Today a new upscale restaurant will open at The Kahala Hotel & Resort, and I guarantee it will change the way you look at Italian cuisine.
Arancino, which operates two more casual eateries in Waikiki, will occupy the 3,800-square-foot space vacated by Tokyo Tokyo at the post resort in East Honolulu. It will offer a course-style dining experience with innovative Italian dishes using ingredients both imported from Italy and sourced locally in the Islands.
And when I say innovative, I mean dishes like lightly fried foie gras and white truffle Parmesan risotto balls, fresh housemade tagliolini with uni (sea urchin) sautéed in a sweet garlic wine cream sauce, or a house made Hamakua tomato sorbet with a sweet tomato compote and gelee.
Yeah, I said all that.
Last night the media had a preview of the dinner menu, a five-course prix fixe with a wine pairing for each dish. Cost is $100 for five courses, $85 for four.
Here’s what our meal looked like — and why you should book reservations now:
Arancino
Arancino, The Kahala Hotel & Resort, 5000 Kahala Ave. Hours: 11:30 a.m. for lunch, 5 to 10:30 p.m. for dinner daily. Phone: (808) 380-4400.
4 Comments
A special occasion place! Spent $100.00 at the grocery store two nights ago and had enough food to feed an army of rednecks. Having said that, the chef must be a patron of the arts, beautifully presented, very colorful, and such a mix of flavors. I for one think that a splurge every now and then is worth it. Maybe that will be my Hawaii vacation splurge this year. How much Boston’s can someone eat?
CAT: Aaaiiiyyyaaahhh! Fuud Pix! Tenks! Wow, Japanese doing Italian and making the plates look like art pieces that is so cool. Normally when dining I know where to start, this takes the whole visual thing to another level…you almost can taste it by looking at it. Am sure the aroma was as exciting. The only thing lacking was sound?? Maybe the tinkle of “bell” peppers would have been the extra touch. BTW, how is the name of the restaurant pronounced?
glad to see they’re conscious of locally sourced products. imo, Hawaii has such great produce and such great potential for growing almost anything that it’s a shame when you see restaurants going outside the islands for the bulk of their menu.
Presentation has that frou frou Japanese look. How Italian tasting was the food? Lots of times Japanese fusion loses the original country’s taste making it bland.