UYE ‘ONE’ @ The Red Crane – 09.29.2008

When I saw Noelle posted this event up, i was super excited since I’ve eaten at Red Crane earlier and couldn’t wait for the event.
The Salmon Tartare was delicious but I wasn’t prepared for the little «kick» that came with it. The Roasted garlic edamame was unique and very good. Kona Coffee Glazed ribs were delicious and I kept going back for more. It just melts in your mouth like butter. And the lollipops were yummy too.
And of course what event isn’t complete without dessert. The molten lava cake was delicious too.
Thanks Noelle and Thanks Red Crane for the amazing food and your staff was awesome.

A big THANK YOU to Noelle, Chef Royce and The Red Crane staff for having a UYE event!!! I had a GREAT time!!! The food is spectacular the Unilocalers were amazing and the drinks of Sake was delicious! We had a good amount of selection on food: Salmon Tartare, Garlic Soy Edemame, Kona glazed ribs, i think there was hamachi, Curry Korokke, The Red Crane «Lollipops» for those of you that dont know its a crispy chicken wing tossed in tangy sauce. The dessert was to die for! we had the trio of panna cotta with mandarin oranges, green tea, and red beans, and the lava cake with ice cream so delicious! cant wait for another event! oh yeah! i forgot the lychee and fuji apple martini was delicious!

Noelle is a yeah! Awesome event, the highest turnout among all UYEs I’ve been to. I only wish I had that kind of rallying power. The froyo was pretty darn good even though I only had enough room in the stomach for Crys B’s leftover. I’ve also met a bunch of new people. Dee, Lesley, Kirk and many others. Of course it was always good to catch up with Crys B, Eli, Tetsu, Mikey and all the other older Unilocal friends. You guys rock as usual!
Best UYE ever (OK I’ll admit I’ve only been to maybe 10).
Now can I become an elite already? (noeellllle) :D

Yay! What a fantastic event last nite @ The Red Crane. Noe has done it yet again!
Many thanks to the staff and Chef Royce at the restaurant for the fab service and delicious food! My fave? Definitely the sushi rolls… I liked the lolipop chicken, even though I’m not a huge fan of meat still on the bone :) but it was still very good! It was an awesome set up and no one went hungry-​which was awesome and the best part is that you could get up for seconds, or thirds, or hell, even fourths!:
Felt like I met more people that nite than at a Elite event, which was awesome! Loved seeing my girls, Noe, Monica, Amanda, and Beth! :) And loved making new friends, Margo, Nadia, and I know that there were more people that I met, but I’m sorry that I cannot remember anymore names right now :(
Awesome event overall-​intimate setting, lots of picture taking, socializing, and of course, lots of good food and drink surrounded by friends, old and new!
till next time
xoxo
s
PS-​to my new Unilocal ‘husband’ lol… thanks for the help last nite, hopefully he won’t be calling back!!! LOL…

What a way to start off my first Unilocal event, and meeting new friends at the Red Crane.
Chef Royce did a really great job with the menu selections. The most memorable was seeing Ruth C trying to eat Panna Cotta shooters with her tongue ;) and John Michael c pigging out on ribs from the serving plate, along with him trying to grab Tetsu moobs :)
More later…

MMMMM… Red Crane last night + meeting afterwards+gym=Food Coma.
But it was so worth it! I’m glad I ended up going even though we were a little late cause the bf decided to come with last minute…
*drools* hamachi fondue, salmon tartare, curry korokes, the desserts… k. I’m going to stop right there cause my coworker is asking me why I’m drooling on my keyboard.
Thanks again Noelle and the Red Crane staff for putting this event on.

Hats off to Noelle and Chef Royce.
I think enough has been said about the food but I loved the chicken lollipops and the kona ribs. So yummy!
The food was brought out in a timely manner and replenished fast. Didn’t try any of the sake drinks but the water and tea were good.
Good food, wonderful staff, great hostess and great people.
It was a fun night! Thanks again for setting this up!

