(808) 773-8235 • 1001 Queen Street #105 • www.rinka-dining.com • Lunch: 11am-2pm • Dinner 5pm-10pm (Last seating at 9:30pm)

Setsubun*Monday 2/3/20 is the day of

*Setsubun signifi es the ending of Winter and the beginning of Spring

Rinka’s Ehomaki** 1 Roll $10. ($9.55+tax) ** Ehomaki is a sushi roll that is believed to be good luck when eaten on Setsubun day. This custom began in the Kansai area in Japan. When eating Ehomaki, look in the year’s good luck direction (West southwest), and eat quietly while making a wish. Ehomaki should not be cut. This represents not cutting any good bonds in the future.

Authentic Traditional Japanese CuisineNOW OPEN IN A‘EO (Same building as Whole Foods)

Availablefor

Take OutOnly

THE WEEKLY EATER | Nadine KamNadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.

16 S TA R A D V E R T I S E R . C O M H O N O L U L U S TA R - A D V E R T I S E R >> W E D N E S D AY 1 / 2 9 / 2 0

New CanoeHouse continues storied legacy

A fter a 14-month closure for renovations, the Mauna Lani, part of the Auberge Re-sorts Collection, reopened on Jan. 15 with

a sleek, contemporary design. Gone are the man-made water features in the central atrium, re-placed by understated hardwood flooring and artwork by Pow! Wow! artists and living room-style gathering spaces, including a Hale ‘I‘ike, or House of Knowledge that serves as a Hawaiian cultural center led by Danny Akaka, son of Ha-waii’s late congressman.

Come spring, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop shop will open, to be the largest of the actress’s five ap-parel and lifestyle stores.

The resort’s dining concepts have also changed to accommodate the demands of today’s traveler. The Bay Terrace is gone, replaced by three con-cepts: The Market, HaLani restaurant and Ha Bar. The CanoeHouse restaurant has been refurbished and the area around it transformed into a more natural, flowing state, so there’s no more crossing bridges and walking in a circle to get to the restau-rant’s entrance.

What hasn’t changed is the re-sort’s commitment to culinary excellence. The property has

the distinction of having spawned “Cui-sines of the Sun” during chef Alan

Wong’s tenure at the Canoe-House. In the early 1990s, “Cui-sines” was the first island food festival to put

PHOTOS BY NADINE KAM / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

A sizzling platter of Kauai shrimp ($36), roasted with a soy-yuzu sauce and garlic butter, is a specialty of the new menu at the CanoeHouse at the Mauna Lani resort.

MAUNA LANI

DRIVE

HAWAII ISLAND

PAUOA ROAD

CanoeHouseMauna Lani, 68-1400 Mauna Lani Drive, Hawaii island

Food: ++++Service: ++++Ambiance: ++++Value: ++++

Call: (808) 657-3293Hours: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.Price: $90 to $125 for two without alcohol

Ratings compare similar restaurants:

++++ - excellent+++ - very good++ - average+ - below average

W E D N E S D AY 1 / 2 9 / 2 0 >> H O N O L U L U S TA R - A D V E R T I S E R S TA R A D V E R T I S E R . C O M 17

Also at the Mauna LaniHaLani

This casual open-air eatery starts the day with a la carte items or a $48 breakfast buffet that starts with an assortment of breads, pastries, fresh fruit and build-your-own salads, plus starters and sides from smoked fish and sashimi to dim sum and charcuterie. But unlike most buffets, which often leave hot items to overcook in steamers, HaLani lets din-ers opt for any or all of eight cooked-to-order entrees and sides. Entree options include a green scramble of kale, spin-ach, ricotta and eggs; chilaquiles; Hama-kua loco moco; and such morning favorites as buttermilk pancakes, waffles or French toast. These items are also available ala carte starting at $26.

In the evening, executive chef Chris Damskey presents a Mediterranean menu infused with local vegetables, herbs, flow-ers and flavors, starting with a mezze se-lection of smoked bacalao ($14) and shrimp croquettas with piri piri sauce ($16), and entrees of seared diver scal-lops with pistachio and golden raisin but-ter ($42) and Catalan stew ($52) with Keahole lobster, Kauai prawns and clams in a chorizo tomato broth. Breakfast runs 6:30 to 11 a.m., dinner 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Ha BarThis open-air pool bar offers a casual

menu of tacos, burgers, salads and dishes such as a local fish sandwich with kalamata aioli ($29), Alii mushroom wrap ($26), Makai Farm salad ($39) of greens topped with a half poached lobster tail, grilled shrimp, seared ahi and diced mango and papaya with lilikoi dressing. Cool off after a day in the sun with signa-ture cocktails, mocktails or wine. Bever-

ages available 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., main menu from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., light bites between 4 and 9 p.m.

The MarketSet up like a general store, this is the

place to pick up omiyage, including an array of goat-themed T-shirts in honor of the wild creatures that often find their way onto the property, as well as a quick bite and beverages for the road. These include packaged deli sandwiches and salads, coffee and smoothies. If you’ve got the time, you can get such fresh-to-order items as a pastrami ($19) or Cu-ban sandwich ($18), lobster roll ($22) or a build-your-own sandwich that can be accompanied by a dish of coleslaw ($7), German potato salad ($7) or curried chicken salad ($17), with more options on the way. Open 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Surf ShackA rustic wood and aluminum exterior

was inspired by D.I.Y. surf hangouts, per-fect for its beachfront location. It serves as a place to book such resort activities as surfing, paddle boarding and outrig-ger canoe paddling, and also snack on light fare such as poke bowls, street ta-cos and shave ice, along with cold liba-tions. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Hawaii on the international radar as a culinary destination.

