Alan Wong’s Restaurant – King Street

As promised, David’s boss treated us to dinner at Alan Wong’s Restaurant on South King Street, where we celebrated David’s 60th birthday.  Valet parking is available for $3.  In 1996, Alan Wong received the James Beard Award for Best American Chef (Northwest) and for Best New Restaurant.

Here are the birthday boy and his beloved wife.

The menu came with a birthday greeting and was autographed by Alan Wong and his staff.  Toward the end of the dinner, the menu was rolled up, tied with a ribbon, and presented to David as a souvenir of the wonderful evening.

We started with a glass of French champagne.  $14.  It was bubbly, remarkably smooth, and not overly tart.

Sweet roll with spicy aioli.

Appetizer:  Seafood Cakes.  $18.50.  Lobster, shrimp, scallop and crab, caper mayonnaise, Tsukemono relish.  Excellent, large chunks of seafood with very little breading.  Delicious!

Ginger Crusted Onaga.  $35.  With miso sesame vinaigrette and organically grown Hamakua mushrooms and corn.  The fish was cooked medium so it was very moist and tender.  Came with my choice of mashed potatoes.

Macadamia Nut-Coconut Crusted Lamb Chops.  $52.  Asian ratatouille, roasted garlic smashed potatoes, and red wine lamb jus.  These were fine, but David thought the chops were over-priced.  I had a taste and agreed, because there wasn’t much meat to eat.  (David and I shared our meals with each other.)

Five Spoons of Creme Brulee.  $7.  From left to right:  Macadamia nut, chocolate, yuzu, Kona coffee, and lilikoi.  Very interesting flavors, but I would have liked more for the price.

Chef Alan’s Favorie Pie:  Lemon Meringue Pie.  $8.50.  David said this pie was unusual, because the exterior was crispy and the interior was a soft custard.  “Something different,” he said.  “I expected a traditional pie like the one at the Willows Restaurant.”

These waiters presented David with a complimentary birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to him.

This was a strawberry shortcake with ice cream.  The cake was tender with a sweet-tangy filling. 

We were given chocolate toffees as a final note to a splendid occasion.  It was an experience to remember.  David will not forget this 60th birthday celebration, thanks to his boss.  Mahalo, Mr. Boss!