The Pig and the Lady

There's a new food trend in town, and it's called Pop-Up Eateries. To read more about what pop-up eateries are, read this article from the NY Times. The basic concept is this: a chef will find a kitchen that is under-used, say for example, a restaurant that only opens for breakfast and/or lunch. The chef will then transform this restaurant into a whole different concept once the sun goes down. The food will be nothing like the restaurant that operates in the same place during the day.

One of Hawaii's first pop-up restaurants is called The Pig & The Lady. The chef is Chef Andrew Le, formerly of Chef Mavro, which is undisputedly one of the best restaurants in the state. It just so happens that I happen to be good friends with the Chef's brother Alex, and Alex invited us to the soft opening of The Pig and the Lady. The instructions were simple - show up at Hank's Haute Dog at 7:30pm, ready to eat. Hank's Haute Dogs? Are we going to be eating hot dogs all night?

We arrive at Hank's Haute Dogs on Coral Street at 7:15. The place does not resemble what it looks like during normal business hours at all. They hung 4 large lanterns out front, and on the inside, where there is normally just open space, they squeezed in two rectangular tables with black table clothes, silverware, and cloth napkins.

Here are the courses for the evening:

Nairagi Sashimi: asian pear, water lily herb, kaffir lime

Maitake Mushroom: jicama, lotus root, rice croquettes

Roast Pork: betelnut leaves, watermelon, ginger nvoc mam

Pho: handcut noodles, brisket, tendon

Toast: lychee, coconut pandan curd, thai basil

Everything was delicious and we were all really stuffed by the end of the 5-course dinner. But wait, they also made Vietnamese style coffee for us.

Because of the limited space available, seating is by reservation only. Dinner is service on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The menu will be changing every couple of weeks, so what you see here may not be what you'll end up getting down the road.

Follow them on Twitter @pigandthelady.