North to Hawi

As we mentioned in our book, if you take a day trip to tour Kohala a great lunchtime stop is the Bamboo Restaurant in the town of Hawi. That is not to say you shouldn’t go there for dinner. Even though it is an hour or more drive from our house we will go there when our favorite slack key guitarist and Grammy winner and his hula-dancing wife, John and Hope Keawe are playing there. It is always well worth the trip. The building is unique with a long history and the food is ʻono (delicious).

                                 

We still remember the first time we had lunch at the Bamboo almost 20 years ago. We had been on a hike with the Kona Hiking Club down into Pololū Valley and the whole group - tired and sweaty - stopped there for lunch. The owner, Joan, put us in the back - away from the other patrons - where we proceeded to have a great lunch with a couple of drinks. Ever since that day we have been going back. When we were running tours it was always a lunch stop for our Kohala tour group.

The most difficult part of dining there is deciding what to order. Of course we start, as always, with a single malt, but their specialties are lilikoʻi margaritas and lilikoʻi martinis. Lilikoʻi is passion fruit and is delicious in a drink, even lilikoʻi iced tea.

Appetizers are very tempting. We usually go with the chicken sate pot stickers. They are lovingly made by Aunty Mary, who used to wait tables there at lunch. She is now retired but still makes the pot stickers. They are truly unique. The kalua pork quesadilla and the coconut prawns are also excellent.

For an entrée there are available choices from the land or the sea. Either the baby back ribs in a pineapple barbecue sauce or the Kohala cordon and kalua, which is a chicken breasts wrapped around kalua pork and Swiss cheese and finished with a lilikoʻi mustard glaze, is an excellent choice. The fish is fresh and well prepared. You could also choose local favorites such as kalua pork and cabbage.

The desserts are their own special slants on some traditional offerings, such as white chocolate passion fruit cheesecake or Kohala lime pie. They are a perfect ending to a perfect meal. If you choose February or March 15 or 28, you can enjoy John and Hope Keawe as well as the meal.

Check their website at: http://www.bamboorestaurant.info/.

A chain restaurant with a local flavor

We don’t usually review chain restaurants because we want to stress establishments that are unique to the Big Island. However, Tommy Bahama at the Shops at Mauna Lani is an exception. General Manager John Nguyen and Chef Stennis Hirayama have taken a menu available across the country and added a Big Island twist. John buys beef that was raised on the Big Island, finished and slaughtered on the mainland, and shipped back to the island. Chef Stennis adds his personal touch using local seasonings and produce. He was raised on the island and has a farming background. So unlike most chain restaurants, local products form an important part of the menu.

As usual we begin with a dram of single malt. There are several selections available and we once again chose Macallan 12-year as our preferred whisky. The pour was ample and at $12.00 was reasonably priced.

The appetizer was more difficult. We like to share an appetizer so we don’t fill up before the main course. The choices are numerous and we had a hard time narrowing our choice to just one. We finally settled on the Ahi tacos which were presented in four wonton shells, certainly adequate to share and absolutely delicious.

For our entrée we wanted something that Chef Stennis created, so we ordered the Kona coffee crusted ribeye and the jerk pork tenderloin. Both were excellent choices and we finished them with no leftovers. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the bread service. The Tommy Bahama bread is excellent and has a reputation across the country.

We couldn’t end the meal without dessert.  The dessert tray is very appealing. We wound up sharing a butterscotch pudding with a chocolate ganache and a white chocolate mousse. It was the perfect ending to the meal.

The restaurant was typically busy; however the wait staff did an excellent job. To view their location and menus, go to: http://www.tommybahama.com/TBG/Stores_Restaurants/Mauna_Lani.jsp. It is in the area of several large hotels and is definitely a restaurant you should not miss.