This was my first Unilocal event ever, and there was nothing more I could ask for! This was definitely the absolute best way to beat the Monday blues!
Incredible food, the most sincere Unilocalers, and most importantly, the God-​sent panna cotta! Though the entire meal was absolutely a treat for my taste buds, the panna cotta is what really sealed the deal.
I’ve never tried it before, but one spoonful of that and I was in heaven! I’m drooling over my laptop just thinking about it. I only got to try the green tea topped one this time, but I will be back soon to try the rest!

Go Noe!!! Food was amazing. I mean… AH-​MAY-​ZING! The salmon tartare to the roasted garlic edamame to the «lollipops» and the desserts… wow. I have to say thanks to Chef Royce and the rest of the Red Crane Staff for serving us Unilocalers for this «private» party event. I can’t believe they closed the restaurant down just for us. I’m glad to have been a part of this event. Not only was Vijay awesome for buying a few bottles of sake to compliment our food, but everyone else that was in attendance seemed to have a great time. I’m looking forward to another UYE, Noe. Btw… Tetsu, mistaking me as Flor. Ohh… I’m going to have to speak to Flor. *hoping she reads this* Eh… it’s okay. I don’t hate you nor dislike you any less. Yes, let’s have a drink or two. =)

Noelle… once again you have outdone yourself my dear! I was so excited to finally try this place since Noelle and her Mom had been raving about it to me for a while. I couldn’t pass up a chance to try some great food, see old friends and make new ones!
Some of you may have remembered me as «The Name Tag Girl». What a great way to meet EVERYONE that came through the door. As they aimlessly stared at my boob… errr…I mean my name tag to see who I was. Ha! Ha! Great meeting all of you at the front door!
One of the first things I noticed getting there early was how polite and courteous the people that work there are. They quickly got people through the line to pay and on to the party and dinner.
The restaurant was small but surprisingly not that cramped for the amount of people attended. It was nice picking and choosing the dishes we wanted to try (or eat more of… okay okay I took more of a few things then I should have… I know). The company at the table was great… hung out with my old friends and made a few new friends. Hooray for new friends!
I was glad the desserts were served at the table for us. Both I tried were unique and scrumptious. I was surprised there was vinegar in the ice cream! That was a flavor I was not expecting!
Great event… so nice to see and meet all of you! I look forward to the next UYE! Noelle… you rock… you are awesome. Thanks for setting this up for us… I know its not an easy task!

Thanks noelle and and for the twentieth time. I didn’t tell mom!
Mom-I’ll be at kalesas! for sure!!!
John-Michael…rock on my friend.
Tetsu — many thanks my brother…
Cris-​always got many interesting stories.
Leanne and daughter — you know. if you eat too much sugar. you’ll get that burst of energy and sleep hard that night.
Lu-​interesting perspective on the Asian-​American culture.
Grace-​I gotta stop catching you…:/
Ruth — cute outfit!
Vijay! good meeting you
Val…why do you do what you do?
Pat — nice outfit! you looked good!
and anyone else I didn’t remember or will try to remember. or just tell me cuz im bad at names and faces like nadia’s…
For everyone that didn’t go that should’ve…you missed out on a great event. (except for you sick people… stay home and get better)
I can’t remember all the food but it was good especially the salmon tartar.
Till noelle’s next UYE!

Thank you Noe, thank you Royce and last but not least thank you my fellow Unilocalers for again making a not only wonderful but memorable night.
Always a pleasure rehashing with the crew.
It’s refreshing meeting the new Unilocalers and finding that common ground
And the food was good… from the little that I had.
But damn the sake was good
.
.
.
and it was like what…
$ 8 for a bottle.
SHIT!!!
I’m coming back with a crate and asking them to fill me up.
;D

