two dinners: Honolulu

Conrad is home!

OK, not really blog-worthy, I know. He's catching up on sleep following a red-eye from Honolulu, so let's not disturb him with camera flashes. Not yet, at least.

Let's get back to one of the key things this blog is about: food. Yummy food. Dining out (because I've been home alone all week, and you would be horrified to know the dinners I toss together and eat from mixing bowl, pan, or - occasionally - plate). Three nights in Honolulu for me last week, one of which was Thanksgiving at the home of Conrad's colleague and friend Bernie. That left two restaurant meals for us.

On the Friday we did a mighty long hike (more on that in another posting later), and when we got out of the car back at the hotel, our legs protested savagely. Darn legs. We were truly wiped out, and that determined where we went for dinner. Our hotel was adjacent to the huge Ala Moana shopping center, and I'd not yet tried Alan Wong's restaurant in Macy's (conveniently at the close end of the mall), so we settled on the Pineapple Room and, showered and changed, made it there on aching legs.



I wish it had been busier. The mall was bustling at 7 that morning, but by 6:30 that night, it wasn't as crowded as expected for Black Friday. We had no difficulty securing a table. I kind of wished there was some liveliness around us because we were so exhausted. We could have fed off it.

Instead, here's what we did feed off of:

Conrad's appetizer of Seared Ahi and Crisp Honda Family Tofu Salad with Watercress, Chili Soy Dressing.

My appetizer of Hamakua Springs Chilled Tomato Soup with Shrimp and Avocado Salsa and Romaine Salad with Caesar Dressing.

Conrad's meal, which I didn't note well enough from the specials. Ono, I think it was, with olives and tomatoes. Sort of Italian flavours, as I recall.

My meal of Misoyaki Walu with Stir Fried Vegetables and Yuzu Butter Sauce.

We shared a bottle of Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay. I was pleased by the good prices for wines on the menu.

All in all, I think I liked both mine more - not that we compete, but we do like try a taste of each other's. I did rather like the combination of textures of the tuna and tofu, though.

The next night was our date night at Orchids. We've dined there together a few times now, and it's a wonderfully romantic spot. Conrad, in fact, is becoming known to the staff there (and at the Pineapple Room and Mariposa), which makes for a warmer greeting and a welcoming evening when he's dining alone. We had a table closest to the water with an unobstructed view of the sunset. Alas, it was socked in, and there was no sunset to be seen. No matter, the food is quite good.

We indulged that night. Mai Tais to start with (better than the ones the day before), then a bottle of Pinot Noir with dinner. We shared two appetizers (the second of which we didn't photograph):

• Variation of Island Fish: Seared “Kona Kampachi,” Ahi Sashimi and Poke Style


• Island Greens and Tomatoes with Roasted Pecans, Figs and a Tarragon Vinaigrette

My dinner was one I'd had twice before, but I really really love it. A lot. Obviously. Herb Crusted Opah with Grilled Asparagus and Kahuku Eggplant, finished with a light Citrus Curry Butter.

Conrad had Broiled Island Ono presented with Chinatown Vegetables and a Roasted Garlic, Ginger, and Soy Vinaigrette.

We both preferred mine, but it was a stark contrast of sweet (mine) and salt (his) between the two. In fact, have a plate with both sauces/flavours on it, and you'd have a dynamite combination!

We ended the night with cheeses and wandered home on foot, swaying a little and sleeping in well the next morning.

Alan Wong's

Now this was a great meal, and I’m truly sorry that we took so little care to ensure the photos would do it justice.

Alan Wong’s is a bit of an odd duck of a restaurant, though sounds scornful when it's not. I’m not at all familiar with Honolulu, but the neighbourhood in which the restaurant is located is unambiguously plain. Similarly, the building housing the restaurant is a simple lowrise. The effect is one of having a good restaurant in the middle of an accounting firm or something of that sort. The dining room is quite pleasant, to be sure, but the décor is still somewhat muted. The food, one guesses, is meant to be the star.

We took a long time deliberating. Conrad’s friend (and colleague) Lei and her husband Doug were our gracious hosts, and we were delighted that they preferred sharing dishes in order to taste a variety of things. Nonetheless, there were many attractive choices, but I think we did well. Cocktails to start (and I stuck with my passionfruit margaritas) and an opihi (limpet!!) shooter in tomato water for me (just to try it) and we launched into the real dinner.

The service was astute in providing us our appetizers one at a time, to be shared (but I will grouse slightly and suggest that a couple of times during the evening they might have checked on us a little better and more often). We had a dish of chopped ahi sashimi and avocado salsa stack, followed by a smaller dish also of tuna, but flavoured differently and topped with caviar. Then it was "Da Bag", a foil bag in which a bowl of Kalua pork, shitake mushrooms, clams, and tomatoes in a broth were enclosed. It comes to the table and sits like a silver cushion before the waiter punctures it and releases the smoky pork scent. Yes, I ate the mushrooms and even enjoyed them.

Lei, Doug, and Conrad opted for fish. Doug’s mochi crusted opakapaka (pink snapper) with nametake mushroom risotto had a crunchy/chewy coating. Lei’s ginger crusted onaga (another type of snapper) came served with a delicious sauce of miso sesame vinaigrette, shitake, enoki mushroom, and corn. Conrad’s kiaawe wood grilled mahimahi was simple and flavourful, served with a wasabi sauce and stir fried vegetables. I went a different route and enjoyed the twice-cooked soy braised and grilled kalbi short ribs in a sauce that burned pleasingly a little more as I went on. An excellent choice, and we all shared a taste of our meals with each other.

Dessert? Of course! New Wave Banana Split was the name of the dish, and I have described it elsewhere. Doug had the kitchen’s version of Crunch bars. What was a little astonishing was the coffee menu – vintages and boutique producers from around the islands. I settled on a milder Oahu roast to close out my night.

Don’t mistake me, we ate very well on Maui. This was food more than a notch above, though. The plating was deft, and the tastes had more subtlety and variation than we’d had in the days on Maui. Lei and Doug not only provided us wonderful conversation throughout the dinner (as well as the opportunity to taste some different things we’d not ordered ourselves) but very generously treated us to the meal. We’re keenly hoping to have an opportunity to show them good Chicago dining sometime in the future!