Spirit of Aloha | Articles | Adventures in Dining | May/June 2001

Adventures in Dining
by Jessica Ferracane

Hawaiian Culinary Excursion

Hawaiian and French influences combine for a memorable culinary adventure at The anuenue Room.

At the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua's anuenue Room on Maui, diners enjoy delectable variations on traditional Hawaiian foods

Lu'au are fine, but to experience the full range of Hawaiian harvest cuisine, head to the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua's anuenue Room on Maui.

Hawaiians might call such a Hawaiian culinary adventure a huaka'i hele, or excursion, and this one led us, gastronomically speaking, from the ocean to the mountains. We feasted on wana (sea urchin), 'opihi (a type of shellfish), pua'a (pork), pohole (Hawaiian fiddlehead fern) and other foods enjoyed traditionally in the Hawaiian culture.

At The anuenue Room, Chef Virgile Brandel rounds up distinctly Hawaiian foods and places them high on a pedestal. Brandel is from Champagne, France, and the Hawaiian/French combination purrs under his spotlight. Here he serves wana in its own shell as a souplike appetizer. If you've ever stepped on one of these spiked creatures (ouch!), eating it this way is sweet revenge. The entire sea urchin, minus its top and needle-sharp spine tips, comes to the table on a nest of frilly limu (seaweed). Its creamy taste resonates ocean without being fishy, thanks to a splash of pineapple champagne sabayon and a dollop of caviar gratinee.

I was about to tell my boyfriend, Steve, not to be afraid in this unfamiliar gastronomic territory, but he was already spooning the yolky wana into his mouth, eyes closed in rapture.

We sat down around sunset with our friend Kimberly, who was born and raised on Moloka'i. Her family used to pry 'opihi from slippery shoreline rocks and swallow the snail-like mollusks alive.

'Opihi au naturel taste nothing like the 'opihi served at The anuenue Room, Kimberly assured us. Here, the small, grayish-black limpets are sauteed and have the texture of escargot, plus an oysterlike taste. They are folded into a hot open ravioli with another local favorite, Puna goat cheese. Upcountry mushrooms and steamed lotus seeds finish off this unique and tasty appetizer.

Selecting a wine to accompany the diverse fusion of flavors at The anuenue Room is a job for the pros. The sommelier recommended several bottles from the stellar list, including Tunina, a scrumptious 1998 Italian chardonnay, and our favorite, a silky 1995 Chambertin Grand Cru Burgundy from Louis Latour.

With bold, inspiring colors and flavors, The anuenue Room lives up to its name, which means "rainbow." My salad was aglow with sweet Keahole lobster and fresh hearts of palm (both grown on the Big Island), mango slices and soft Manoa lettuce. Steve sampled an 'opihi and hearts of palm salad with chopped truffles, while Kimberly indulged in a pot of gold: a blue-cheese-stuffed tomato with gazpacho dressing and sweet Maui onion.

After a cleansing swallow of citrus champagne sorbet, it was time to fish for more distinctly Hawaiian flavors. Our exceptional French waiter, Robert (pronounced Rho-bayr), presented us with onaga (red snapper) baked in pa'akai (salt crust). Inside the fish-shaped crust was the delicate, white onaga, wrapped in bright-green ti leaf and served with a subtle champagne vanilla sauce enhanced by traces of cardamom and saffron. We savored every morsel.

Next we tried the pua'a kalua (pork cooked in an imu, or pit oven). The pua'a filet is draped in escargot, bacon and soybean sabayon. I took a bite of the succulent pua'a, then a sip of the extraordinary Burgundy and nearly bowed down in worship.

Dessert at The anuenue Room sweetens the Hawaiian huaka'i hele with a French kiss-a piping-hot tropical fruit souffle and a sip of sweet Muscat, a French dessert wine. A French press is brought to the table and 100 percent Kona coffee is poured into delicate china cups. Then a dozen garnishes arrive, including shaved white and milk chocolate, fresh whipped cream, diced macadamia nuts, cinnamon sticks and candied orange rind.

A dessert like that is a fitting grand finale for the experience at The anuenue Room. Both kama'aina-longtime Island residents-and visitors are in for a memorable culinary excursion when dining there.

The anuenue Room, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, 1 Ritz Carlton Drive, Kapalua, Maui.
Dinner nightly except Sunday and Monday, 6-9:30 p.m. Reservations recommended.
Slacks and collared shirts required for gentlemen. Valet parking.
669-6200 ext. 7467.

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