⢠S TA R C I R C L E
The Star Circle comprises restaurants so popular with our readers that they have been voted into the âIlima Awards for 10 years or more.
ROYâS RESTAURANT The first Hawaii restaurateur to win a regional James Beard Best Chef award, Roy Yamaguchi expresses his passion through his food and in training the chef team that has helped him realize his dream of a restaurant empire (29 locations in the U.S). After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Yamaguchi rose swiftly through the ranks of California Cuisine kitchens and founded his own 385 North in Santa Monica in 1984, where his East-West approach was a revelation for many diners. Four years later he decided to return to Hawaii, where he had culinary roots. He had grown up in Japan, but his grandparents emigrated to Maui where they owned a tavern that served local-style plate lunches. A generation later, their grandson would build on
this humble foundation, incorporating the flavors he recalled so clearly into something that was then new. At his flagship Royâs Restaurant in Hawaii Kai, which opened in 1988, he melded island and Asian foodways with classic European techniques and warm Hawaiian hospitality to create what he calls Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine. Foodies and food media raved, and they still do. Recommended: Szechuan Baby Back Short Ribs, Misoyaki Butterfish (or a scallop appetizer prepared the same way), Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle. âââ Hawaii Kai, 6600 Kalanianaole Hwy., 396-7697; Ko Olina, 92-1220 Alii Nui Drive, 676-7697; Waikiki, 226 Lewers St.; 923-7697; www.roysrestaurant.com. Lunch, dinner (lunch only at Ko Olina). No checks. $$$
STAR-ADVERTISER / 2010
ALAN WONGâS Alan Wongâs, among the premier Hawaii Regional Cuisine fine-dining restaurants, reflects its founderâs intelligence, humor and skill and especially his go-to-any-length commitment to locally sourced ingredients. A guest judge during Bravo TVâs âTop Chefâ Season 2, Wongâs ideas are widely recognized as innovative and often surprising but remain rooted in generations-old island foodways, reflecting his boyhood in the pineapple fields of Wahiawa and his Hawaiian-Chinese heritage. Monthly Farmers Series dinners bring farmers and ranchers, cheese makers and beekeepers, fishermen and ranchers to the restaurant, exposing diners to the ever-evolving food landscape. 18
â I L I M A AWA R D S
Wong calls his daytime kitchen a âculinary studioâ where thoughtful experimentation is encouraged. He hosts field trips for his young chefs and created the New Generation dinners (menus devised by up-and-coming assistants), ensuring the dining experience remains exceptional even when he is traveling to his Japanese outlet or making special appearances elsewhere. Recommended: Da Bag (steamed clams with shiitake), Ha Farms Whole Tomato Salad with Li Hing Vinaigrette, Twice-Cooked Short Ribs Kal Bi Style, pastry chef Michelle Karrâs Chocolate Sampler with a cup of one of the estate coffees roasted. âââ 1857 S. King St., third floor; 949-2526; www.alanwongs.com. Dinner (reservations a must). $$$$
STAR-ADVERTISER / 2010
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