Alan Wong’s Restaurant (1/2)

Alan Wong's Hawaii Since the inception of Hawaii Regional Cuisine over a decade ago, more and more of Hawaii’s restaurants are featuring locally grown products. From the “farm to table” in the shortest amount of time is more than just a concept. Alan Wong，while not the most visible of HRC chefs (that would be Roy Yamaguchi, who now has 31 restaurants, or Sam Choy, who has eight), is one of the most influential. “It’s being practiced around the culinary world” says Chef Alan Wong. “Freshness means better flavor and if you’re striving for the best, it’s got to be fresh "In the 1980s, it was all canned pineapple and Spam," laughs Wong, casting his mind back. "The joke was, 'The best food you'll get in Hawaii is on the plane.'" In 1991, Wong teamed up with 11 fellow chefs to change that once and for all—a collaboration that resulted in the publication of Henderson's book in 1994. The dozen chefs, including Roy Yamaguchi, Sam Choy and Peter Merriman, were beginning to work directly with local farmers, who were starting to produce astonishingly high-quality ingredients of all kinds—sweet corn, vine-ripened tomatoes, exotic lettuces like Lollo Rossa, livestock like lamb and beef—that greatly expanded Hawaii's agricultural repertoire. Furthermore, the chefs were experimenting with fusion cuisine that grew naturally out of this Polynesian land in the middle of the Pacific between America and Asia. Wong, for example, was creating hybrids like wok-fried tempura ahi with mustard-butter sauce and tomato-ginger relish, and lamb with macadamia-coconut crust, Cabernet Sauvignon jus and coconut-ginger cream—two recipes that appeared in Henderson's cookbook. The chefs founded the Hawaii Regional Cuisine (HRC) movement to spread the word about both of those revolutionary aspects of the local food scene. It worked. Wong didn't notice the change until, one day, "I had an awakening on the loading dock at CanoeHouse. The lettuce guy drove up in a new Mercedes, and I looked at him and went, 'Life is good, huh? I guess we're buying a lot.'" Wong himself oversees four restaurants: the two in Honolulu, one in Tokyo's Disneyland, plus the new one that brings him here today, the Hualalai Grille by Alan Wong, which he launched last December at the Hualalai Resort. Wong's cooking itself has evolved since the early days of HRC, and the Hualalai Grille's menu proves it: The chef has moved away from the fruit-based sauces he frequently used in the earliest HRC days, his palate having tilted toward more savory preparations. And he's taking advantage of some of the latest ingredients from Hawaii's farmers, incorporating, for example, local hearts of palm into a vibrant, chilled tomato-and-shrimp soup. Alan Wong is one of Hawaii's most popular chefs, but the service at his bustling eatery has often suffered because of his popularity. Long waits in front of the elevator have angered many. But the worshipful dieters come from all over the state, drawn by the food -- which is brilliant -- and a menu that is irresistible. The 90-seat room has a glassed-in terrace and open kitchen. Sensitive lighting and curly koa wall panels accent an unobstrusively pleasing environment -- casual but not too. The menu's cutting-edge offerings sizzle with the Asian flavors of lemongrass, sweet-and-sour, garlic, and wasabi, deftly melded with the fresh seafood and produce of the islands. The California roll is a triumph, made with salmon roe, wasabi, and Kona lobster instead of rice, and served warm. Alan Wong’s Restaurant at King Street Restaurant staff offer guests a unique taste of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine. The Chef’s innovative dishes are a direct reflection of the diversified cultures living in the islands; a rich mixture of traditions, lifestyles, and most importantly, people.