Thursday, April 5, 2012

Hawaii~Alan Wong's Restaurant

Mike and I had not been to Alan Wong's for a couple of years, so decided to revisit this restaurant on our trip back home to Hawaii. We had recommended it to some friends who visited Hawaii back in January and they enjoyed the restaurant an raved about the food.

We had reservations for 8:15pm, showed up at 8:05pm, and were not seated until after 9:00pm. I was quite irked about this and even more miffed when we were seated at our table and our orders were not taken until 9:20pm. We were given an apology, but I small appetizer or even a plate of fried chips would have reduced the irritation. Over an hour wait for a reservation!

"Garlic Steak" 12-Ounce Maui Cattle Company Rib Steak, with mushrooms and garlic mashed potatoes.

Here are the mashed potatoes. This was rich and so delicious!

Ginger Crusted Onaga, Pacific Long-tail Red Snapper with Miso Sesame Vinaigrette, Organic Hamakua Mushroom and Corn. 
My fish was perfectly cooked and all the flavor blended well together. I especially liked the mushroom and sweet corn served underneath the fish.  I was not feeling too good that night, so Mike gladly finished my plate for me. 

Hawaiian Crown Sweet Gold Pineapple "Shave Ice" -Hawaiian Vanilla Panna Cotta, Coconut Tapioca, Haupia Sorbet, Pineapple Salad, "Shaved" Pineapple
I saw this dessert on another table while we were waiting for our table and decided to try it out. I liked the concept of the dessert (I think the creator was trying to combine elements of a thai tapioca dessert and with a tart pineapple shave ice).  I enjoyed the freshness of the pineapple with the hint of mint contrasted by the sweetness of coconut.  The presentation in the cup was a nice touch, but the steep edges made it difficult to scoop through all the layers. 

The food was delicious and Alan Wong's will always be on our list of top restaurants in Hawaii. The long extended wait unfortunately put a slight damper on our night. Just because Alan Wong's is one of the best restaurants, doesn't mean that they can poorly treat their patrons. I think they should work out some system of providing a small plate of some treat. I've seen it done at other restaurants, and I think a couple of dollars is worth the cost of losing a customer.

Alan Wong's
857 S. King St.
Honolulu, HI 96826
808-949-2526

2 comments:

~TastyTravels~ said...

I *heart* Alan Wong's. I'm so sorry you had such a long wait and it didn't seem they were concerned at all. That's not very smart customer service on their part!

genkitummy said...

Holly-You're back posting again! Yay! Yeah, Alan Wong's is yummy even if the wait was long.