For a Christmas Party last year, some friends and I dined at the Hale Koa Room. The Hale Koa Room is currently under renovations but they’ll be back with a brand new look in March. I hope they keep their dessert menu the same, I plan on visiting them again to try their torte tower that I’ve heard about.
The bread they served when we first arrived came with some liver pate, not too bad but the bread was a bit odd. It was more rolled and a little denser than the usual bread they serve you at other restaurants.
Since my party was a little large, they had a set menu for us to choose from prior to our arrival. The first course was a choice of either Assorted Seasonal Greens with pan roasted Macadamia nuts and a cranberry vinaigrette or a French Onion Soup with a cheese crust:
We had seven items to choose from for the second course: Beef Carpaccio (beef tenderloin with chili oil and peppery hearts of palm salad), Smoked Scottish Salmon (with caviar relish and crisp bagel chips), Seared Yellow Fin Ahi (with ogo seaweed salad and wasabi mustard essence), Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Crab Rolls with Seared Scallops (with persimmon-chili sauce), Rock Shrimp Pot Stickers (in lobster essence and watercress), and Escargot Bourguignonne (half a dozen escargots baked in a classic garlic-herb butter sauce). The majority of us chose crab rolls as our second course and a few other people diverged but we didn’t order the entire selection. I got the seared ahi myself.
Beef Carpaccio on the left and my Seared Yellow Fin Ahi on the right. The fish was fantastic, peppery and seared minimally. The wasabi mustard essence sauce wasn’t overpowering and the really sweet and ripe cantaloupe was a nice contrast against the fish. It cleansed my palate considerably. I didn’t finish that giant limu and ogo seaweed salad even though I know it probably costs quite a few pennies. There was just a bit too much for me to eat.
The majority of the group ordered the Crab Rolls with Seared Scallops (left). From what I could tell, everybody enjoyed it. I believe there were three pieces on the plate along with the two scallops. The Escargot Bourguignonne (right) was nicely presented. I wasn’t expecting them to be still in the shell. I was half expecting to see a shell fly across the room ala Pretty Woman.
The third course was the main course with the choices of: Roast Rack of Lamb (with dijon mustard and garlic crust and a sweet corn and cheddar souffle), Cinnamon Rubbed Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin (with carnitas and sweet corn and cheddar souffle), Grilled New York Steak (in a cabernet shiitake mushroom sauce and sweet corn and cheddar souffle), and Sauteed Onaga Filet (in a macadamia nut butter sauce and truffle rice). I’m a little unsure about the description for the last item since we changed it at the last minute, it was originally supposed to be in a lobster reduction sauce but one of the girls mentioned that the sauce made the dish really salty so they switched the dish with the mac nut sauce dish). I’m only giving the description from what I saw on my plate and tasted.
The Rack of Lamb (left) was ordered by a few people and from what they said and what I saw, that was a substantial amount of food. Cinnamon Rubbed Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin (right) was ordered by two people and they seemed to have liked it. I think the cinnamon rubbed part of the description may have made a few people hesitate when we looked at the menu.
How can you go wrong with a Grilled New York Steak (left) right? The Sauteed Onaga Filet (right) was what I ordered and it came out well. The fish was still moist and flaked easily with the fork. If you look, the bumpy surface of the fish is a thick layer of chopped macadamia nuts. The went well with the fish, cutting into the monotony. I had about four pieces of fish on my plate and I was pretty much full by the end. The rice in the middle had truffle shavings in it so it made it richer and more flavorful. I’m not sure if this was the truffle risotto or just a truffle rice but you could definitely see and taste those truffle shavings in there. Here’s a better shot of the fish:
The fourth and final course was dessert. We had a choice of: Parisian Cheesecake with macerated fresh raspberries, Lemon Lime Tart with fresh raspberry sauce, and Souffle in either chocolate or grand marnier. Not a lot of people ordered dessert so I don’t have a shot of the Lemon Lime Tart but we did get the other two items.
Most of the group ordered the Chocolate Souffle (right) but we had one odd ball guy that ordered the Grand Marnier Souffle (left). The same guy was also the only one to order the Escargots, hehe. He mentioned that the Grand Marnier Souffle was alright, not quite what he expected. One of the guys that ordered the Chocolate Souffle managed to finish his dessert and all that Chocolate sauce in his gravy boat. I think that pretty much speaks for itself.
My friend and me ordered the Parisian Cheesecake (above). This was just about one of the best cheesecakes I had because it was so light and fluffy. Normally cheesecakes are pretty heavy and rich. This was light enough that I wouldn’t have had a problem finishing it all (and I did!). The little red blobs was a raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries and whipped cream were on top of the cheesecake and a thick graham (I think) crust was on the bottom. I’m not exactly sure what the crust was but it was pretty hard so you had to be careful about breaking it. I sent a piece of crust flying the first time I tired to brute force my way into it with a fork. The trick is to put your fork down at 90 degrees and ease your way down into the crust with the tines until it breaks.
Along with dessert, they also gave us some complimentary after dinner truffles. I believe it was a chocolate ice cream type of filling inside of it rather than a ganache. It was presented to us on plate that was sitting on a container that held dry ice. Pretty nice display and the truffles were good. The chocolate coating was thin and crispy and on the whole it wasn’t overly sweet.
The Hale Koa Room wasn’t too bad overall. Its a place I would go to again to try a different item on their menu. The staff was courteous and we had an enjoyable party there. Possibly a place to visit in another year, especially after their renovations are done.
1. Weirdest thing you have had for breakfast?
* Not sure that this qualifies but I was woken up in the early morning in the middle of sleep and told by my mum to not open my eyes. She fed me some chinese (I assume chinese...) fungus soup thing. To this day I still don't know what it was that I ate or why I had to keep my eyes closed.
2. Most desperate meal you've ever had?
* Baked cheese sandwich
3. When you eat too much, you...
* Lie down and silently encourage my system to work the food down. 
