Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Adventures in Dining | January/February 2003

Adventures in Dining
BY LEN TAKUSHI

Both Sides of the Menu

At Roy's Po'ipu Bar & Grill on Kaua'i, you can order from the "standards" side of the menu or the "chef's playground" side-but both sides offer Roy Yamaguchi's famous Hawaiian fusion cuisine

All of the restaurants in the Roy's chain offer an exuberant ambience, eclectic menu and perfection in preparation.

Those who believe variety is the spice of life will feel right at home at Roy's Po'ipu Bar & Grill, where the only challenging aspect of the dining experience is making a choice.
It isn't so much that there are so many dishes available, but that they all sound so good. Really, who could reasonably choose between wood-fired pork loin with grilled onions and peppercorn pan sauce, crabcakes in phyllo with red pepper aioli, and a five-course "tasting" menu-featuring such delicacies as miso-marinated butterfish and lobster and shiitake mushroom siu mai-served with four different types of sake?

I sipped a lively Euro-Asian Reisling 1999, one of the delightful wines produced especially for Roy's restaurants, and seriously considered the menu.

It is the menu that has helped make the chain launched by Roy Yamaguchi so unique and successful. On the left side, diners will find 12 items that are standard in all Roy's restaurants, including signature dishes from his first eatery in Hawai'i Kai on O'ahu. On the right is the chef's playground, a selection of daily specials specific to each restaurant.

In this way, all of his restaurants develop their own distinct personalities, while remaining firmly rooted in the "Hawaiian fusion" cuisine that Yamaguchi developed from his keen interest in Japanese, European and Island cuisines. (Besides the Po'ipu and Hawai'i Kai restaurants, the Roy's chain includes Roy's Kahana Bar & Grill, Roy's Nicolina and Roy's Kihei on Maui; and Roy's Waikoloa Bar & Grill on the Big Island.)

We decided to enjoy the best of two worlds and order from both sides of the menu. From the specials page we chose an imu-baked flatbread with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, portabello mushrooms and a balsamic reduction, and a "mixed plate" entree that paired rack of lamb and lemongrass-seared 'ahi. On the standards page, we selected shrimp and asparagus crêpes with goat cheese and mushrooms; Hawai'i Kai-style crispy crabcakes; and another one
of Roy's signature dishes, seared macadamia nut-crusted mahimahi with lobster butter sauce.

Pleased that we'd accomplished the hard work of choosing, we eagerly awaited our meal.

When it arrived, it immediately captivated our attention with its beautifully dramatic presentation and complex array of tastes and aromas. Although the grilling and searing of our meat and fish were competently executed, the magic was in the sauces-those puddles and ribbons and pools of colorful, delectable, intense flavors that simply beg to be sopped up with bread or anything else that's handy.

We lingered over the pesto butter and slightly smoky rosemary demi glace that graced the delicate, herb-flavored crêpes; the subtly creamy sesame sauce that cradled the plump and meaty crabcake; the deep, husky port wine and raspberry demi glace that clung to the tender grilled lamb; the richly lobster-imbued butter sauce that matched the buttery flakiness of the mahimahi; the lemongrass curry that staunchly supported the denseness of the seared ono. The spicy chili sauce of the 'ahi poke volcano sent out by Chef Russell Stokes (who has since moved on and been replaced by Sous Chef Shawn Lawrence) provided just the fiery zip I'd been seeking to contrast the luscious smoothness of the other sauces.

We joyfully cleaned our plates and nodded eagerly when the waitress offered dessert. My friend's apple blueberry crisp was warm and cinnamon spiced, with plenty of buttery-sugary topping. I knew, however, that I'd made the better choice when the bittersweet chocolate souffle was placed before me.

The smell of the chocolate was intense, and the plate, with its scarlet swirls of raspberry sauce and flecks of cocoa powder, looked happy and cheerful. I nearly swooned at the first bite, the tart raspberry a perfect foil for the hot, sweet, creamy souffle. It's their signature dessert, and for good reason, aptly expressing the exuberant ambience, eclectic menu and perfection in preparation that distinguishes Roy's Po'ipu Bar & Grill.

Roy's Po'ipu Bar & Grill, 2360 Kiahuna Road, Po'ipu, Kaua'i. 742-5000. Dinner nightly.

Adventures in Dining Archives