Tag Archives: Hawaiian

Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu Review

Following my sister’s Hawaiian-style wedding reception, Annie and I had an intimate dinner for 2 at the venerable Alan Wong’s Restaurant to celebrate her 40th birthday.

Alan Wong's Restaurant  Honolulu

Alan Wong’s is one of the most recognised, award-winning fine dining establishments in Honolulu. It was noted as one of the Top 10 best restaurants in the nation by Gourmet Magazine in 2006. Presidents and chiefs of state dine there. Chef Alan Wong himself, credited as one of the founding fathers of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, garnered the James Beard Foundation award for Best American Chef – Northwest in 1996. It has a well-deserved reputation.

Annie has long wanted to go to Alan Wong’s but we never got the chance to during our previous trips back home to Hawaii. So when we started planning for this latest trip for my sister’s wedding, she made her wish very clear: “You better take me to Alan Wong’s!

About a month before we left, I called them and made the reservation.

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A Hawaiian-Style Wedding Reception

Following my sister’s Hawaiian-style wedding on the grounds of the Ko’olau Golf Club, we went to the Club’s main ballroom for the Hawaiian-style reception. I say “Hawaiian-style” because we include facets from the many different ethnicities that make up Hawaii, yet in a uniquely Hawaiian way. Case in point is the framed 1001 cranes artwork that was commissioned for her wedding:

1001 Cranes Artwork by Cathy Lancaster of Classic Cranes

1001 Golden Cranes

The design is made up entirely of 1001 hand-folded, gold foil origami cranes. Ancient Japanese tradition was that a bride-to-be would fold 1000 cranes in order for a wish (such as long life or good fortune) to be granted. Japanese in Hawaii do it one better for extra luck!

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