Page 3 - Dining Out - June 4, 2023

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Restaurant Insider with Anne Lee
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Makana Lani Alohilani Resort 2490 Kalakaua Ave. second floor, Honolulu 7 a.m.-11 a.m. Mondays-Tuesdays;
7 a.m.-11 a.m. and 5-8 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Saturdays- Sundays 808-921-6198 makanalanihawaii.com
5. Miso Butterfish ($42)
6. Portobello Mushroom Napoleon ($35)
7. 40-ounce Beef Tomahawk (serves two) ($125)
8. Mile High Loco Moco ($22)
9. Colossal Shrimp Cocktail ($24) 10. Baked Escargot ($24)
to bring kamaaina back to Waikiki. With a 15% off kamaaina discount and free three-hour validated park- ing, there’s countless reasons to try Makana Lani.
AL: Liz, can you tell me how you came up with this concept? LHW: I wanted to have a restaurant that offers amazing food priced af- fordably, with the local kamaaina in mind. This location made sense, then when chef Erwin said he would come on board, we had like two weeks to create the menu — but he did it, he’s that good.
For us to invest in local resources for a buffet, it’s costly, but we wanted to make sure that we offer the best food out there.
AL: Can you tell me which a la carte dishes we are going to try? EM: I wanted you to try some of my signature items from our a la carte dinner menu, and a few items from our breakfast a la carte menu.
To start, this was something Liz wanted to do, the Makana Lani three-inch Hawaiian French Toast ($17) — it’s very unique, stuffed
with our special whipped cream cheese and bananas, served with bruléed banana and fresh berries. Its breaded with corn flakes, so you have a crunch to it. I wanted to create a different type of loco moco with our Mile High Loco Moco ($22) made with my homemade kalua pig. You can order it with whatever kind of egg you desire, and then we put a little bit of crispy onion on top. You can also order a vegetarian option.
Working at steakhouses, I like to make sure we have some great meat options on the menu. We have a 40-ounce Tomahawk ($125). This was a specialty item, but our guests
kept asking for it.
One of our appetizers is the colos-
sal Shrimp Cocktail ($24) — it’s three huge pieces of shrimp with house made cocktail sauce. Then, we have the Baked Escargot ($24) coming from a steakhouse experience. It’s butter, garlic, herbs and some blue cheese, and is served with crostini to dip into all the goodies and melted butter. Our Miso Butterfish ($42) is one of our popular items. It’s served on a bed of baby bok choy, glazed with shoyu shiitake mushroom and then garnished with onion, red bell pepper and roasted sesame seed.
My signature Portobello Mush-
room Napoleon ($35) is an eye-catching vegetarian dish. It’s a stack of grilled vegetables, includ- ing portobello mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, bell peppers and carrots that are topped with a roast- ed red bell pepper sauce.
We can’t forget the famous des- serts — everything’s made from scratch, no frozen stuff here. We have the Coconut Crème Brûlée ($15), Chef’s Caramel Cream Flan ($16), Key Lime Pie ($13) and, my specialty, Ube Cheesecake ($14). It’s not on the menu, but guests that know me ask for it.
AL: Liz, Makana Lai will be cele- brating one year on Aug. 4. Will you be doing anything special? LHW: Yes, most definitely. I’m go- ing to have a few nights with all proceeds going to a local charity, and we will do a celebration for the public.
I feel that food is something that brings so many people together. We’re such a melting pot — and we want to represent chef’s culture, my culture and all the cultures that mesh here in Waikiki. The dining fo-
11. Hawaiian Stuffed French Toast ($17)
cus will be “around the world” and each station will represent a tradi- tional dish that represents a different place in the world. This is still in the planning stages, but the theme will be a culinary journey around the world. Please check our website for more details.
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AT THE KAHALA
RESERVATIONS
OpenTable 808.739.8760 KahalaResort.com
SUNDAY CURRY DINNER ACCOMPANIED BY STEAK
All You Can Enjoy Curries from Around the World *Does not include tax or gratuity.
EVERY SUNDAY
DINNER
5:30-8:30 pm $64* Adult, $35* Child (6-12)
THURSDAY NOODLE BAR
All You Can Slurp Noodle Buffet
EVERY THURSDAY LUNCH
Noon-2 pm $49* Adult, $29* Child (6-12)
DINNER
5:30-8:30 pm $64* Adult, $35* Child (6-12)
Dining Out / June 4-10, 2023 / 3