Charm, Creativity, Talent – Everything, Including the Kitchen Synch!
Friends for a quarter century winning hearts and tummies, far and wide.
Adela Visitacion and Millie Chan have been creating and collaborating in the kitchen for over 25 years, so it is little wonder that their latest joint venture, Adela’s Country Eatery, would launch to a deluge of 5-star reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor.
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This hole-in-the-wall, call & collect restaurant located in a small strip mall in Kaneohe, on Oahu’s Windward side, opened without fanfare in January 2019, but with the power of rave reviews on social media, Adela and Millie had no time to find their stride before they were creating hundreds of dishes a day.
It was fate, however, that brought Adela and Millie together more than 25 years earlier when they both worked behind the scenes of a bustling local restaurant. A shared passion for great food, creative ideas, and a mischievous sense of fun quickly made the two inseparable and they were soon finishing each other’s sentences, usually with laughter. Over the years, their ongoing thirst for culinary knowledge and skills saw them venturing beyond Hawaii’s shores to California, Japan and the Philippines. With both ladies come from farming families, they have an inherent appreciation for the hard work and knowledge required to raise healthy animals, and to grow the finest quality fruits and vegetables. Today, these fresh locally grown produce form the basis of every delicious meal that leaves Adela’s Country Eatery, not because local is ‘fashionable’ but because it’s in their DNA.
Adela is constantly searching for creative ways to use readily available local produce, and following a trip to Japan where she and Millie learned the art of noodle making, From some of the country’s noodle masters, Adela came up with an idea. Over the next few months the pair began experimenting using locally grown ulu (breadfruit), taro, Okinawan sweet potato and Moringa to blend into their house-made noodles. It was certainly not a slam dunk. Pasta noodles must contain just the right amount of moisture and viscosity or they break up during production, or disintegrate during cooking. When it comes to noodles, texture is as important as flavor, since it’s the texture that allows the different sauces and topping to cling to the noodles and not be simply left on the plate but the flavors of these unique noodles is what everyone remembers. It took months of trial and error before Adela and Millie overcame the different challenges but today, foodies the world over are beating a path to their door, and if their 5-star Yelp and Trip Advisor reviews are any indication, it seems that food-lovers just can’t get enough of the Country Eatery’s unique pasta noodles.
Noodles however are not the only highly sought-after dishes created in their bustling kitchen. At first glance, many will recognize favorite, locally-inspired dishes on the extensive menu but each comes with its own delicious twist but these chefs are not just about savory flavors, they are also out to win the hearts and ‘tummies’ of the sweet-tooth foodies with their decadent, fruit-topped cheese cakes, crunchy macadamia nut shortbread cookies and more.
Adela’s Country Eatery is not a restaurant in the classic sense, and whilst it does have seating for a handful of guests, most go online, choose from the comprehensive menu, phone-in their order then collect their meal to enjoy at home, or as a picnic at a nearby park or beach. As Adela says – You call, we cook, you collect, and it seems the myriad of loyal followers are doing just that, time and time again.
With large group catering a steadily growing part of their business, Adela’s is making a name for itself the length and breadth of Oahu, and beyond.
To see a selection of mouthwatering dishes and place your phone order, visit: https://adelascountryeatery.com/
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