Wong went on to co-found the Hawai‘i Food & Wine Festival with Roy Yamaguchi. This fall, “Cui-sines” will make its return to the property in col-laboration with Hawai‘i Food & Wine.

The property was also the first laboratory for the early sustainable, farm-to-table ambitions of Peter Merriman — who, like Wong and Yamaguchi, was among co-founders of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement.

That heritage is intended to continue through Auberge, a company with roots in cuisine. The rapidly growing hospitality company started with a single restaurant, Auberge du Soleil, opened in 1981 to bring a taste of Provence to California wine country. Its owners found that patrons driv-ing to the restaurant from San Francisco some-times could use a nearby place to stay after a long night of food and drink, so a resort was built to ac-commodate them. Today, the Auberge portfolio in-cludes 41 restaurants, 15 spas and 19 hotels and resorts, with another eight on the way, and a com-mitment to learning about the history of each place and its people.

It’s a tall order, and one that will be interesting to follow in coming months.

AT CANOEHOUSE, executive chef Matt Raso is bringing a casual, approachable sensibility to up-scale dining. Raso spent 14 years working for chef Nobu Matsuhisa, four of them at Nobu Honolulu, then headed to Nobu Miami, where he spent 10 months before returning to Hawaii.

At the CanoeHouse, he’s been given carte blanche to create the menu he wants and it will be interesting to watch what develops. With Nobu’s

Please see CANOEHOUSE, Page 19

The Makai Farm salad, with lobster, shrimp and seared ahi, is served at the Ha Bar.

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style still in his blood, he says he often finds himself thinking in terms of, “What would Nobu like?”

As to what Raso would like, it’s a menu that embraces all the contemporary touch points of sustainability and casual luxury that still manages to be fun, which suits the chef’s playful energy. He’s been known to parade through the restaurant with a platter of sizzling Kauai shrimp ($36) that turns heads as diners catch whiffs of the tantalizing aromas, launching a dozen orders. In-stead of staying in the kitchen, he’s often in the dining room dropping off dishes and striking up a rapport with diners to get their feedback.

THE SHRIMP make a good place to start. Like much of Raso’s opening menu, they have Japanese flourishes of yuzu and soy, which add dimension to the garlic butter and make an irresistible combination. It’s great for pairing with shoku pan ($12), a loaf of buttered and salted pull-apart bread, to soak up all the extra sauce.

For a cold start, you can build your own chilled sea-food platter by choosing from a short roster of selec-tions such as Kona abalone ($18 each), oysters ($5 each), shrimp cocktail ($4 each) or poke ($6 to $8 per portion). Kona kampachi poke ($6) with the simplicity of a citrus-soy sauce, slivered onions and cilantro offers a luxurious change of pace from more typical ahi poke.

Hot snacks range from flame-tossed edamame with sea salt ($6) and grilled shishito peppers ($8) to kushi-yaki of chicken, pork or beef sold by the skewer at $7, $9 and $10, respectively. I like the a la carte pricing that allows diners to pick and choose. Sometimes you want just a small sampling, or perhaps someone at the table

doesn’t eat meat and you do. This approach takes many dining preferences into account. If you’re short on cash, you can graze on light options. If you’re flush, you can go all out.

Since moving back to the Big Island, Raso said, he’s taken advantage of the weather by doing a lot of grilling at home, and that love for the grill is turning up at Canoe-House through warayaki-style presentations of tuna

($24), Kona kampachi ($22) and wagyu ($56), hay-smoked and seared at the table. The smoking process helps mask the metallic flavor of iron emanating from the animal proteins.

Those in favor of crispy snacks may want to gravi-tate toward the crispy squid ($12) with a light sprin-kling of curry salt and shichimi, or local corn tempura ($12) with kernels that burst pleasantly with each bite.

On the high end, a whole king crab leg ($58) is not to be missed, layered with a rich black truffle crust and scallions, cut into bite-sized pieces to be easy to lift and share. The opposite of this luxe dish may be the smoked pork jowl ($38), with the simplicity of smoked pork, roasted fingerling potatoes, cabbage and a 62-degree egg stirred together at the table in a mi-so-mustard sauce. The dish is an ode to Raso’s first stay years ago on the Big Island.

RASO’S ZERO-WASTE philosophy shows up in a 36-ounce tomahawk ribeye ($175) prepared yasaizuke (vegetable-cured) style, using vegetable trimmings from the kitchen and a 10 percent blend of salt and miso to marinate and add extra umami to the meat.

Desserts range from a light Japanese-style cheese-cake ($14) served with coconut cream and fruits, to a bitter chocolate combination ($12) of chocolate cremeux, hazelnut crumble, cocoa tuille and passion-fruit-banana sauce.

More is in development, including a sushi chef to of-fer selections in the lounge, at the bar and, eventually, tableside, with cart delivery. Raso may also be adding Latin flavors from his tenure in Miami and childhood in Texas, and as he learns more about his new home, will add more local purveyors. His list of sources already in-cludes Kekela Farms, Io Farms HL Farms, Mother Na-ture’s Miracle and Kipuupuu Farms.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this all comes to-gether by the time “Cuisines of the Sun” rolls around.

CANOEHOUSEContinued from Page 17

NADINE KAM / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

A Cocoaqua mocktail of coconut water, lime, mint and sparkling water is served at sunset at the CanoeHouse.