WOW what can I say… last night was FANTASTIC!!!
Thank you to Noelle, Beth, Chef Royce and the entire Red Crane staff for the great event last night. Everything from the menu to the drinks were amazing.
OMG roasted garlic edamame, curry croquettes, hamachi skewers that you can fondue, chicken «lollipops», kona coffee ribs, sushi with the shrimp tempura inside and of course the salmon tartare… YUM YUM YUM! That’s not even including the absolutely delicious dark chocolate molten lava cake with the scoop of ice cream with a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette (that had to be my absolute favorite) and the panacotta with the green tea on top. I love how everything was presented beautifully and tasted just as nice. Food was just kept coming out which is always nice to see and everyone was able to just mingle and have a great time.
And of course DRINKS!!! The lycée and fuji apple sake went so nicely with the food. It was light and fruity and just overall delicious. For $ 14 a bottle with our discount… I WANT MORE!
To Noe– Thank you for getting everything organized from the moment we walked up to the door and had our lil Unilocal name tags to the speedy checking in and payment to of course the food, everything was perfect.
Hello to all you new Unilocalers I met and friends of Unilocalers and of course Unilocalers I already know! Sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet all of you… next time next time.

What better to celebrate my one year on Unilocal than to attend an incredible ONE (Official Noelle Event ~ James G. creation!) at Red Crane tonight! That’s right folks… my first review was written on 9/29/07…time flies!
Chef Royce Mori and his co-​chef/​co-​owner Darren made arrangements with Noelle for this special «cocktail» party for all interested Unilocalers. Noelle posted the unofficial Unilocal event and soon enough, the list was filled. A handful of folks couldn’t make it the day of but we hope they feel better soon! :o)
When we arrived, thinking 6:15PM was early (event started at 7PM), there were some Unilocalers stationed inside! The wait staff started serving drinks (the Lychee sake was delicious as was the Fuji apple!), taking some cash or credit cards depending upon if folks wanted to keep an open tab. Let’s just say folks handled their alcohol well (uh, where’s John Michael?)…the discount was great too!
Appetizers were buffet style with small plates while platters of the Salmon tartar on crisp sesame won ton chips were circulating around by the wait staff reaching all in the dining room. Hot tea and ice water were constantly being refreshed. Folks had gone back three and four times as the kitchen turned out food at a very good clip. There were no starving tummies tonight folks!
After the appetizer service was completed, the staff cleared up the tables and food staging area. Upon completion, the dessert service started with wait staff bringing out to each person a choice of the chocolate lava cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Panacotta shots with a topping of green tea or mandarine orange or sweet red bean was handed out as well.
The energy was high ~ talking and laughing; paparazzi moments ensued! This was an incredible time and a great way to mark my one year anniversary on Unilocal… thanks to the many familiar faces and loved meeting the new ones!
See you all at Kalesa on 10/15/08…another Noelle event! :o)

Thanks Noelle!!!
Great food, great people, what more can you ask for???
I LOVE their sake here, (that alone could make me come back, I haven’t found it anywhere else.)
The salmon tartare was as good as I remembered, and there was PLENTY of food!!! I loved the hamachi/​avocado skewers, and the roll.
I got to meet some really cool new people, and spend time with a few of my favorite girls :)
Way to go Noelle!!! I can only imagine how much time and effort went in to planning this event, please know we all appreciate it!!!

After reading the craze and hearing about the salmon tartar, I finally got to bite into one. And it was pleasant one. Smooth soft salmon on top of a crispy wonton wrappy all mixed in so well in my mouth. Yum!
Not much more I can add to the fabulous reviews others have already mentioned. Really a grand event.

