A must for fine dining enthusiasts while in Honolulu is Alan Wong's Restaurant.
Easily one of the top meals in my life, EASILY! Located at 1857 S. King Street, 3rd floor (take elevator, valet parking $3), Honolulu, HI. Location is west of McCully/King. Phone: 808.949.2526 reservations a must. If reservations are full, you might try to ask for the small (4) person seating at a bar that overlooks the kitchen, did not notice this seating option until we were leaving the restaurant.

Chef Wong is a MASTER at using local Hawaiian food with Asian/French touches.
See a sampling of one of his dinner menus:
http://www.alanwongs.com/kingstreet/ksdinner.html

Everything was perfect except where noted.

For appetizers our family had:
"Hot" California Rolls, Da Bag, Duck Nacho
Main Courses were:
Ginger Crusted Onaga (mainstay on menu, terrific), Mac/Coconut crusted Lamb,
Steamed Bowl of Shell fish(the weak dish on the menu), Seared Yellowfin Ahi

Waitstaff was attentive w/o being intrusive.

Another Fine dining option would be Chef Mavro's, SW corner of King & McCully, Dinner six nights a week, 6:00 - 9:30 PM Closed Monday, Reservations: Tel: 808.944.4714, reservations recommended. Chef Mavro bills himself as French-Hawaiian fusion which is a very accurate description. See sample menu: http://www.chefmavro.com/sys-profile.asp

Appetizers we had: Pacific Oysters Cressonniére, Salad of Grilled Kahuku Prawns Marinated with Cumin, Sautéed Foie Gras on a Brioche Toast, all were very tasty, but I give the nod to the foie gras.
Main courses: Onaga a Longtail Snapper Baked in a Hawaiian Salt Crust (this is a mainstay on his menu, we had it last year while here as well), Muscovy Duck Breast, Roasted "Mountain Meadow" Rack of Lamb, Keahole Lobster in an Asian Broth (the weak dish).

Terrific Waitstaff!!!

While I usually never like to dine at the hotel/resort I'm staying in (food way overpriced and quality mediocre compared to what's on the "street"), due to convenience we dined at the Golden Dragon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Golden Dragon bills itself as serving Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine.
http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/information.jhtml?ctyhocn=HNLHVHH&key=REST AURANTS_GOLDENDRAGON (http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/information.jhtml?ctyhocn=HNLHVHH&key=RESTAURANTS_GOLDENDRAGON)

Although it lived up to expensive part (i.e. rice is ala carte $2 for a personal bowl full), the food was of very good quality/taste. Although my request to use lamb instead of the beef in the black pepper sauce took longer than the others, it was honored and done well.
If you have a large party (7-8) like we did, ask for the table that sits outside, GREAT table and view!!

We ate multiple meals at various L&L Drive Inns. L&L is a Hawaiian chain that specializes in plate lunches. One of my favorites is the mixed BBQ plate: thin piece of grilled teriyaki steak, small portion of grilled BBQ (teri/shoyu) ribs, and two grilled teriyaki chicken thighs served on two scoops of white rice with a scoop of very good macaroni salad alongside, all for 5 bucks!! My wife would usually have one of the various fresh grilled plate lunches such as MahiMahi for about $6 or the various saimin (noodle) dishes. There are over 50 locations around the islands. See: http://www.lldriveinn.com/ GREAT/CHEAP CHOW.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention, do not miss getting malasadas from Leonard's Bakery, 933 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu (close to Waikiki) phone: 808.737.5591 Open at 6am every morning.
Malasadas are a Portuguese donut w/o the hole, think warm and yummy. Leonard's serves 5 kinds: Original, Cinnamon, Custard filled (my fave), Chocolate filled, and Coconut Cream filled (my 2nd fave).
You will not see them in the bakery cases, you must ask for them. The malasadas are in the back, where I assume they are being kept warm. I ordered 15 for under $12 including tax. WELL WORTH IT.



[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 04-02-2002).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie:
Edited to add: I forgot to mention, do not miss getting malasadas from Leonard's Bakery, 933 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu (close to Waikiki) phone: 808.737.5591 Open at 6am every morning.

