Yesterday was as good as it gets. My tour guides, my brother and Hilda, led us on a hike to Swinging Bridges in the West Maui Mountains. This is my second awesome hike of the summer! It was gorgeous. Tropical forest all around, flowers, plants, trees....mountains line the background and waterfalls cascade in the distance. I have to admit the "swinging bridges" part got my adrenaline going a bit. They are a little sketchy, not exactly 100% safe, although the fall to below isn't too far. Still. I made my way across quite slow, even slower than my mother, who professes to have a fear of heights! Oh well, we made it nonetheless. Quite an adventure I must say. Overall, I think it took us about 4 hours, with a good stop for lunch in between when we reached the dam/waterfall/swimming spot. We snacked on homemade spam musubi (a delicacy you know) and the best homemade guac sauce known to man. Aaron and Hilda braved the freezing waters (might as well if you hiked all the way there) and then we made our way back. Feet and legs were a little sore. Next time, I'm wearing my tennies - none of this slipper business.
Dinner that night was quite the reward. Every time we dine at Capische, the experience is THAT much better. Perfect table selected, beautiful sunset, calm weather, no wind, ocean completely flat. Of course, it always pays to know people, and Aaron and Hilda both work at Capische! So, not only do we get the best of the best sent out to us, we also have the experts to explain the processes of the dishes we are delving into, as well as the best pairings of wine.
For starters, we had a round of martinis. I had the mango martini, and the kicker was that they added flecks of basil to give it some bite. I devoured that. My mom had the white peach, Aaron had the cucumber, and Hilda had.....I cant remember but it was good. After that, the experts ordered some fabulous wines to accompany our spread: the white, Gavi - from Italy; the red, Palmina Undice - a to die for Sangiovese right from California. Oh how I love wine.
And now to the food, the star of the show! Of course we always have the fresh, moist bread baked with gigantic chunks of garlic with balsamic vinaigrette and oil for dipping.
First up was a delicate block of watermelon, vacuum sealed and compressed with tarragon and mint, topped with a tomato watermelon granita scoop, paired with a small salad of cucumber, red bell pepper, feta cheese and cayenne pepper with a streak of green basil oil across the plate. Beautiful presentation, interesting combination of flavors. Definitely stimulates your palate.
Next was the vongole salciccia (I hope I'm spelling that right), which includes Manilla clams in a white wine tomato broth with spicy pork sausage, homemade tagliatellee pasta, micro parsley, and a fennel grilled flatbread. DELICIOUS. I am not one for clams, but I am one for trying anything new once. This was superb. The clams were perfectly cooked and the broth was fabulous. The dish is complete with the spicy sausage and the fennel flatbread to soak up the rest of the broth and juices. This makes my list of must try items for sure.
Drum roll.....MUSHROOM TRUFFLE RISOTTO! Cant come to Capische without it. Its to flavorful and creamy, with the slight crunch of the shaved truffles and awesome cheese flavor. Never mind the mushrooms, which I hate in "real life."
Also for ANOTHER appetizer, we split the mango BBQ ahi entree (slightly seared so its cooked on the outside and raw in the middle), served with a jicama slaw and the best cornbread muffins around, baked with mascarpone! MmmmmMmmm.
Next up, a beautiful simple salad of greens and vinaigrette with feta cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and I should remember this, but some type of seed (has a tart flavor, almost like a caper but it much larger).
And the entrees:
Me - I had the herb crusted fresh catch, which happened to be Uku (a grey snapper). This was so good, I cleaned the entire plate. Its got a sundried tomato relish, whipped potatoes, and a coriander vinaigrette. I would recommend this to try, definitely. Come on...I cleaned my plate after I ate all of the above!
Mom - well, she didn't really order an entree, but Aaron ordered a half size shrimp carbonara to put at her place on the table. This is what I got last time I ate at Capische, its so loaded with butter and heavy cream, you might think you would have a heart attack after eating it! Its also got panchetta, caramelized onions, and parm cheese - of course topped off with a succulent jumbo shrimp. Sooooooo tasty.
Aaron - now, I do not condone the eating of veal in anyway, but he had veal picatta and some other type of preparation. I forgot to ask, but will later, served on a bed of pasta and broccolini. My mom kept stealing the broccolini! I cannot attest to how the meal tastes, but it looked fab and my brother loves it.
Hilda - had the pork chop, which I also did not get a very good description of. So sorry, I was too wrapped up in my food, but the presentation was gorgeous. Aaron gets this meal all the time, so I know it must be good. Pork chops are not really my bag though.
We finished the meal off with an ice cream trio, the delectable banana nutella, the orange dreamsicle, and the raspberry (I think) sorbet. Sweet and simple bliss.
Well, that about wraps up my trip. I had another great day at the beach today and am going to enjoy my last, relaxing night here, before heading back to reality. Thanks everyone! THE END.
