This was our penultimate night here on the big island. I booked us at the nicest of the dining options at the Fairmont resort. It was clearly a much nicer resort than any of the Hilton Waikoloa properties. Since we had an early seating (5:45 and the restaurant opened at 5:30), we were seated in one of the front row tables closest to the beach so we’d have an unobstructed view of the sunset.
As per usual, we started with cocktails. I ordered the Brown’s Signature G&T (Botanist Gin, Grand Marnier, lemon and grapefruit juice, hibiscus tea syrup, tonic) and Andrea had the Spiced Pineapple Margarita which was made with a bit of mezcal and tequila, but was a bit too sweet for our tastes (when we make margaritas at home, we definitely cut back on the agave and make it more tequila forward).
We were given the bread to start which is their Signature Ube Rolls with Orchid Honey Butter. These were incredible. The color on them was quite striking with a vivid deep purple color. The texture of the bread was softer and more moist, almost the texture of a muffin, but not quite that soft. Plus the bread was a bit sweeter no doubt due to the ube and honey butter also added to that. Regardless, they were delicious.
There was a prix fixe menu, but we didn’t think enough of the choices to go with that so we just ordered à la carte. For starters, Andrea ordered the Coconut Red Curry Lobster Bisque (which I had also been eyeing) and I ordered the Poisson Cru (I was also tempted by the poke, but we did have some yesterday for lunch at Hilo Bay Cafe). The lobster bisque was a very nice bisque with well developed lobster flavor. My dish was a sort of Hawaiian ceviche made with abalone and kanpachi with citrus juice, coconut milk, and cilantro accompanied by some ‘ulu and taro chips like you would find with poke. This was also quite delicious. Very good start!
For our mains, Andrea ordered the Dry Aged Ribeye ordered medium rare (I was a bit surprised she ordered this when her go to is usually filet mignon, but since ribeye was my go to, I certainly wasn’t complaining) and I had the Duck Breast special ordered medium rare. Andrea’s ribeye was also topped with some a sort of chimichurri butter which was torched tableside. Her steak was cooked perfectly and was very tasty and also came with a rich red wine jus. My dish though was a bit of a disappointment. The duck was overcooked and was nearly well done (again, I had ordered medium rare). The mushroom risotto had a very strong mushroom flavor which I enjoyed, but the risotto was just mush texturally.
For dessert, we went with the Hawaiian “Snickers Bar” which is made with Honoka ‘a Chocolate and sea salt caramel including the little spheres of them and a lilikoi sauce. There were some other ingredients with the different layers and such, but unfortunately I forgot them. It was solid (flavor-wise, not texture-wise) dessert.
Overall, we had a very nice meal and a classic beautiful Hawaiian sunset.
Leave a Reply