The Daily Dish

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FUUD: Indigo Eurasian Cuisine in Chinatown

Surprisingly, I had never actual eaten at Indigo Eurasian Cuisine on Nu'uanu Avenue.

Yes, I'd had the restaurant's award-winning $3.50 martinis on Friday's Martini Madness. (Happy Hour is from 4 to 8 p.m.) But food? Didn't really know there was any.

So my brother treated me to lunch yesterday at Indigo — and I was surprised at how good it was!

Outside the restaurant, located on Nu'uanu Avenue in Chinatown.

Inside Indigo at lunch yesterday.

You'd never think you were in the middle of urban Chinatown in the restaurant's outdoor garden area.

It's a great escape from a stressful day at work.

The restaurant, which opened in 1994, boasts an interesting fusion of French, Asian and Mediterranean cuisines. Just look at these items on its menu:

Crisp Goat Cheese Won Tons with Four Fruit Sauce
Lumpia Wrapped Shrimp with Chipotle Aioli
Chicken Shiitake Mushroom Pot Stickers with Thai Ginger Sauce
Seared Laotian Beef Salad with Spicy Greens and Sweet Peppers
Pacific Fish in Banana Leaf with Cocoa Bean Curry
Tandoori Style Grilled Breast of Chicken with Mint Pesto

Talk about fusion!

So here's what we ate:

We opted for the lunch buffet ($15.95), which featured dozens of dishes, some of which — like this one — were served to us!

The buffet features a variety of salads and veggies.

Look at this variety!

There was even a sandwich bar.

I sampled this white pizza with tender tandoori chicken and enough veggies to make me feel like I wasn't eating, well, pizza!

These flavorful little mushrooms are usually in the daily buffet.

This salad — with pickled cabbage and topped with chopped chicken — wad delicious. The blend of sweet and sour really worked.

I love tofu — and this dish wasn't bad. Just tofu in what tasted like a sweet teriyaki sauce.

These garlicky asparagus spears were delicious!

The restaurant serves a homemade hummus that you could easily get addicted to.

There was even lamb, perfectly cooked and seasoned.

Here's what my brother ate.

Here was my plate. Suffice to say, I felt pretty stuffed afterward.

Well, not so stuffed that I'd pass up dessert!

We ordered the restaurant's warm chocolate souffle, which came with a side of vanilla bean ice cream.

There's the best part: the oozing chocolate center!

So if you need a break from the daily grind, grab your coworkers and escape to Indigo. Can't break for lunch? There's always Happy Hour!

Indigo Eurasian Cuisine, 1121 Nu'uanu Ave. Hours: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; Dinner, 6 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Phone: 521-2900.

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Catch you on the flip side!

Can you afford to live here?

Apparently, Hawai'i residents' personal income last year grew from the year before.

But -- as you'd probably guess -- not as quickly as our counterparts on the Mainland. (Read the Associated Press story here.)

Are you surprised?

A friend of ours from Los Angeles decided to fulfill his dream of living in Hawai'i, bought a plane ticket, and applied for jobs here. He's a skilled carpenter who can make, easily, $70,000 in California. Here, his wage dropped to less than $40,000. He couldn't believe it.

"I guess you have to pay to live in paradise," he said.

I beg to differ.

Hawai'i has long had one of the nation's highest cost of living -- and without the salaries to help families survive. I mean, I wouldn't mind paying $2,500 for a one-bedroom apartment -- if I was making $75,000 a year!

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income in Hawai'i grew 6 percent in 2007, the 10th-largest increase in the nation.

Per capita personal income in Hawai'i averaged just over $39,000 last year, up from $37,000 in 2006. The largest part of the state's income growth came from the construction industry.

But Hawai'i -- which hovers in the Top 5 most expensive states to live -- ranked 18th in personal income.

No wonder so many residents -- and many of my friends -- leave the Islands and never come back.

They can't afford to live here!

I get that we're paying for the year-round warm weather, for the beaches, for this unique culture. But it's hard to enjoy all of that when you're working two jobs just to afford your rent!

It's just unacceptable to me.

What do you think?

Pregnant man?

According to an ABC News story, a transgender man — and former Hawai'i resident — claims he's five months pregnant.

Here's the CNN story.

The story ran in the gay rights magazine The Advocate, complete with photos of what appears to be a very pregnant Thomas Beatie.

Beatie was born a woman named Tracy Lagondino. He underwent reassignment surgery to appear as a man outwardly but kept his reproductive organs. (Meaning, he still has his ovaries and uterus.)

The baby — conceived with Beatie's wife, Nancy — is due July 3.

It seems possible. I mean, if he's kept his uterus and ovaries, couldn't he get pregnant?

Got an opinion about this? This it's real — or a well-planned hoax?