Malasadas are a Portuguese donut w/o the hole, think warm and yummy. Leonard's serves 5 kinds: Original, Cinnamon, Custard filled (my fave), Chocolate filled, and Coconut Cream filled (my 2nd fave).
You will not see them in the bakery cases, you must ask for them. The malasadas are in the back, where I assume they are being kept warm. I ordered 15 for under $12 including tax. WELL WORTH IT.</font>

There is a competitor of Leonard's called Champion Malasadas, located at 1926 South Beretania St. @McCully Street
Phone: 808.947.8778

I showed up at 6am when Champion opened to have some super fresh hot malasadas. They were devine, BUT Champion only serves the traditional plain malasada.

I therefore have to recommend Leonard's due to the delicious variety of different malasadas available.

Nice reviews.

Alan Wong's has been my #1 O`ahu restaurant (and Hawai`i, it's that good) for many years. Glad to hear a bon vivant like you found it to be of quality.

Golden Dragon is one of the best Chinese restaurants in Honolulu (Asia Manoa being a personal favorite of mine). Did you try the Lobster Curry with Deep Fried Haupia? That's their signature dish.

Ditto on L&L and Leonard's as well. I will be making stops there in the next few days.

Did you make it to Gina's?

FWIW, my favorite plate lunches are from Grace's Inn, (in the Market City Shopping Center, underneath Gina's) and Rainbow (on Kapahulu Blvd., not far from Sam Choy's Waikiki). The chicken katsu at Grace's is ono!

[This message has been edited by FlyinHawaiian (edited Jan 07, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by FlyinHawaiian:
Did you make it to Gina's?</font>

yes, terrific, review forthcoming soon.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Sweet Willie:
Another Fine dining option would be Chef Mavro's, SW corner of King & McCully, Dinner six nights a week, 6:00 - 9:30 PM Closed Monday, Reservations: Tel: 808.944.4714, reservations recommended. Chef Mavro bills himself as French-Hawaiian fusion which is a very accurate description. See sample menu: http://www.chefmavro.com/sys-profile.asp </font>

Chef George Mavrothalassitis won the 2003 James Beard for the NW US/HI region.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by FlyinHawaiian:
FWIW, my favorite plate lunches are from ... Rainbow (on Kapahulu Blvd., not far from Sam Choy's Waikiki). </font>

Rainbow was DELICIOUS.

I like Duke's Canoe Club. It is one of the few places right on the beach. It is in one of the hotels (Outrigger maybe). They have great breakfast bar, steaks, fish, and frozen drinks. It's not your typical hotel restaurant. It's so much better than that.........and a favorite with the tourists.

Does anyone know anything about Hoku? Would love to hear any reviews.

Does anyone know anything about Hoku? Would love to hear any reviews.

Hoku's is in the Kahala Mandarin Oriental (nee Kahala Hilton) about 5 min east of Waikiki. I've only eaten there once, but it was very, very good. I grew up and lived in the area, so I know quite a few people who swear it is the BEST restaurant on O`ahu and go there often. At the time I ate there I was not a very adventureous eater (they do some bold Pacific Rim fusion dishes) but I would like to think that if I went back there, I would appreciate some of their dishes more.

Thank you. I really wanted some feedback. I wanted to send a gift certificate to someone who lives in Hawaii as a 'thank you'. I contacted Slippahs with my list and thought I had decided, but in the end went for something totally different then my original choices and ordered it for Hoku. I was pleasantly surprised upon receipt of the GC that it is good for anything or anywhere in the hotel: room, any restaurant, whatever. Very nice card and envelope too. Now I just have to hope the person I sent it to enjoys it :)

but in the end went for something totally different then my original choices and ordered it for Hoku.

:p All that work for nothing? Kidding of course ;) Glad you chose Hokus.

aloha

We had a very enjoyable dinner at Chao Mein in the Hyatt (Waikiki). Interesting food in a blend of Mediteranean (Italian) and Chinese. Definitely an expensive splurge. Yet, MrsO and I would return for an encore.

Restaurant was recommended by our next door neighbors. In order to find it, we had to call home for directions.

Thank you. [SNIP] Now I just have to hope the person I sent it to enjoys it :)

You're welcome, and FWIW, I promise that if you sent me one, I would do my best to enjoy it. :D

Oh, and opushomes, it's Ciao Mein, a play on words to emphasize the Italian-Chinese (Ciao, as in "see ya" in Italy, and Mein are "noodles" in Chinese) format of the restaurant. Yes, it's very good - I've had both brunch and dinner here. I'm glad you were able to find it and enjoy your meal. Like you say, it's in the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. I had this great idea of having a cast party here after a performance of Turandot, but they couldn't stay open late enough. Too bad!