WRITTEN BY JAMES CHARISMA
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES CHARISMA
Sundays in Kaimukī are for lounging and relaxation. For enjoying a cup of cold brew at The Curb coffee shop, or sharing a slice of decadent liliko‘i or Key lime cheesecake at Otto Cake bakery. Saturdays are for fun, but Sundays are for chilling.
Which is precisely why, when local chef and restaurateur Ed Kenney decided to launch a new brunch program at his Kaimukī eatery, Mud Hen Water, he set it on Saturdays. The point isn’t being one day early, it’s about turning a conventional dining experience on its head. As owner of the wildly popular and inventive Town, Kaimuki Superette and the new Mahina & Sun’s restaurants, trying the unconventional is something Kenney knows best.
With dishes like waffle-fried chicken wings featuring spicy guava glaze and locally-sourced lacinato kale cole slaw on the side, Saturday brunch at Mud Hen Water weaves together classic dishes with a local or Pacific flair.
The star of the show is Mud Hen Water’s cava bar: purchase a 6 oz. carafe of Segura Viudas cava (Spanish wine) for $12, then mix flavors and ingredients to create build-your-own sangrias or mimosas. Begin with a few drops of syrups such as honey, hibiscus and lavender, then pop in fruits like sliced strawberries, papaya, champagne grapes, calamansi, dragon and star fruit. Finish with a splash of freshly squeezed orange, cranberry, liliko‘ i, pineapple or mango juice, and top it off with a few edible flowers. Why wait until Sunday to indulge?