Our first stop was the Naupaka Terrace at the Ihilani Resort. Out of the three main restaurants at Ihilani, this is their most casual dining spot. We started off with their Poke salad, in which cubed ahi sashimi was the main protein component. Out of all the ahi we ate on the island, this was my least favorite. However, it is no slam on the quality of fish served here, it was still delicious. It is more of a testament to the quality of seafood served at the places we ate.
For the main course, we dove into their luau special, which consisted of Kalua pork, fried fish, beef wrapped in greens, salmon salad, roasted purple potatoes, poi, and steamed rice. All of the food was quite delicious, though as you can see from the picture, it was a lot to eat. My favorite had to be the fish, as it was moist and tender, with a delicious coconut/nut sauce draped over the top.
The final piece of the luau special was the pineapple torte with lemon sorbet. The sorbet was a nice complement to the warm, moist pineapple torte.
Because it was a short walk from our hotel room, we also had another quick dinner here. But out of all the meals, our favorite was the weekend brunch. All of the usual brunch items were included, but some of the highlights were the oysters, more of the ahi poke, shrimp cocktail, prime rib & pork loin carving stations, smoked salmon, and the wide variety of desserts. What was even more interesting (and delicious) was the self serve juice bar. I can say that you really haven't had pineapple juice until you've freshly squeezed your own Hawaiian pineapple while in Hawaii!
The fine dining option at the Ihilani resort is their Azul Restaurant. I decided to go with their prix fixe option with the wine pairing (more on that later) while Carli decided to go a la carte.
Delicious Crusty Bread...mmmmmmm
For starters, I had Azul's version of a bouillabaisse soup, while Carli decided on the lobster bisque. The bouillabaisse was absolutely outstanding. There were multiple varieties of fresh seafood and shellfish in the dish, with my favorite being the chewy yet snappy consistency of the calamari. Even better was the value, since bouillabaisse was priced at $26 a la carte, whereas the entire tasting menu was $49. The lobster bisque was a standard preparation of the dish, but rich and luscious nonetheless.
Although the service wasn't exactly stellar thus far, it really took a downturn at this point in the meal. Even though I had ordered the wine pairing, I hadn't received my second glass of wine until the end of the second course, at which point I politely turned it down and just paid for the one glass. Additionally, it took almost an hour before our second course was served. Fortunately, the second course was (almost) worth the wait. I decided on the dry rubbed NY strip steak, while Carli enjoyed her second lobster dish of the evening, lobster ravioli.
Finally, for dessert we had the chocolate torte cake and the chocolate lava cake. Both were delicious representations of chocolate desserts, but the winner here was the lava cake.
We also tried Ihilani's Japanese restaurant, Ushio-Tei (translation: the subtle tides of Hawaii). Although we didn't take any pictures, it was a fairly standard meal you would get at a semi-upscale Japanese restaurant. This was my least favorite of the three restaurants at Ihilani; however, Carli very much enjoyed Ushio-Tei and the steamed lobster she ordered (can you see a recurring pattern here?).
All in all, the offerings at Ihilani were quite good. The hotel itself was spectacular as well, with multiple locations on property offering picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean.
One more thing. I don't care how many pieces of cut fruit or how many umbrellas end up in the cocktail, Lava Flows are freaking awesome.
Beautiful photos and descriptions, but how did you enjoy eating in the dark? Mom
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