Yes, here in Hawaii we see the sunrise every morning. I’m not proud of that, but there you have it. Why? Forty roosters per square foot of Kauai.
Spouting Horn: the waves crash in under the rocks (Po’ipu means crashing waves) and up through a hole so it spouts like a whale.
Rainbow from our lanai.
Waimea Canyon
Kalalau Valley was one of the highlights of the trip!
Below is the island of Ni’ihau, the forbidden island off the coast of Kauai as seen from Waimea Canyon Road.
The view from our table: Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill kitchen
First, a big mahalo to the friends who recommended Roy’s Poipu Bar and Grill to us. It doesn’t have fancy enclosed gardens lit by propane torches or even much atmosphere at all. It lives and dies by its food—which is mind-blowingly good—and the staff’s attention to detail. We wanted a salad, and decided to use that as an opportunity to check out their menu.
Roy’s Grilled Baby Romaine Salad with Blue Crab and Tobiko
But then the salad, a grilled baby romaine salad with blue crab, tobiko (flying fish roe) and a wasabi parmesan dressing was SO good, we had to continue with the Canoe for Two appetizer platter, which had samples of five of their appetizers. As Cyndi tried each one, she instantly declared it her favorite. Szechuan BBQ ribs with the most amazing Mongolian sauce, Seafood Moon raviolis with Portuguese sausage, shitaki mushrooms and essence of lobster, Wild Boar Lumpia, Korean Kalbi beef gyozas and seared shrimp sticks that ROCKED.
Roy’s Canoe for Two Pupu Platter: Left to Right: Mongolian Ribs, Ocean Moon Ravioli, Wild Boar Lumpia, Korean Kalbi Beef Gyoza, Seared Shrimp Sticks
Five-for-five out of the park, and the salad made six, so we decided to try the crab cakes. Seven for seven. By that time we were done, but mentioned that we’d be back for Cyndi’s birthday on Monday, at which point our waiter disappeared and brought us back a Happy Birthday Chocolate Decadence dessert, which made it a stellar eight for eight on the evening. We’ll not only be back Monday, we’ll be looking forward to it until then.
[When we went back, we had a full pupu order of the ribs. Pupu means “small dishes” rather than appetizers. Most dishes on their menu were available as a half-order on the pupu menu.]
But I promised a tale of TWO restaurants, so for comparison, I offer up The Hukilau Lani in Kapa’a. Now I’m such a foodie, and have loved cooking for such a long time, that I tend not to go off on restaurants unless they really deserve it.
Given that, I have one question for TripAdvisor reviewers: “What on EARTH possessed you to rate Hukilau Lanai in Kapa’a as Number 1 out of 286 restaurants on Kauai?” Continue reading