It
has been an annual tradition that January means trying some new restaurants via
Restaurant Week. But in recent years I
find with all the different price points (some $50+ per person) with very limited
options in its prix-fixe menu, that it almost requires too much research to
decide which restaurant has both the food that interest us and the value to
make us want to spend that money there. With
the dishes offered during Restaurant Week often different than what is on the
regular menu, it sometimes defeats the purpose whether it is indicative of what
their food really is like.
So
this year, I took a completely different approach and skipped Restaurant Week
altogether. However, I still wanted to
take advantage of the quieter January when most people are still paying off
their holiday bills and may not have the budget for eating out and go to one
that is so hard to get into but has become my favorite restaurant, Liholiho
Yacht Club.
Upon
first bite at Liholiho Yacht Club shortly after they opened in 2015, I knew
that was the restaurant of the year for me.
Now almost 4 years and 7 visits later, I dare say this might be the
restaurant of the decade for me.
What
really sets this restaurant apart for me is the consistency and excellence of
all visits. Do not get me wrong, I have
been to restaurants where the food have wow’d me both in the Bay Area as well
as on island but unfortunately by my next visit, often a year later especially
in Mau`i, that wow factor was gone. The
same can even be said about what I considered the restaurant of the year just the
following year in 2016 where I enjoyed it so much, I dined 4 times within that
one year at that establishment, my belated birthday, Valentine’s Day, my
cousin’s birthday. By year end, when I
returned for my mom’s birthday, there was already something missing, maybe the
chef in the kitchen?
Now
I am sure you are wondering if I love Liholiho so much, why did I not go there
4 times in one year? Trust me, it is not
from a lack of trying but the lack of availability short of planning at least a
month in advance, making reservations exactly at midnight, not 12:01AM a month
ahead to secure a preferred time. My more
recent visits which I am grateful is at least an option, was lining up about half
an hour before opening on a weekday to hopefully secure one of the tables
available for walk-in.
Perfectly
cooked and tender short rib already had its lily gilded served alongside bone
marrow but stuffed with escargot, takes decadence to a whole new level.
The off
menu house made spam is a far cry from your canned spam.
Less salty and when served over furikake rice and topped with pickled
cucumber slices, it elevates this Hawaiian staple to its finest.
With
40 photos, repeats like Cornish hen,
tuna poke,
Hamachi app,
roasted octopus
and fried oyster topped with beef carpaccio,
threepeats like the duck liver
toast,
opah
and off menu spam and a four or five timer of marinated squid salad
and beef tongue bao,
I have probably eaten half the menu by now including a few that are no longer on the menu like the lamb riblets and twice cooked pork belly.
.
Our
two visits last year found us trying 4 new items as we continue to eat our way
through Chef Ravi's menu. The Hamachi
app hits so many of the taste sensories, savory from the Hamachi and sauce,
hint of tartness from the grapefruit exploding with the crunch factor from the
fried sunchokes. The roasted octopus is
cooked to perfection, tender with a slight chewiness and always complemented
and never overpowered with any of the ingredients paired with it. The fried oyster with beef carpaccio lettuce
wrap has the perfect amount of crunch with each bite while the thin beef carpaccio
topping lets you eat with your eyes as soon as it hits your table making me secretly glad that someone has a shellfish allergy so I do not have to share. The opah, the Hawaiian moonfish, one of my
favorite fishes just takes me straight back to the islands. Creamy butter beans, crunchy broccolini and
baby bok choy. Dare I say that it was even
better than the ones I have had on island including Merriman's. Oh yes, I did.
Since
I seem to be bucking the trend this year, our last visit just 2 days ago did finally
find us picking our favorites only vs. a new dish that we normally do. However, even with all this experience, we
still make the same mistake each time except once, no room for dessert. But how can I say no to duck liver toast, oyster
and beef carpaccio lettuce wrap, beef tongue bao, housemade spam, and opah?
One of these days, I will make room to have
that Baked Hawai`i once again.
To
have a 5 star experience all 7 visits spanning over 4 years says a lot right
there and it is the presence of Chef Ravi TLC in making and overseeing what
comes out of that open kitchen that adds the additional aloha spirit and love
to the food and the atmosphere.
Mahalo
Chef Ravi. A Hui Hou!!
