Joy of Sake 2014

This was the second time attending the Joy of Saké. The first time was back in 2010 when they held it at the Sheraton. I like that it’s hosted at the Hawaii Convention Center now because it’s a lot roomier and not as congested.
The BF and I went back and forth trying the saké and the food, and everything turned out to be amazeballs!
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to try Banzai, BLT, and MW since the lines were too long and by the time we came back, they’d all run out of food. :(sad bears.
However, among the foods that we were able to try, the dishes that really stood out for me was the tri-​tip yukke with toasted pine nuts & quail egg (Hopscotch), and the olive-​oil poached (sous-​vide) salmon with horseradish and watercress salad (Halekulani)! I went back for seconds and thirds!!!
As for the saké, my favorite ones were in the Daiginjo category. It was a little difficult for me to go through and read the little saké booklet that they gave us while holding my food, saké cup, and my phone to take pictures.
Going forward, trying all the food first before they run out, then heading to the saké samples afterwards would be the most efficient way to maximize your experience in the short 2.5 hours of the event.
Definitely looking forward to next year’s!

As some of you may know, I’ve really been getting into sake lately. So much so that attending the Joy of Sake annual event in Honolulu has become more of a necessity than an option. Addict, you say? Well, maybe so, but I’m fine with that.
The Joy of Sake 2014 main event was held on July 18^th at the Hawaii Convention Center. There were 370 sake to sample, some of which had ridiculous lines just to get a taste! One of those was the Born «Yume wa Masayume» («Dreams Come True») daiginjo which is the same sake that, in 2008, President Obama was given by Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama to celebrate his Presidency. The line was just way too long for me, but from what I’ve been told, it was definitely a notch sake.
The sake-​friendly food offerings at the event were provided by some of the best restaurants around town, a couple from the neighbor islands, and even a couple from the mainland. Those restaurants included Banzai Sushi Bar, BLT Steak, Buho Cocina y Cantina, Cakeworks, Chef Chai, Doraku, Gokujo Sushi, Halekulani, Hoku’s, Hopscotch (Oakland, CA), Kaiwa, Koko Head Café, Memphis Minnie’s BBQ Joint (San Francisco, CA), Migrant Maui (Wailea, Maui), MW Restaurant, The Pig and The Lady, Pili Group, Three Fat Pigs (Waikoloa, Big Island), and Vintage Cave. The food alone was worth the price of entry!
This year they had set up an «Izakaya Alley» outside the main ballroom. It was a row of food vendors, and a few tables of sake out in the open air with more festive lighting to give you the feel of a Japanese street market. It was a nice touch, and I made several trips back and forth between the balmy night air of Izakaya Alley and the cool crisp air of the main event hall.
As usual the Hawaii Potters Guild was in attendance selling handcrafted ceramics made just for sake drinking. They had various sake cups and flasks for sale, and since I couldn’t find my cup I had bought last year, I made sure to get another one!
One of my favorite things about the event this year, aside from the sake and food, is that there were early entry tickets available for a little bit more, cost-​wise. Paying the extra for the early entry was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made when it came to this event. I was able to more leisurely move around the room and try all the food, and a lot of sake without too much hassle because once the doors opened, and the rest of the crowd poured in, the room filled up with hundreds upon hundreds of sake lovers.
So who’s joining me for next year?

As always a great event for sake lovers!
They offered early entry for about ~$ 50 more. You get the go in and start sampling an hour before the general population… I didn’t take advantage of this, thinking I always end up faded by the end anyhows!
Food was great as usual. My favorites were BLT’s steak tartare and Buho Cocina Y Cantina’s soft taco.
Darn, much of last night was a blur to me – blame on the sa-​s-​s-​sa-​s-​s-​sa-​sake!
My first sake of the night? Koshi no Kanbai chotokusen! This sake ran out pretty quick!
I look forward to the next year’s event! As well as the lead-​up aftertastes!

I have gone to the Joy of Sake (in Honolulu) since 2009. I think that this was one of the top two, the only other one being possibly better was the one at the Sheraton. I did think that this event was definitely better than last year. Last year had so many people and the food ran out quickly (the food tickets did not help).
I did enjoy the food and the sake is obviously always top notch. There was a lot of room for people to move around since some of the food booths were spread out outside. My favorite dish was from MW — «spam musubi» that was made from arabiki sausage. I would say my least favorite was the one from cake works — a plum wine (ume) jello with some type of green tea shot. It was interesting but I prefer when they made macaroons. Those were definitely my favorite when they made those. I didn’t get to try vintage cave or Blt but I am not sad. There’s always next year.
Tickets were $ 85 during friends and family promo and $ 95 online. They were selling for $ 105 at the door. There was also VIP tickets that let you in an hour earlier for $ 145 (?). We went in around 7:15 and still had tons of fun. I definitely cannot wait until next year! Kampai!

Joy of Sake is one of my favorite events of the year~!
This year it was held at the Hawaii Convention Center from 6:30 — 9:00pm for $ 95. However this was the first year that they offered early admission for $ 145 and you get to enter the event at 5:30 instead.
I really hope they offer early admission again next year. Completely worth it!
The Grub.
Out of all the dishes, I would have to say that my favorite dishes was Vintage Cave and Hopscotch :)
This years participating restaurants was BLT Steak, Three Fat Pigs, Buho Cocina, Cakeworks, Chef Chai, Memphis Minnie’s BBQ, Kaiwa, Koko Head Café, Halekulani, Doraku, Chef Chai, Bonzai Sushi Bar, Vintage Cave, Hokus, Migrant Maui, MW, Pig & The Lady, Pili Group, and Hopscotch.
I cant wait for next year: D