A fine dessert is a rare and wonderful thing, the usual being oversweet, cloying and almost always leaden. Spying this sculptural delight delivered to an adjacent table, I anxiously anticipated receiving my very own; Haupia Semifredo. Reminiscent of a seascape, it featured a pale green wheel on edge, crafted from a sandwich of two meringues with the frozen haupia mouse between, this sitting on a mossy smear. On either side of this wheel sat dark green sponges that seemed to have grown comfortably in place alongside. A few other details flesh out this still life aquatic; pills of green and white powdery dew, a tiny bit of comb honey, three cubes of clear coconut gelee and a few edible flowers forming a digestible diorama.

Masaharu Morimoto, of Iron Chef fame, has opened a new restaurant at The Modern hotel along the waterfront in Waikiki. The Haupia Semifredo is only one example from their unusual and exciting menu centered around the fruits of the sea. Sushi, the sushi of your dreams, is Morimoto’s first love and, interestingly, he is sometimes actually there wielding the knife himself. An impressive gesture, given that he often does the same at his other restaurants in New York, Philadelphia, Napa Valley and even Bombay. Dust does not settle on the man.

Morimoto’s chefs prepare for the evening rush in their galley kitchen

A native of Hiroshima, Morimoto was a stellar athlete headed for the Carps when an injury sidelined him and pushed him to pursue his second love, sushi. Rising from dishwasher, mastering the trade and prepared for a life running his own sushi bar, he and his wife decided on an extended tour of the U.S before settling in at home. Their first stop was New York and they have never lived anywhere else. He worked his way up through the New York scene eventually landing as head chef at Nobu, the stellar creation of Nobu Matsuhisa (who also has a new restaurant in Waikiki).