 |
 |
Azure at Royal Hawaiian Hotel Waikiki, a closer look
 Azure Restaurant Honolulu official page! |
Great local blog of Azure Hawaii! |
 Azure Waikiki from Yelper's! |
 Lots of Azure at Royal Hawaiian views on OT! |
Aloha!
6/9/11 - I've always liked Chef John Matsubara. Even when he first hit the Hawaii scene at Stage several years back, I've always enjoyed his stuff. Some said his vision of restaurant, self-coined couture cuisine, was a bit over the top and reaching, but I say "What the hell?" I mean, why be safe? Let it all hang out, no? These days, however, he no longer uses the term in his new abode, Azure, but if anything, it was a great learning experiment, and at least he had the balls and vision to be an iconoclast. He has quite the story, actually - Punahou, prominent family, law school, then.... dishwasher??? I'll let others chronicle the drama, though, including a few commenters, supposedly from within the industry, who really trash the guy in Hawaiirama:
Not sure what that's all about, or whether it's true or not. I mean, it's easy to find disgruntled workers out there, especially in the restaurant scene! Even besides the fact that chefs, at least during showtime, are notoriously T-Rex-like and usually void of any sense of tact or common courtesy whatsoever, it's also an atmosphere in general filled with real-time, high-intensity pressure each and every night! Consequently, fall-outs are inherently common.
Whatever the case, we did enjoy ourselves on this particularly fine evening at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel's Azure restaurant, beginning with the fact that hey, we're in Waikiki, right on the beach, cloaked in luxury, and filled with anticipation! To me, all things considered, it's one of the best beaches in the world!
There's a nice lawn directly overlooking the beach, as well as an oceanside bar to entertain guests. Before Azure's opening at 5:30pm, it's a great place to relax, soak in the touristy Waikiki atmosphere, and throw down a few pre-dinner drinks. I mean, there's live entertainment, gorgeous landscaping, gentle waves lapping-up to your toes, surfers hanging ten outside, and an immutably present energy that is entirely infectious. Here's a couple of shots of the area, from both Diamond Head and Ewa sides:
Begun in 1927 and one of the oldest and most recognizeable buildings in Waikiki, the Royal Hawaiian Hotel occupies a full 10 acres on some of the most prestigious beachfront property in the world. Long known as the Pink Palace, the various owners throughout the years, in a tribute to historic principal, have all vowed to maintain the original Spanish-Moorish designs of yester-year. Thank goodness for places like this!
Self-parking is free for up to 4 hours in the Sheraton Waikiki lot, while the same goes for valet parking right at the doorstep of the Royal Hawaiian itself, shown next, save for tip. The two hotels sit right next to eachother.
But getting back to the hotel's premier restaurant, Azure, we arrived right at their opening, and I immediately took some liberties in wandering around a bit. The place was pretty darn cavernous, housing table after marble table of candlelight, spotless glass, shiny silverware, and neatly-folded linen, all arranged in impeccable form. Immediately, you knew it was a classy place in the modern-Hawaiian sense of the word, an aspect all the top Hawaii Regional Cuisine restaurants share!
Here's a night shot:
With such a huge dining room, I was surprised to find the place at least 80-90 percent full at its peak, even on a weekday evening, with the crowd consisting mostly of tourists.
Outside, fronting the beach, it's still classy but a little more casual, being open to the elements and all:
After getting settled and ordering, a quick serving of crispy lavosh with some type of seafood cream dip arrived:
I love the unleavened crispiness of lavosh, and loved the creamy, refreshing dip, but that's not all, folks! An also-complimentary basket of various breads was also presented:
Kumi and I brought mom here for a recent belated Mother's Day gift, and the two ladies were quick to choose price-fixe menus of 4-6 items, depending on whether you consider things like amuse bouche, intermezzo, and even dessert genuine courses or not. Fixed at a very respectable $69, or $89 with wine pairings, it all began with a cup of ocean cappuccino, which was a kind of bouillabaisse with dungeness crab and black tiger shrimp (actually, it was the second course, but I wanna get the bad stuff out of the way first!):
I liked what chef was going for here, but that frothiness and creaminess, mimicking the likeness of cappuccino, was just a bit too frothy and creamy for our tastes, and there was also a strong dairy-like sourness, possibly from a crumbled cheese (don't quote me on that!), that only added to the overly milky nature of the dish. Not anyone's favorite part of the meal.
