Page 2 - Dining Out - Dec 26, 2021

Restaurant Insider with Anne Lee
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Anne Lee and the team at The Café at Dada showcase the eatery’s offerings back in March.
ANNE LEE
speaks with
The Café at Dada chef/owner CYRUS GOO
Photos by
LAWRENCE TABUDLO
In the spirit of the holiday season, our team is at home celebrating with their families, and we wanted to re-share the interview with ex- ecutive chef/owner Cyrus Goo at The Café at Dada. Happy holidays to all and a big mahalo for reading our stories. Happy eating!
Tucked away on the third floor of Ala Moa- na Hotel is a delicious café and pastry shop located next to trendy Dada Salon. Richie Miao expanded this concept into a new joint venture Jan. 15: Dada Spa, Salon & Café.
Celebrated chef Cyrus Goo, known for his previous restaurant Café Laufer, is at the helm of the culinary offerings at The Café at Dada.
I had a chance to meet with Cyrus and explore the menu and learn about the concept. This is one-of-a kind, as no other location offers hair, nail and massage services, a walk-in health clinic and a fabulous café all in one location.
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AL: How did you get into the restaurant industry?
CG: My mother cooked on a regular basis, but my dad cooked for special occasions — he ac- tually owned a restaurant called A Cup of Gold on Bethel Street during World War II — and my grandmother was a fantastic baker.
My aunt also owned a restaurant, so I guess you can say it was in my genes to be in this industry. My first big restaurant opportunity was at Ka- hala Hilton. From there, my career took off. I went to work at Hawaiian Regent and Bakery Europa, and I opened up Sheraton Princeville on Kauai.
AL: Tell me a little bit about your team.
CG: I have a fantastic crew; I really couldn’t do this without them. My assistant chef is John Ken- drick. He worked with me at Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, and he was willing to take on the chal- lenge of working at a new restaurant.
Clayton Blas is my sous chef. I was at the gro- cery store looking for basil, and he comes up to me to say hello at 6:30 in the morning. We started talking, and he remembered me from the food service program at Farrington High School.Hewaslookingforajobintheindustry, so I hired him. He is only 18 but really ambitious. Front-of-house is Layne Kishi, who is outgoing and very talkative.
It’s very hard to find people with the same work ethic to provide a level of service that I want to create and put out there. This team that I have does just that.
AL: How would you describe the cuisine?
CG: Everyone asks me if I specialize in French, German, American or local, and my response is it is all of those. It’s a little bit of everything — comfort food and old classics that you can’t necessarily find.
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SPECIAL SECTIONS MANAGER
Nicole Monton
Phone: 808-529-4857 diningout@staradvertiser.com
SALES MANAGER
Anne Lee
Phone: 808-347-1093 alee@staradvertiser.com
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Dining Out
/ Dec. 26, 2021-Jan. 1, 2022