Monday, 08 Feb 2016, 7pm, Azure Restaurant at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Quite Possibly the Best Meal We Have Ever Had!

(Advanced Warning!! This is posted for all of our foodie friends that love to experience the best dining experiences all over the world… I’m looking at you Justin and Nano, Betty and Denny, Ellen and Bill, Larry and Dottie, Archie and Pris, and many others as well. So, if this is not your thing, you might want to move along now…!)

Hula Grill Bar Pre-gaming at Sunset with Mai Tai's

We began the evening with a Happy Hour pre-game at the Hula Grill Ocean and Sunset View Bar at the Outrigger Hotel with Mai Tai’s to get the evening started on the right note. Gorgeous sunset and ambiance certainly set the right tone.

Arrived at the Azure restaurant about 15 minutes early for our 7pm reservation, but were promptly seated on the ocean-side terrace in the waning sunset moments to begin our culinary adventure. This was our second visit to the Azure, almost a year to the day after our first wonderful visit. On our first visit in February, 2015, we both had the wine tasting and pairing menu that was most memorable, and our motivation to return.

It is very worth noting that as we were seated at our kozy and romantic table, and began to make our dining decisions for the evening, a large 14-top group was also seated nearby, and was also being taken care of by our server. I noticed immediately that our server was taking the 14-top orders just before getting back to us, and began to concern myself with the level of service we might receive as we competed for attention with this much larger and likely more demanding assemblage of hungry diners. My concerns were completely unnecessary! Upon mentioning the situation to our server as we placed our order, the staff of Azure responded in amazing fashion. They first assured us that we would be well cared for, and followed up by tag teaming us with several different servers and a lead server, who all were completely clued in on what we had ordered and expertly anticipated our every need. In fact, this might have been some of the best service I have ever experienced in a fine dining establishment. Well Done Azure!!

On this occasion, we decided to change it up a bit. My wife stuck with the tasting menu, 5 specially selected courses, including a lovely sashimi and greens starter, creamy roasted butternut squash and lobster soup, followed by grilled Kauai prawns, and a delicious locally raised beef filet and foie gras, and punctuated with pumpkin panna cotta piece de resistance dessert. We chose to forgo the wine pairings this time in favor of our own wine selection – a beautiful bottle of Craggy Ridge Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which paired up very nicely with our largely seafood dominated selections for the evening. And for the beef filet main course, my wife selected the Jim Clendenen Vita Nova Merlot by the glass that had been suggested for the wine pairing menu for this course, and complimented it nicely.

Deb 1st Course Hamachi Sashimi

Deb 2nd Course Roasted Butternut Squash and Lobster Soup

Deb 3rd Course Grilled Kauai Prawn

Deb 4th Course Beef Filet and Foie Gras

I on the other hand went with the a la carte selections, beginning with a fabulous chilled seafood starter of lobster, shrimp, abalone, king crab, and yellow fin ahi tuna expertly paired with three different sauces – mostly locally sourced from various Hawaiian locales. Spectacular!

Ron Appetizer Chilled Seafood Platter

For my main event, I went with the Seared Hawaiian Yellow Fin Ahi and Hokkaido Scallops, exquisitely prepared with an eight spice blend, sake braised spinach, prosciutto wrapped enoki mushrooms, and plum beurre rouge… Oh.My.God…! I don’t think that my taste buds have ever danced so excitedly to the amazing tones that this symphony of flavors offered.

Ron Main Course Ahi and Scallops

To properly cap off this most wonderful experience, I could not handle a full dessert course to enjoy with my wife’s selection, so I chose instead to seek a nice digestif as an appropriate finale. Imagine my delight when I discovered that Azure indeed offered an outstanding Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos that evoked only the best memories of my years spent in beautiful Hungary. It was the perfect finish to an absolutely amazing dining experience.

Desserts - Pumpkin Panna Cotta and Royal Tokaji

And as a final note on outstanding service, I must note and compliment the perfect timing that our server team accomplished by neatly matching up a 5-course tasting menu with my 2 course starter and entrée. Since my appetizer was quite sizeable, it arrived simultaneously with my wife’s first course but easily lasted through her second and third courses. Then, right on cue, both of our main courses arrived at exactly the same time. And of course, my Tokaji finale and my wife’s dessert both arrived in unison as well. This timing could have been tricky, but the Azure team seamlessly delivered without missing a beat!

I highly recommend to anyone that is looking for a memorable epicurean experience, please do give Azure serious consideration. We still have about 10 days remaining here in Honolulu, and several more stops on our fine dining adventure, but I can honestly attest that Azure has set the bar exceedingly high. Thank you Azure for an incredible evening!