But it gets better. Much, much better!
What the...???
Not sure how much longer smoke-infused presentations will remain in vogue (the era may well be over already!), but let's leave that discussion for true trend-chaser's. Me, I still love the deal! I mean, what's not to love? Whip-off the white, no, clear glass cover only holding back the white, hopefully not too harmful carcinogens inside, and whooosh! Out puffs a quick billow that quickly disappears before your very eyes. Fun, fun, yes? I know, I'm a wierdo...
With this kind of presentation, the contents inside better live up to the show! The hefty price of $29, making it the most expensive appetizer on the menu, also ratchets expectations up a few notches, as well! Was it all worth it, you ask? Unequivocally - yes!
The black truffle madeira sauce was was rich and earthy, the endeniable taste of truffles penetrating both the petite Australian Wagyu filet mignon as well as the luscious cut of foie gras. You can see the thin slices of truffle on top, not just a flavored truffle oil, which is also delicious, btw! Considering the use of this rare fungus, along with genuine Australian Wagyu (for an explanation of "Australian Wagyu" see my "Difference between Kobe and Wagyu" page) and foie gras, I'd say the price is definitely merited. Here's a better shot:
Aaah, I can taste it right now, but I better move right along! Good thing we're moving right along to another good place, though! This next dish was actually the first course of the price-fixe menu, but I'm asking you to just go with it, for story's sake! Can do?
Yes, it's the venerable cut of raw ahi, along with a sandwiched piece of Kona Kampachi. Not having ordered the price-fixe menu myself, and already knowing what both fish varieties look and taste like, I didn't bother sampling any. However, it was clearly apparent that the fish cuts were almost still-moving-fresh, a fact that both Kumi and mom attested to with relish! Finished with radish, sprouts, a thin wafer stick, and a simple but deep ginger soy sauce, it sure looked incredible in every way. For the life of me, though, I can't remember what the green filling was inside. For some reason, I kinda remember something about a wasabi potato, but it also looks like a simple mashed avocado. Who knows?
Meanwhile, an intermezzo was called for. Inter-whoo'zo? Aaah, no big thing, really. Basically, it's a single-bite palate cleanser between courses, usually something cool and refreshing, and most commonly a type of sorbet. An amuse bouche, that other fancy-sounding, unnanounced course popular here at higher-end restaurants, is also a one-bite affair, but is usually presented first as a kind of an initial prelude to enhance and set the mood. No amuse bouche here tonight, but the intermezzo was fabulous!
Ingenious, I tell you! I mean, this was no normal, candy-sprinkled, mini-scoop of sorbet. Ok, ok - the sorbet, though still sweet and delicious, wasn't the most spectacular dish in and of itself, but all told, the entire spoon was like dynamite in your mouth, quite literally! You see, when a liquid sugar mix, along with a few other fillers, is heated to evaporate its water content, all the while being pressurized with 600 psi of carbon dioxide gas, it soon cools to a solid and then shatters into a gazillion pieces when the pressure is released. The tiny, broken pieces, however, have still managed to trap and encase a gazillion more minute pockets of carbon dioxide gas within. When these much smaller, hardened pieces are melted, say, in the saliva and heat of someone's mouth, the pressurized gas in these pockets is released, producing a reaction based on Newton's 3rd law of motion, which states that "For every action, there is an equal and opposite re-action."
In other words, gas bursting one way; candy flying the opposite way! And in a first ever attempted "Double-in-other-words," it's all about...... Pop Rocks!!! Cool, ey? I highly doubt, even for a guy like chef Jon, that he owns a carbon dioxide gas pressurizer machine kind of thing, so I can only assume he buys them from the candy aisle. Whatever the case, it worked like a charm, and we were all just as tickled as a little kid opening a box of pop rocks for the very first time! Remember that?
Palate cleansed, here was the third course of the price fixe menu:
More on the creamy risotto underneath later, but this course came with a half-Kona lobster tail, breaded and herbed with a crispy crust. Had a small piece of this one, and it was moist, crisp, and very nicely done. Both ladies were happy, happy!
