the infamous tiki drink

The Hawaii episode is all about Bourdain debunking the myths he has about Hawaii. One of the myths that Bourdain explores is that Hawaii is all about the tiki drinks…colorful, sweet, and fu fu alcoholic drinks. Honestly, it’s hard to find someone holding one unless you’re at a beach resort in Hawaii. He stops off at Halekulani’s House with a Key first. Wing is the well-known bartender there…recommended by master mixologist Dale DeGroff himself. Wing goes all the way back to Don the Beachcomber days and has been bartending for over 20 years. In the episode, you can tell that he knows his stuff. Damn that Mai Tai and Tropical Itch looks good!

Halekulani is where Bourdain first meets Lloyd Kandell, owner of Don Tiki, who will go drink for drink with Tony throughout the day. The weather was superb and since it was around Christmas time, I recalled that a helicopter flew by with Santa sitting on the side. I figured it was a Christmas stunt for the folks lounging on Waikiki Beach. We were glad that the helicopter left…if not, that would’ve been heard to shoot around.

Next stop, La Mariana Sailing Club located by the beautiful Sand Island Access Road. I’m being sarcastic. It’s a bit of a dive bar…but guests can truly experience the whole tiki-ness of Hawaii there. I’m in the background somewhere sitting with my back facing the camera (wearing blue plaid). The producers asked me to sit in so the place looked more “full”. Apparently they ask a lot of their people in the crew to sit in at times.

You’ll see most of the production crew in the last scene at Paradise Cove Luau. Fun times!

mr. field coordinator himself

Look for my name in the credits when you tune into Travel Channel’s No Reservations tonight (8 p.m. for you Hawaii folks). I’m listed as a field coordinator. How cool is that? Do I know what a field coordinator means? Not really, but I’m happy to be one and it sounds special enough.

I was reading Max Landes’ blog on Travel Channel’s website and made me reminisce about the short week I spent with the producers and cameramen. Producing a show can be hectic at times and I can truly attest to that with TOP CHEF 2’s season finale. It takes a lot of planning and organizing and changing things around at the last minute. You really need to have a cool head to really succeed. Max definitely was a cool guy.

(Left to right: producer Max getting a massage during the shoot; Bourdain hanging out with Christian Yrizarry and Lanai; prepping for the shoot in Kalihi)

If you’re interested in reading more about some of the segments they shot in Hawaii, I’ll be posting my takes from a few segments. First off, the shoot in Kalihi for the backyard paina with local morning radio DJs Kaleo Pilanca from 102.7 Da Bomb and Lanai from Island 98.5.

When I first heard of Lanai and Kaleo being the “guides” for this segment, I was a bit hesitant. What are these comedians going to talk about? When we got there, I was at ease. Lanai and Kaleo really made Tony and the production team feel really welcomed. Listening in on what Lanai was talking to Tony about, it really felt like they were giving him a true slice of Hawaii…from Kalihi Valley (what a great view of the sunset too). For those of you who know Kalihi Valley, you won’t often find a 6 foot tall Caucasian guy walking around very often. In a way, it seemed like it was a concocted scene from a movie…in this case, a Travel Channel show.

They brought out the green bottles and served up some opihi, grilled SPAM, oyster sauce/mayonnaise basted red snapper, ahi poke, tako poke, beef luau, and palu sami (Samoan dish made with taro leaves, coconut milk, and corned beef) among other great local food items. One scene that they cut out was the kava scene that Uncle Derek made fresh for Bourdain. From the stories I heard, all the cameramen tried it and by the end of the night, they were feeling it.

(Left to right: Uncle Derek preparing a bowl of kava for Bourdain; Bourdain “talking story” with Lanai and Kaleo; prepping the red snapper for the grill)

items of the week – march 3

This week is focused on the top shows that I’m watching and looking forward to on a weekly basis.

1. Travel Channel’s No Reservations. Can you believe the Hawaii episode airs tonight??? I’ll be posting more photos from the production soon. It came and went and now it’s finally edited for TV. You’ll see everything that Tony thought Hawaii was about from aloha shirts to luau to tiki drinks…and then goes deeper to teach viewers that Hawaii is so much more (from live volcanoes, backyard paina, SPAM, big wave surfing…)

2. America’s Best Dance Crew. I’m intrigued by this show for its dancing…a lot more that So Do You Think You Can Dance? Maybe it’s the fact that it’s all about dance crews or the fact that asians are representin’.

3. American Idol. I took a few years hiatus from this show and now I’m back. The last few years I was still living at home and no one in my family cares for the show. This year, I’m back and there are singers that I actually like…see number 5.

4. Project Runway. While Project Runway will be announcing this season’s winner soo, I’m inbetween with the final three…but I’m rooting for Christian since he’s got potential. Only two more days until the season finale. (TEASER ALERT: If you want to check out the finalists at Fashion Week, here are their lines: Christian Siriano, Jillian Lewis, Rami Kashou, Chris March, and Sweet P)

5. TOP CHEF: Chicago. TOP CHEF 4 sounds good. I’m excited to see what Quick Fire challenges will be given this time around. I’m a bit bias since I was involved with the second season. Plus, there’s another Asian contestant this season..check out Dale’s bio.