Da Ham & Cheesy ($69, choice offered as part of the Summer Nights Dinner Tasting Menu)
A tale of elegant cuisine awaits those who visit Kapa Hale where fine dining meets storytelling.
“I was inspired by the Hawaiian practice of making kapa and how the different patterns and shapes tell a story,” says chef and restaurant owner Keaka Lee. “I see a plate as a blank piece of kapa and let my imagination play with the ingredients to tell my story as a chef.”
Kapa Hale’s Summer Nights Dinner Tasting Menu ($69) starts off with a vegetable trio that includes gazpacho, arancini and croquette. Lee showcases his creativity through the menu’s main choices of Head TO-MA-TOES Alla Vodka with fresh tagliatelle, Parmesan, basil and Ho Farms tomato confit; and the do-re-MI-SO Salmon, which features misoyaki salmon, Ho Farms bok choy, yuzu potato and watermelon radish.
Guests may also select Da Ham & Cheesy — fried pork belly, smoked Gouda cheese, gochujang sauce, couscous, Ho Farms bok choy and pickled peppers.
For dessert, the restaurant offers Pots De Crème with baked chocolate custard and butterscotch, and Lemon Dream with lemon semifreddo, lilikoi curd and Kapa meringue. The menu also offers a $25 wine pairing as an add-on.
“I am proud to support our local farmers, ranchers and purveyors,” Lee says. “Learning from chefs like Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, and Russell Siu, I want to push Hawaii’s cuisine forward by highlighting the products we grow on the islands.”
After returning to Hawaii from New York City, where he studied under James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Anthony, Lee knew he wanted to create his own restaurant. In December 2020, he opened Kapa Hale.
“We’ve been pushing forward ever since with launching a three-course seasonal tasting menu, weekday happy hour, and special menus to celebrate occasions like Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving,” Lee says. “We continue to work hard to create a great dining experience.”
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