‘Ono Buzz: 4 Dishes and Drinks You Must Try This Month

Four things you should be eating and drinking this month in Honolulu.

March 25, 2015

HONOLULU Magazine Team,

Eat This

Photo: Lavonne Leong

The lomo saltado at Peruvian pop-up Mimi’s Place. It’s beef and onion in a tangy sauce, served over fries with a side of flavorful rice: a creative balancing act between European steak frites and Chinese stir-fry that is somehow much greater than the sum of its parts.

Mimi’s Place, corner of Lowrey Avenue and East Mānoa Road, open Friday and Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m., 358-1475

SEE ALSO: First Look: Mimi’s Place

Spectacle of the Month

The crispy whole kampachi at Turtle Bay Resort’s Pa‘akai comes out deep-fried and whole, standing on its belly, with head and tail intact—a simple concept made special by a theatrical presentation. The price tag matches the visual impact: $74, although the dish is substantial enough for two or three people.

57-091 Kamehameha Highway, 293-6000, turtlebayresort.com, open Tuesday through Saturday, 5:30 to 10 p.m.

Salad Days

Photo: courtesy of Honolulu Museum of Art

Kale is ordinarily too tough to serve raw, but Spalding House Café chef Susan Lai Hipp gives hers a massage with olive oil and some time to relax, which transforms the leaves into tender salad material, for the Lomi Kale Caesar. Then Lai Hipp tosses them in a dressing that’s “a lot more lemony than the traditional Caesar,” she says. The citrusy tang lifts up kale’s bitter bass note and makes it harmonize with the deep umami of Caesar’s traditional anchovy-Parmesan combo. A scattered handful of bubu arare adds crunch, and you can have it with chicken for $4 more, though that always feels like too much. Add in the café’s high-altitude perspective of Honolulu, and it’s the perfect lunch for taking the long view.

Spalding House Café, 2411 Makiki Heights Drive, 237-5225

Drink This

Pineapples and lychee get put into cocktails all the time, but Holoholo Bar and Grill gets a little more creative with its tropical creation Da Mango and Da Mint, a refreshing blend of mango puree, vodka, Cointreau, fresh lime and mint.

2494 S. Beretania St., happy hour 3–5 p.m. daily, 369-7297

This article appears in the March 2015 issue of HONOLULU Magazine.