Joy of Sake 2013

My very FIRST experience here! I have wanted to come for so long!
I loved the sake and food selections! Definitely a great start of my weekend.
My only complaint is that the food lines get ridiculously long –_​_​_​_​– dislikeeee. However, we figured out a strategy. Slightly. EAT FIRST! Ha-​ha.
We didn’t plan on it, but we ended up going straight to the food booths, which turned out to be a wise decision. At first the lines were quick and we were going through a lot of food booths, then they started to take longer and longer.
Luckily we also figured out, one person stands in the food line — while the other person gets the sake: D
I had the amazing opportunity to try such a variety of sakes! Even sakes we don’t sell in Hawaii! Definitely a great experience.
{{ NOW THE GRUB: }}
NOBU — Cold smoked Scottish salmon pastrami with grape tomatoes, yuzu ponzu, aji pepper aioli and salmon skin chip
CHEF CHAI’S — Smoked duck breast taco with avocado mousse and spicy mango salsa

PILI HAWAII — Heeia salad with fresh hand-​pounded poi

{{ SOME SAKE }}




OVERALL EXPERIENCE: I wouldn’t be able to tell you my favorite Sake of the evening cause I honestly tried sooooooo many!
As for the food, I think my favorite was Chef Chais (roasted duck taco) :3 The food I though was simply HORRIBLE —- Halekulani’s Scallop and lychee with chili-​lime soda. I really think they were using bad scallops.
I really wish that I took more photos of all the food I was eating. It was just after awhile pulling my phone out of my purse trying to balance the plate and my sake cup with just too much of hassle and I simply just gave up –_​_​_​_​– BOOOOOOOO.

This was a disappointing experience. When we checked in, we were given scripts — «One Script/​One Dish». What we found out a little later is that they ran out of scripts for people checking in… so that means they oversold tickets. Ok.
As we went in, there were already long lines for food, so we decided to taste some sake first. The sake was not disappointing at all, in fact, I was pleasantly surprised that there were so many more daiginjo sakes this year.
When we did decide to stand in line for food (half an hour after the start of the event), the first three vendors were pretty good. However, when we got around to Chez Kenzo’s booth, they were out of food — and we found out they had run out of food an hour after the start of the event. While standing in another line for food, we heard that Hoku’s ran out of food — with still more than an a hour to go for the event. Hoku’s actually brought more food out within fifteen minutes of us hearing they had run out. Kudo’s to Hoku’s.
If they are handing out scripts for food, then they should have been more proactive in collecting tickets and giving out one dish per script. And if they oversold tickets, then why even give scripts? As a vendor, how do you not have enough food to last even half of the event? I think it was pretty poor planning on the food side, not the sake side.

I have been to the JOS for 4 of the past 5 years.
This year it was held at the Convention Center. Among the venues – Honolulu Museum of Art (fka Academy of Arts), Sheraton, Pier 1 (?), and the Convention Center – that I have been to, I liked here the best. Spacious room, well ventilated, and within walking distance of my home…
I have a blast every year that I have attended. Good mix of food vendors, almost 400 different sakes of varying grades, and tons of friends also in attendance. Top shelf sakes & food notwithstanding, it is the fun interactions with my compadres that make or break this event for me! Intermingling among 4 different groups of friends and also made some new friends… Christine, if you are reading this, msg me, plz!
My only complaint this year is they started using food scrips; i.e., you receive one serving from a food vendor per scrip. Since we are provided only one scrip for each vendor, we could not freely make return trips to the same vendor as in years past… I guess I am spoiled! LoL I want AYCE!
I reminisced the following night with a few friends. Unanimously, we agreed we had a great time and that this is a must-​attend event!
See you folks next year at Joy of Sake 2014!

First off I’d like to say this was a great event.
The décor was very appealing and matched the overall theme. The banquet hall was large but was still slightly over crowded.
The food was very good. There was a large variety from multiple restaurants. So much so that my friend and I could not try everything but we ate enough to where we were full. The lines did get extremely long and it is impossible to try everything even if you went only for food.
The variety if sake was amazing. All sake were marked well to annotate which was and was not available in the u. s and which sakes were voted best. All the sakes marked with stars were all the best. The table setup and the method for allowing everyone to sample was very stream line and convenient.
They did sell merchandise there which was nice. The live music is okay. I would have liked to see some other type of entertainment but I guess that isn’t why people were there.
Overall the event was really good. It is a little expensive. I may not do it every time but one time was great for me.

Definitely satisfied my taste buds! This was an amazing event! Got there early and hit the more popular food booths first! Smartest strategic move ever as the lines got pretty long, pretty quick! Top restaurants on my list:
1^st. BLT– Simply done with two cuts of steak, larger cut looked daunting but boy that chunk of meat melted like butter!
2^nd. Chez Kenzo– Again a simple dish but so satisfying and tasty! Uni Pasta! Creamy and light but a generous portion! Not just one bite here!
3^rd. Chef Chai– Roast duck taco with spicy mango salsa and guacamole! Just an amazing balance of flavors!
Notable mention goes to Umami Café! Choice of handrolls including Spicy Tuna, Cali roll and Shrimp Tempura! Not as unique as the rest but tasty, generous and filling!!!
Now on to the Sake!
So many to choose from! Over 380!!! The ones I did try were Oishii (delicious) yet hard for me to differentiate… Not a real sake guy, but gold star sake’s really earned their star! Very clean finishes and very generous event! I had a blast and can’t wait for the next one!!! Great job all and service was exceptional!!!

I can’t think of a better night… Unlimited sake, friends, amazing and cutting edge food and sake (oh wait, did I say that already?!)
Justin and I have wanted to come for two years and finally we were able to enjoy this night! We took an Eco cab and came early to avoid the crowds (and drinking and driving!). Around 6, some taiko drummers started performing. They were an amazing start to the evening!
Once we got in, the night went by in a blur of tastes, laughs and smiles!
Some highlights include…
Doroku’s Ahi wontons with garlic aioli amazingness sauce
Umani Café/​Gokujo Sushi’s simple yet satisfying hand rolls
Cakeworks fresh ginger ale with lilikoi sorbet (so refreshing!)
Hawaii Potters Guild with beautifully made sake cups (buy local!)
I had so much fun and everyone there was so nice and generous. Many thanks to the volunteers who poured, cleaned and smiled… Really spreading the joy!

Awesome Sake Event with Super Star Chefs making their favorite delicacies.
384 Sakes and 3 hours to drink them all. Actually we probably only tried 60 of them.
Thats a lot of 1oz pours…