Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The ukulele is instrumental to Hawaiian music.
EATING & DRINKING IN OAHU
Hawaii Regional Cuisine
Hawaii regional cuisine (HRC) was established in the mid-1980s in a culinary revolution that
catapulted Hawaii into the global epicurean arena. The international training, creative vigor,
fresh ingredients, and cross-cultural menus of the 12 HRC chefs who originally championed
the cuisine have made the islands a dining destination applauded nationwide. (In a tip of the
toque to island tradition, ahi—a word ubiquitous in Hawaii—has replaced tuna on many chic
New York menus.)
HRC today is even more popular. Peter Merriman, a founding member of HRC and a re-
cipient of the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest/Hawaii (along with George Mav-
rothalassitis of Chef Mavro Restaurant), describes the current trend in Hawaii as a refinement,
a tweaking upward, of everything from fine dining to down-home local cooking. This means
sesame- or nori-crusted fresh catch on plate-lunch menus, and huli-huli (Hawaiian rotisserie)
chicken at five-diamond eateries, paired with Beaujolais and leeks and gourmet long rice.
At the same time, HRC, the style of cooking that put Hawaii on the international culinary
map, has become watered down, a buzzword: “A lot of restaurants are paying lip service,”
