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Roy's - Waikiki Beach
Roy's - Waikiki Beach
226 Lewers Street
Honolulu, HI 96815
808-923-7697
http://www.roysrestaurant.com

Price: $$$
Ambiance: Casual/Business
Food: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5
Tummy Points: 4/5
Notes: Service was imbeccable.
A Fixe Menu $35 if available

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First opened in 1988 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Roy's has grown into 33 restaurants spread throughout the United States.  According to Roy's, they create Asian dishes with European techniques.  If you've been to Nobu, Roy's is along the same tracks.  If you haven't been to Nobu, I'd agree with Roy's description of their food and add that they focus primarily on seafood and their menu is more european style as they don't have any noodles or rice dishes as is typical of most Asian restaurants.  An interesting fact I read on Wikipedia, Roy's had partnered with Outback Steakhouse to grow his chain in continental US.

I've been to Roy's in Texas (my current favorite) so I had high expectations coming to the city that Roy's originated and a city surrounded by the ocean.

The roasted macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi was not my favorite.  While eating it, I kept thinking this tasted like fish and chips but rather than batter it was encrusted with macadamia nuts.  The top was crunchy and the rest of the fish was a little overcooked and thick like haddock.  I thought mahi mahi was supposed to be a light flaky fish. 

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Bongo Ben's Island Cafe
75 Alii Dr.
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808-329-9203

Price: $$
Ambiance: Casual
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2.5/5
Tummy Points: 2.5/5
Notes: Chicken Katsu $11.95, 
Fresh Catch $14.95. 

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We had spent a whole day driving and hiking through Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.  It was amazing to see the cooled lava formations and the ocean water crashing against the island.  Sadly it was raining for most of the day so it didn't feel great.

We had landed in Hilo on the East side of Big Island and drove southwardly to Kalaola because the Volcanoes National Park was along the way and hotels in Kalaola were better.

It was already dark and late when we got to Royal Kona Resort but still made the effort to walk down the street to find a few local eateries still open.  We decided to give Bongo Ben's Island Cafe because it had the most people sitting around eating and chatting.  It might not be the best indication of the good restaurant but it usually works.

I ordered the fresh catch which was grilled Ono fish with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.  Ono fish is also known as wahoo in other parts of the world.  Ono was probably overcooked as it was chewy and the mango salsa did little to bring out any fish flavor.  The texture was like chicken.  The mashed potatoes still had the red potato skin, which I like.  It was also buttered so it was fatty and tasty.  The broccoli was just steamed and flavorless.  It needed a lot of pepper to bring it back to life or dipped in the mashed potatoes.

Our Hawaii trip was a short with no time to spare.  We needed a quick walk and eat type breakfast just to keep our stomachs from growling at us.  Across from our hotel was a bakery so we decided to pay them a visit to see what we could pick up.  Inside it's laid out like walk in bakery with a counter of "freshly" baked buns under plastic covers and center counters of pre-packaged not as fresh bread.  Saint Germain also has a small casual seating area with metal unpadded chairs in case you really want to enjoy your baked goods on the spot.  But I was content with eating on the go.

Ideally the bread for the day is preoared and baked early in the morning at the store so if you get to a bakery early, you get their best bread.  Unless they're so popular and run out, they may bake more bread mid-day.  Unfortunately, a common trend with bakeries of this size and ones within a franchise or chain, they have one central location that prepares all the bread dough prior to baking.  If the store has an oven then baking is done on site.  Otherwise a truck or van drops off pre-baked goods to the location, just like a grocery store.