ($20) with aji amarillo, cucumber, coconut and pickled gorilla ogo sounded tempting, but I find the Peruvian pepper sauce works better with chicken than raw fish.

Dessert is a daily selection of Asato Family Shop sorbets, as well as treats from Peel’s pastry chef wife, Beverly Luk.

There’s likely to be more activity beyond food service to come from this space, as Peel envisioned it as a location for both customers and industry professionals to come together for shared culinary experiences and classes. But just as brunch and dinner fell into place slowly, he’s advancing one step at a time.

Nami Kaze Izakaya & Sushi Bar

Pier 38, 1135 N. Nimitz Hwy.
Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ***½
Value: ****
Call: 808-888-6264
Hours: Brunch 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays; Dinner 5-9 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays
Prices: About $100 for two without alcohol

Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).