Kumi wasn't very happy, though, when I "Strongly suggested" she order an option on the last course, which was an opah. It's just that I wanted to both taste for myself and also present for everyone out there another separate dish, seeing that mom was ordering the normal finishing course item (it was a belated celebration of Mother's Day, after all!). Being the subservient wife she is (NOT!!!), here was her dish:
I mean, this place really does emphasize fresh fish, and a separate list of various fish choices, 'rassled whole from the fish auction every morning except Sunday, provides a bounty of pelagic treasures the whole world is envious of, right? Only problem is, Kumi always prefers raw, and unless stuffed into a sandwich, almost never orders fish cooked, no matter what kind! Aaah, the sacrifice! Thanks hun', you're the best!!!
Normal fish selections can be either high-heat roasted with white wine, Meyer lemon, and fresh herbs, or prepared in "Chef's Special Island Preparation," which entails his special spice rub, probably similiar to the preparation above. Our waiter was really talking-up this particular cooking method, but Kumi and I would much rather have seen our opah presented in the former style, as we both felt that the spice rub was a bit too bold and overpowering for a fresh cut of high-quality fish, and probably more suited to being hibachi-cooked than anything else. We could only think of how a white, buttery, creamier sauce would have served the delicate and fatty fish much better. Even if prepared in just salt and a squeeze of lemon, I'll bet the opah would have matched the artistry of the light, yet tasty sauce so beautifully ringing the plate even better.
I felt even worse for my wife with one taste of mom's finisher course, a petite tenderloin:
And this was no typical tenderloin, lemme tell ya. Sitting on a bed of sliced Hamakua mushrooms and deep-fried greens, topped with a single sunny-side-up quail egg, and finished with a curvy teardrop of taro brandy puree and sauce of madeira truffle, it might have been a tiny piece of beef, but its impression was King Kong! Though the tenderloin served with foie gras earlier did carry a truffle essence and even a few slices of the fungus whole, this one was absolutely resonant with truffle taste and aroma, saturating every cut with its haughty, nouvelle presence. Mom, not knowing what truffle was, couldn't identify it, but she still talks about "That steak" till this very day! You all know I'm a ribeye kind of guy, but this petite filet was something else! Sorry Kumi!
Oh, and as for coming back to the risotto shown earlier, under the lobster, here's returning in a big way:
Basically a larger order of risotto and a blanket of everything seafoody and good, the combination topping of jumbo shrimp, large scallop, clams, and a petite lobster tail were, of course, as delicious as they were beatiful. As perfectly done and excellent as they were, I wasn't too extremely taken by them, as I wouldn't expect a talented chef like Jon Matsubara to mess-up grilled crustacean or mollusk anytime soon. What did surprise me was the ocean risotto, which was the creamiest, tastiest, richest risotto I'd ever had! Our waiter actually recommended this dish from the very beginning, and unlike the also-recommended spice-rubbed fish, I couldn't have been more impressed! Quite honestly, I think it was a kind of local-influenced risotto, seeing that there was so much cheesy, creamy taste, all the while infused with the alluring sophistication of saffron, that I can only wonder how many calories the dish actually contained! Caloric intake, however, was the least of my worries on this particularly fine evening in Paradise, and even if my risotto was equal to a Rainbow's mixed plate with extra meat and extra mac, I couldn't have cared less. It was soooo good!!!
Compared to everything else, dessert looked rather simple, but the single scoop in our finale represented all you could ever ask for in a perfect ice cream - sweet, creamy, rich, and bursting with vanilla bean flavors. It was a great and classic way to wrap things up:
Being nearly summer, the days are getting longer and longer. By the time we got out, it was still relatively lit outside, and I took one last shot of the Waikiki beach scene, where a tour boat randomly solicited, entertained, and soon returned with a group of reveling beach-goer's. I hear it's about $35 or so for an hour or two, and looks like the perfect way to enjoy a spontaneous activity. If you've never been floating outside of Waikiki Beach before, it's something you definitely gotta try!
Much Mahalo's to Jon Matsubara and his outstanding crew for a wonderful evening of culinary indulgence! If you've got a special occasion coming up, Azure at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is definitely a spot to consider.
Hope you're all having a wonderful week!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
Azure at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel
2259 Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki
923-7311
5:30pm nightly, last seating 8:45pm (exceptions sometimes made)
