Alan Wong's New Wave Luau: Recipes from Honolulu's Award-Winning Chef

Rating:
Summary: Pretty but not practical.
Review: I actually purchased this book. The recipes are not practical if you do not live in Hawaii. Unless you are a chef, the directions are difficult to execute. He lists no alternative ingredients for mainlanders like myself.

If you want a picture book to stick on your coffee table, this might work. Otherwise I would rather pass. I will be selling this book on Amazon shortly.

Rating:
Summary: Coffee table book
Review: I received this book as a gift. I found that it was not very practical. Ingredients I could not get. Instructions were too difficult. I'd recommend getting a different Hawaiian cook book.

Rating:
Summary: Great Dishes require attention to details
Review: Sometimes there are cookbooks that you can taste and then there are the ones that prefer a more clinical approach to cooking . Alan Wong's New Wave Luau is a very good exposition of Pacific Rim Cuisine. This book along with Sam Choy and Roy Yamaguchi give the cook/reader a flavorful and expansive overview of what is the cuisine of the islands and the Pacific Rim. The recipes explore Hawaii's culinary influences and then creates a few influences of his own.
The book is not for beginners. For those who are interested in learning more about contemporary cuisine this is a great read. The ingredients can now be found in most international markets, and if not then with a little research you can find just about everything through an online retailer.
The recipes do work if you follow the directions. There is much to learn from New Wave Luau and all you have to do is read, study the photos, learn about how the flavors interact and then cook your way through them. It's a lot of fun.
I have had the book for several years now and still return to it every now and then for a few inspirations and guides when researching new foods that I am interested in. This is a book for the serious cook. And then, once you get past the hard stuff it is all fun and adventure, really. Hawaiian cuisine is a marvel of color, flavor and aroma. Of course seafood is king in any book of island recipes, and it should be. Alan Wong's New Wave Luau just jumps off of the page inviting the reader into the grocery store and the kitchen, and sometimes into the fishing boat.
What is New Wave Luau? Well, go to page 86 and cook the Steamed Opakapaka and Gingered Vegetables in Truffle Broth, and there you have it. Bringing Japan, Thailand, Hawaii and France together in one recipe without disturbing the wonderful quality and design of the food itself.

The cookbooks of the three great Hawaiian writer/chefs are excellent examples that we must live to eat, not eat to live.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding what makes the foods of the 21st century so in love with life and flavor.