Chef Kelvin Ro loves breakfast; it's his favorite meal. So it's not surprising that, a couple of weeks ago, he introduced a new breakfast menu at his Diamond Head Market and Grill on Monsarrat — already popular for lunch, dinner, takeout, heat-and-eat entrees and baked goods.

Get him talking about breakfast, as I did after I had tasted a number of the new menu items, and you soon learn that he's serious about the subject — especially pancakes.

"I'm really a big pancake fan," he says, "from scratch, not the instant mixes, even though they've gotten much better." For him, it's all about texture: He likes a crumbly texture, not dense, stretchy or heavy. And no baking soda aftertaste, please.

To achieve this, he says, takes some skill: You have to use just the right balance of leavening, not overbeat the batter, make it the night before and let it work a little — and cook the cakes patiently, at a low temperature. "My inspiration is Liliha Bakery," he says.

Diamond Head Market and Grill — a styrofoam take-out spot with a few tables outside up front — serves four kinds of pancakes (plain, banana, coconut and blueberry, $5.75-$7.50 with butter and syrup). The banana pancakes were a particular challenge, Ro said: If you use mashed or pureed banana, the fruit interferes with the necessary chemical reaction in the batter, which becomes heavy. But then he came up with the idea of cubing the bananas and whisking them into the batter, and he was able to get the desired banana flavor while not losing the light texture.

And the pancakes are, indeed, airy light, with a crumb almost like a cake, though not overly sweet. Coconut is Ro's favorite, but I'm a banana fan.

To do something a little different in the way of a loco moco — because there must be a loco moco on every Island breakfast menu — Ro came up with the idea of slow-roasting pork with garlic until it's tender and falling apart, then making a hash with it. The generously sized shredded roast pork hash patty ($7.50), crisp-fried on the griddle, comes with two eggs, house-made brown gravy and rice (you can choose fried rice for an additional $2 charge). This dish is one I'll daydream about on those days when I forget to have breakfast before I come to work. The hash (which resembles a corned beef patty, not the dim sum kind of pork hash) is crispy yet succulent, the gravy is sensually rich, the eggs play their unctuous role. There's also a conventional loco moco (5-ounce hamburger patty, egg, rice, gravy; $6.75) topped with delicious grilled onions.

Diamond Head Grill omelets are "inside-out"-style — that is, the fillings are mixed through, not contained in the center. I tasted a lovely, light vegetarian version with tomatoes, spinach, onion and cheese but you can also choose meats such as Spam, Portuguese sausage, bacon and ham (3 items, $7.50; 2 items, $7). Ro said he's planning on expanding the omelet offerings.

Truly exceptional is Diamond Head Grill's fried rice ($7.25). It's made with a short-grain brown rice, but you'd never know it; it's tender and al dente but not at all mushy, as brown rice so often is. And it's loaded with char siu, minced vegetables and other good things. Another dish I'll daydream about.

Ro has become increasingly concerned about health, but he knows customers are more concerned about flavor.

"So I trick them," he said. He sneaks healthful ingredients such as brown rice into his plate lunches in such a way that most customers aren't the wiser. (You can choose brown rice with any entree.)

They also make a kim-chee fried rice with house-made kim-chee sauce ($7.75) and a fried rice special with two eggs and choice of meat (Portuguese sausage, Spam, hamburger, bacon; $8.75). Few things at Diamond Head Grill and Market are deep-fried.

"To me," says Ro, "grilling just tastes better, besides being good for you. It just adds another layer of flavor."

RESTAURANT NEWS

Closing: Ginza Kimuraya Bakery in the Kahala Mall will close Aug. 20 — you've got four more days to get your fill of their famous anpan.

Events: Chef Russell Siu prepares a sake-pairing dinner at 6:30 Aug. 24 at 3660 on the Rise. You'll get five premium sakes to go with a kaiseki-style dinner. That means petite portions of a lot of dishes, including 'ahi-negi shiso tempura, scallop carpaccio in a yuzu vinaigrette and roulade of chicken with root vegetables in an ume-ginger sauce. Cost: $85. Reservations are required. Call 737-1177.

The Wai'anae nonprofit Ma'o Farm holds its third annual benefit dinner on Sept. 2. As usual, the farm teams with one of its best clients — Ed Kenney, who will cook the four-course "Labor of Love" feast at his new restaurant Downtown in the Hawai'i State Art Museum. Cost: $125; Ma'o Muse Table for eight $2,000 (includes unlimited wine). For tickets, contact Summer at maoevent@yahoo.com.

Southern-cooking fans can nosh on fried catfish and smothered chicken at the venue Just One (1372 Ke'eaumoku St., 955-300), which will serve a soul-food menu when blues and jazz musician Bobby Thursby takes the stage Aug. 19. Dinner is $10.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.