Noelle knows how to throw down awesome UYEs.
What an amazing event.
Reserving the entire restaurant was an unbelievable idea, and I’m glad she did it. With so many people standing around, and seeing tons of folks from previous UYEs and tons of new faces to get to know, it was quite a night. I didn’t need alcohol, just seeing all these friendly faces made me high and drunk.
I’m sorry i’m so bad with names that I can’t remember some of the new faces, but please friend me! I’d love to keep in touch and look forward to catching up again at a future UYE.
With Noelle making sure everyone was having a good time, and others volunterring to help out, check-​in and payments were a breeze.
Once the appetizers started coming out, I worried that the food would be gone quick, but lo and behold, the magical kitchen kept churning out the appetizers and there seemed to be no end to the number of times the appetizer tables were replenished. In the end, it was almost a struggle to finish eating and making sure there wasn’t too much leftover! The desserts were amazing, and the drinks were new and surprisingly pleasant.
But like most UYEs, it’s about the people as much if not more than the food.
And what an incredible group that came out today.
I was able to catch up again with James, and even got to meet his wife Lynette (did I spell that right?). I hope I wasn’t too offensive to you, but if I was, I’m terribly sorry! Hope to talk some more sometime in the future.
Crys, as always, was a master at finding the new people and making sure they were comfortable and giving them the skinny on what’s up with UYEs. Without her, I’m sure there’d be a lot of uncomfortable first-​timers. And where there Crys, there’s Lu. Great seeing you Lu! Mickey U and his ever-​trustee camera with the really cool white flash guard thingy… As always, your cool demeanor belies a hidden depth of both seriousness and wit that can keep up with any conversation. Beth, of course, who always teases me with the MBA but never gives me one! I will keep trying and will earn it one day! By the way, sorry for the muah, hehehe, I just couldn’t resist! JM was JM and that is impressive enough, but his initiation of a halloween drag night is a scary thought… dunno if I’ll be able to follow-​thru on that one despite my over-​zealous claims. Eli’s like my bro, and as long as he’s there, I know there’s someone who’ll take a smoke break with me. It’s always a pleasure to see Christina and Alessandro, and though we didn’t talk that much tonight, Alessandro is definitely gonna be joining us in drag… no…yes…no…maybe…nonono…I can’t do it… And Fro! Please forgive me Fro! I’ve been going through a lot of talk threads and just got a little confused! Really! Please forgive! It was great meeting Jon (Natalie’s SO) who educated me on dessert wine today… Good seeing Richard (also to be in drag… yes? nononono, I was jas kidddiiiiiiiiing), and super cool Nadia, and Donna P (woot!). Nice to meet Ms. non-​kimono Ruth C with a stalker (wow, must be scary…). Lynn brought Ms. C. and those two are always a pleasure to have at any UYE! Always a pleasure to run into Grace at these events, and it was a pleasure meeting Vijay (Thanks for the drinks dude! Can you say… BBQ in MH!!! Just kidding, but a BBQ UYE would be cool). And meeting Xtina was a pleasure, though this was the second time (really? you don’t remember? dang, I must work on my noticeability…). And Monica, of course, with whom I keep meaning to talk about Asia and her experiences! And Kat, it was great meeting you too! Hope to see you at future events.
This particular UYE was a little special because three of my non-​Yelp based friends showed up. Wahooo. For Cindy and Pat it was their first UYE, and though I’m not sure, I think they had a good time. And Akemi, now a veteran with three UYEs under her belt seemed to be having a great time. I hope so. It’d be great to see you guys at future events.
Thanks again Noelle.
As always, your UYE’s are good times incarnate, and I look forward with relish to the next one!

This is a great one for my 100^th Review!
Noelle and Chef Royce and his staff did an amazing job! The food was awesome! And it just kept coming. There was plenty for everyone! I would have to say my favorite was the Kona Spare Ribs. They melted in your mouth! The sauce was delicious! It was all delicious!!!
Dessert…OMG! YUM! That Molton Lava Cake… and the Pannacotta… ohhhhhh what can I say. It was… practically orgasmic. (Can I write that here?) Everyone at my table was saying things like «oh this is soooo good», and «Yum», and «I could have more» (that was my daughter after she finished hers and was eyeing my plate).
The staff was very attentive and always smiling. I would love to go back for dinner sometime. If anyone wants to join me let me know!
Great Hostess, Great Food, Great Unilocalers, Great Fun!!!

Thanks Noelle! Awesome Event.
Here’s to you and your very own Unilocal 3 letter acronym:
O.N.E. — Official Noelle Event (aka UYE)
more laters…

Thank you Noelle for organizing this yumtastic event.
Props to The Red Crane for refiling the food when it ran out in a timely matter, and putting up with a bunch of loud Unilocalers.
Highlights of the night:
1) John Michael taking the entire serving plate of the coffee glazed ribs
2) Noelle bringing over the serving plates of curry korokke and edamame to John Michael
3) People confused by my [yelp] name, though its just shorthand for my name.
4) Trying to eat the panna cotta shooters without any utensils
5) Finding out most people [going] didn’t know how to get to Tartini
Old friends, new friends, lots of food.
See you guys at the next event =)