The Veranda

This elegant and yet comfortable dining room with a marvelous view of Kahala Beach is quite comfortable and made all the moreso by friendly staff. Chef Wayne Hirabayashi's open-kitchen turns out crispy fish with a tangy sauce, steamed Hong Kong-style whole fresh fish, kiawe-grilled tiger prawns, superb stir-fried specialties, herb-crusted onaga and many other tastes from East to West. Order Hoku's Sampler of appetizers and small plates.

Hoku's is located at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It was created as part of an extensive renovation of the hotel some years ago. The restaurant is located at street level and has a wonderful view of the ocean through huge picture windows. As would be expected the service is top notch. When our entrees were a bit late, which we did not notice at all given the leisurely pace of the meal, the waiter provided a complementary dessert plate for the table. Honestly, none of our party felt that the entrees took and unreasonable amount of time and we were somewhat (but pleasantly surprised) by their actions. The seafood and meat dishes were prepared perfectly. We began the meal with an appetizer that was a tower of seafood...shrimp, sashime, clams and oysters arranges on a mountain of ice. Very different and innovative (quite an attention-grabber also). We don't know whether this is a normal item as it was not on the menu on another occasion.