Twist and Shout

Down-to-earth dining atop the Sheraton Waikiki

Seafood Salad: Twist's Hawaiian-style Crudo features Kona Kampachi, shaved fennel, pickled red radish and sea asparagus Photo: Jimmy Forrest

The catchy little slogan for Twist at Hanohano goes: “A room with a view, food with a twist.”

The restaurant says its three-, four- and five-course set meals, which feature fresh local ingredients, are designed for “eco-friendly epicureans.” As we took the high-speed elevator to the Sheraton Waikiki’s 30th floor, I wondered, “What are eco-friendly epicureans anyway? And would they be caught dead eating in a restaurant sitting atop a hotel the size of a small city, built on a site that was once a productive wetland?” Twist? How about spin?

Sarcasm aside, I wished the branding and marketing people would have stopped screwing around so much, because there was nothing twisty, subversive or ironic about this restaurant’s food. It was just plain good — high-quality ingredients, cooked carefully and presented simply. Combined with one of the best views on Oahu and the most professional and accommodating waitstaff in the city, you have an enjoyable evening — straight up.

Twist’s “core menu” features appetizers, entrées and desserts that you mix and match into different size meals. There is also a companion menu of additional items that are themed after an island or group of islands. This selection rotates weekly.

I stuck with the core and the four-course meal ($80 without wine pairing, $105 with).

I started the evening with the Citrus-Scented Diver Scallop, which featured sliced fava beans and morel mushrooms in a small pool of slightly savory cream sauce. The scallop was also topped with a tomato fennel marmalade. The scallop, enormous and fat, was perfectly cooked and provided a plump platform for the contrasting but complementary sweet and salty flavors. I particularly enjoyed the morels, which not only added necessary texture but also a woodsy beefiness to the dish. The fava beans were nice, too, adding a little color and crunch.

My next appetizer wasn’t as successful. The Hawaiian-style Crudo was a showcase of the fresh and fabulous: Kona kampachi, shaved fennel, pickled red radish and sea asparagus. The dish was colorful and attractive, but I found it a little over the top. I’m a big fan of kampachi’s subtle flavors and satisfyingly firm texture, but the fish was buried under a mound of vegetables and seaweed that, although tasty, probably belonged somewhere else — like in a salad.

For my entrée, I kept things simple, ordering the Alae Salt and Rosemary Grilled Beef, which was served with smoked cheddar-and-chive potatoes and butter-braised baby romaine. The filet was accompanied by a demi-glaze sauce that packed a beefy punch. Unlike the previous dish, the abundant, fresh ingredients didn’t get in the way of the main ingredient, the steak, which was cooked to an ideal medium rare.

For dessert, I enjoyed the Gingered Coconut Float, which featured pineapple and coconut-flavored custard. The dish, deceptively simple looking, with just hints of sweetness and creaminess, was so fresh and refreshing that to call it a dessert seemed somehow unfair.

Twist at Hanohano Sheraton Waikiki Resort 30th Floor 2255 Kalakaua Ave. Open seven days a week 5:30 – 9:30 p.m. for dinner 5:30 – 11 p.m. for cocktails in the lounge 921-4600

I’d start, end and interrupt a meal with this heavenly little creation. If this is what eco-friendly dining is all about, I’m looking forward to Earth Day.

 

 

 

 

 

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