Off-Island Adventures-Canoe House on the Big Island of Hawaii
Aloha!
8/28/08 - If you're not fishing, hunting, or hitting the beach while out on the Kona Coast of the Big Island, Hawaii, there's just one other activity of choice left, and that is to hang out at the Resorts! I mean, we could have done a lot of other things, but with only four nights there, it just made sense.
Of course, we could have road-tripped an entire day to see the lava flow, hope to God the glowing red liquid meandered past a suitable vantage point, do an over-nighter on that side, then spend another entire day driving back to Kona, but then there goes half the trip! Or we could have done touristy things like jump on a catamaran, bicycle down Mauna Kea, ATV through the forest, or tube ride down an irrigation ditch, but aaahh... Been there, done that. Don't get me wrong - these are all lots of fun, but I just didn't feel like spending any more money. You know how much it costs for a single night at one of these fancy resorts?! And the plane fare these days? Rental car? Gas? Oy vey... On top of that, I got sick with fever half-way through the trip!
Boy, I'm just bummin' you out, ain't I? The picture of positivity and enthusiasm, I am. Oh, well. I guess I gotta vent once in a while, too...
In actuality, though, it was a very nice trip. Really. Two nights at the Hapuna Prince, right on one of the best beaches in the State, and two nights at the Hilton Waikaloa, which is, in my opinion, the funnest hotel in Hawaii? Just doesn't get any better. With amenities like this cool lobby at the Prince and giant pool and waterfall at the Waikaloa, what's the sense of going anywhere else?
The Waikaloa is so huge you either have to take a train to get from tower to tower, or jump on a boat through a saltwater canal system that runs through the entire hotel! Pretty amazing, I tell you.
There were some good places to eat at the hotel, but nothing with a name I've heard of before. I was looking for at least one special dinner while on the Big Island, and for that we took a short drive to the Mauna Lani Hotel, another mega-resort nearby. There sat a place called the Canoe House, an upscale, yet casual (this is Hawaii!) Pacific Rim restaurant that is perhaps most famous for being the former domain of Chef-extraordinaire Alan Wong, before there even was an Alan Wong's.
On the way to the restaurant, wifey and I went exploring, checking out the saltwater pond stocked with giant awa, awa'awa, other Hawaiian reef fish, and even a baby hammerhead shark. The water, which encircled almost the entire restaurant, led us to the back entrance where a number of chefs were busy picking herbs and vegetables for the evening's meals. I thought, oh boy, were we in for a good night!
Indoor or outdoor seating, where shall it be? The inside did look very nice...
... But we chose a cool spot outside with a clean shot of the ocean (although you can hardly tell because the pic is so blown out!). Neither the sun nor wind were acting up that night, so it was the obvious choice. Later on, when the sun went down, it was quite amazing to see the many spaces outside almost completely occupied, while only a single table inside was filled.
The menu was full of things you'd likely see at Roy's, Alan Wong's, 3660, or any other in locations on the island culinary scene. There was macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi, blackened ahi and scallops, steamed island fish, rib steak with porcini red wine sauce, Ahualoa goat cheese and potato raviolo, and other such delicious, modern local fare.
The first thing we chose was a salad of red and yellow tomatoes, basil sprouts, cambozola cheese, watercress, red onions, and candied garlic, all doused with white balsamico vinegar and trufle oil. The majority of veggies on this dish were grown right out back, a fact that was most obvious with the greens, which were crisp and fresh, yet very soft and delicate. This salad tasted as delicious as it looked.
Though it was highly recommended by our kind waitress, we were a bit concerned about the next starter, a Keahole lobster tempura with spicy cream tobiko sauce and firecracker chili soy. Deep-fried just seemed a bit crude for lobster. However, we were actually very pleased with this dish. The meat was still tender and sweet, while the batter, though it may look a bit poofy and thick, was very light and delicately crisp, not at all overpowering the lobster in any way. The slightly-sweet tobiko sauce was an aioli that provided a tasty dip for the large chunks of meat.
The black "twig" you see is actually a deep-fried piece of nori seaweed! In case you're not familiar with nori, it naturally comes black, so this is, by no means, a burnt stick! Wifey was hoping there was some miso, or lobster guts, hiding in that lobster shell somewhere, but sorry, no deal tonight...
Before we head to the main dishes, don't forget about the Hawaiian-style entertainment, with a single guitar-player softly singing in the background.
Getting back to the grinds, wifey was drawn to the meat choice she always seems to gravitate to when dining at a fancy restaurant - lamb. This one sure looked good, coming with a Mongolian BBQ sauce, whipped potatoes, orange-cumin-braised carrots with Akala berry port reduction, steamed asparagus, crumbles of feta cheese, and a cilantro-mint salad.
The taste, however, was a different story. Quite sorry, I am, but I've never had a more gamey lamb at such a fancy place. I'll leave it at that.
As for myself, I had to ask for a little help from our kind waitress. The cut was narrowed down to two dishes, both fish choices and both special menu items. The first was an opah, or moonfish, which sounded even more interesting with the addition of a couple of large scallops with candied glaze. I declined, however, since it also came with a curry sauce, which, to me, just sounded a bit too, I dunno - common?
Instead, I went with the opakapaka, which also came with scallops, shrimp, pasta, and a light cream sauce.
When the dish arrived, I was very much enjoying myself, but after several mouthfuls, I soon realized that this was not the opakapaka, but the opah I had declined, instead! I thought back just to be sure it wasn't myself who just ordered the wrong thing, but wifey heard me going with the opakapaka, as well, and I also remember telling our waitress that I personally wasn't high on curry as a sauce, at least in this particular circumstance. I was sure it wasn't me. I had to get my real dish. I'm really not one to send something back for trivial reasons, but getting the wrong dish doesn't seem so trivial! To make matters worse, it took another ten minutes just getting our waitress back, and even then, I had to flag down a busboy to go get her!
Anyway, here is the opah, before I sent it back after polishing off a whole scallop and a third of the fish!
By the time I got my opakapaka, it was already dark and the pic was hopelessly in need of some decent lighting, which, as you can see, it didn't get. The only thing available was the candle that sat at our table. I guess I could have turned to a two-minute shutter speed or something, but I didn't feel like waiting that long for something that may not have come out, regardless.
Anyway, here's the shot:
And here's the twist... The opah was much better in the first place! It's just that when I heard our waitress say opakapaka, I expected a fat, juicy, tender fillet, sitting on a bed of pasta and other seafoods. Turns out that the fish came in the form of tiny chunks nestled within the noodles! It was actually a pasta dish, not a fish dish! Yes, the many plus-sized, delicious shrimp also tucked away were delicious, but I was just a wee bit dissapointed at everything by now. Waah, waah...
Yes, I was bummed at the service, the lamb, and the opakapaka, but the other dishes were all excellent, and you can tell an evening here could very well be phenomenal had just a few unfortunate twists and turns not occurred. I guess you just expect everything to be perfect, especially when shelling out almost $200, but hey, what can I say? It was still a nice evening. I still got to hang out with wifey in a posh resort restaurant right on the water, throwing down a couple of Mehana Lagers and getting served a bevy of fancy dishes in the process. Can't complain. Oops, but I already did...
Wish I had a high note to end with today, but you know how life goes... Just trying to keep it real, is all. If all we know are perfect circumstances and smooth sailing, we'll never know how to deal with rainy days and difficult times, and we'd end up being weak, spoiled, and shallow. Need some grit once in a while, yes? Makes us stronger and happier in the end, is what I say...
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