There are some foodies who sneer at hotel restaurants, never including them in roundups for best eateries or creative menus.

Not me.

Some of the best chefs I know have either cut their teeth at hotels — or still work there.

And some of my favorite go-to spots are in hotels — like Hoku’s at The Kahala Hotel & Resort.

Parking is easy. Location is unbeatable. And the food has always been consistently good, thanks to longtime executive chef Wayne Hirabayashi.

And starting this month, the award-winning restaurant is offering a new dinner menu, designed by the recently hired chef de cuisine Hiroshi Inoue, who has worked at such notable spots at the Grand XIV Karuizawa, Nagano; the fine-dining French-Italian fusion restaurant Shinkirou in China; and L’Osier, a three-star Michelin French restaurant in Tokyo.

Among the new additions to dinner are the Kurobuto pork and mushroom risotto, a grilled guinea hen breast and a grilled A5 Miyazaki Wagyu strip loin.

Don’t worry — some of Hoku’s classic dishes remain on the menu, including the uber-popular Hoku’s ‘Ahi Musubi and Seafood Tower.

A bunch of us media types got a chance to preview some of the new dishes last night, thanks to the awesome public relations manager Huy Vo. Here’s a peek:

Here was our tasting menu. We were given smaller portions of the actual dish, just so we could sample everything and not be too ridiculously full by the end of it. (Even though I was anyway!)

First things first: drinks! Here’s my favorite of the night — a Maui Mule with Ocean Vodka, basil, strawberry from Kula and ginger beer. Super refreshing!

Here’s the A5 Miyazaki Wagyu beef. (Wagyu literally means, “Japanese cattle,” and refers to the entirety of the nation’s breeds.) This grade of marbled beef stands up to the revered Kobe, for sure.

Here’s the Miyazaki beef prepared. While we didn’t get to sample it, I’ve had this beef before — and it’s worth every dollar. This dish, at $142, comes with a 5-ounce slab of strip loin, grilled and served with wasabi, Hawaiian sea salt and a ginger-shallot XO dip.

Here’s the wild boar risotto ($20 for the appetizer) — the boar is from Denver, not Hawai‘i — with morel or trumpet mushrooms, Italian rice and Parmesan cheese. One of my favorites, for sure.

Here’s the ragout of wild boar shank ($45), which comes osso bucco style.

This is the Fisherman’s Soup ($22), with scallops, shrimp, mussels, Hawaiian fish, ogo, chives and croutons.

The second soup offering was the butternut squash potage ($14), with tortilla and topped with truffle cream. (Potage is a kind of thick soup or stew.)

Another new item on the menu is this black sesame- and pepper-crusted rare ‘ahi steak (market price), which comes with a tiny arugula salad, tomato fondue and an aromatic balsamic glaze.

One of the best dishes of the night was this chilled hamachi shot ($22), with avocado, crispy sushi ginger, microgreens and a ponzu vinaigrette with a hint of truffle oil.

Here’s the poached Maine lobster ($52) with braised endive (or asparagus, in this case), port wine and an autumn nut vinaigrette.

I really enjoyed this ginger cheesecake sprayed with kaffir lime to give it a pretty velvety finish with a sablè Breton, paired with macerated tropical fruits and exotic coulis.

And of course, you have to have chocolate! This the Valrhona Chocolate with salted caramel in the center of that chocolate bavarian, with a praline crunch, Nutella powder (on the side), a Kona coffee cremeux and a dollop of Amarena cherry ice cream.

The 134-seat Hoku’s is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 5:30 to 10 p.m. for dinner and every Sunday for brunch — that’s my next visit! — from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In addition to just ordering everything a la carte, the restaurant offers a prix fixe menu for $70 per person, a tasting menu for $100 per person, and a degustation menu for $130 per person. Call (808) 739-8760 or email [email protected] for reservations.