Imagine a prix-fixe, five-course contemporary Italian dinner that you can customize and pair with a wine list boasting premium wines from Italy and the Pacific Rim countries around Hawaii.
That’s the concept behind Arancino, a new restaurant that opened in June at Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star The Kahala Hotel and Resort, just a short drive out of Waikiki on Oahu.
This upscale restaurant — the company’s third location in Honolulu and its first fine-dining venture — offers a course-style dining experience with innovative Italian dishes using ingredients both imported from Italy and sourced locally in the Islands.
And when we say innovative, we mean dishes like lightly fried foie gras and white truffle Parmesan risotto balls, tagliolini with uni (sea urchin) sautéed in a sweet garlic wine cream sauce, or a housemade Hamakua tomato sorbet with a sweet tomato compote and gelée.
“We wanted to bring something new to Hawaii that people haven’t had before, which is combining Italian food with course menu selections so that our guests can design their own dinner,” says Aya Inamura, company vice president and the founders’ daughter. “With this new concept, the options are endless for our guests who want to experience the best of authentic Italian cuisine presented in an innovative way.”
One of Arancino’s signature dishes is also the one that takes the longest to plate (fifteen minutes per dish). The showstopper is a crostacei di mare, a mélange of abalone with ama ebi (sweet shrimp) lightly drizzled with herb oil and paired with a wine from Marlborough, New Zealand.
Details are minded everywhere here, even down to the traditional bagna cauda dip, served in a terracotta flower pot.
“What’s key here is that guests are able to select their five-course dinner in more than 3,000 ways, resulting in a unique dining experience that will truly satisfy every palate,” Inamura says. “They won’t get bored with the same menu every time they dine with us.”
Photos courtesy of The Landmark Hotels Group and Catherine Toth
