Hale Aina Awards 2006 - Change in Date, No Significant Change in Results
Gail Jennings
December 2005

[Editor's Note: See the 2007 Hale Aina results here.]
Honolulu Magazine went through a fairly traumatic upheaval over the past year. Award-winning editor John Heckathorn was quite suddenly (at least that is how it appeared to those on the outside looking in) ousted after nearly 22 years with the magazine. Much was made of the magazine's intent to scout around for a replacement but when all was said and done, those with the titles most similar to "Editor" all moved up a notch without any new blood coming in. And, less than a month later, Heckathorn was back on board as a contributing editor and a new job with the parent company of Pacific Basin, AIO. Interested parties were all left scratching their heads and wondering what sort of family feud had actually gone down. [Photo: Winning restaurants and chefs received one of these black baseball caps emblazoned with "Winner Honolulu Magazine's Hale Aina Award"]

The magazine has a long history and the contremps with Heckathorn was no doubt not the first nor will it be the last of this storied publication. Paradise of the Pacific, as it was first titled, debuted in 1888 and the name was changed in 1966 to Honolulu Magazine. Rightly or wrongly, there is the perception that the majority of people who subscribe to the magazine are of a certain age (over 50), wealthy and many of them don't actually reside in Hawaii, at least on a full-time basis. Which brings us to the Hale Aina Awards. First instituted by the magazine in 1985 they have successfully branded the awards as the premier restaurant awards for the state of Hawaii. Winners are selected by write-in ballots by magazine subscribers - an important point. At the time the awards began, Hawaii Regional Cuisine didn't have a name and the first Roy's in Hawaii Kai had not even opened. I believe it is fair to say that Honolulu Magazine was hopeful about our dining future and even helped move the dining scene forward.

In the January 2004 issue of the magazine, Heckathorn wrote a brief history of the Hale Aina's (hale aina means "eating house" in Hawaiian) which chronicled the changes in the awards ceremonies and the addition of a charitable element which culminated in the formation of Hale Aina Ohana which supports local culinary education. He further noted that the early winners of the "Best Restaurant of the Year" award transitioned by the early nineties from hotel or Waikiki-based restaurants with European leanings to restaurants featuring Hawaii Regional Cuisine. What he didn't note is that HRC has had a firm grip on the awards ever since. In fact, the past twelve years have seen the "Best Restaurant of the Year" award dominated by Alan Wong's with seven wins; Roy's, three wins; Hoku's twice and 3660 on the Rise once.

I heard rumors that this year they were going to shake things up and that the Hale Aina's were going to have a new spirit, a new outlook and a fresh face to present. We were very graciously invited to attend the awards ceremony by Donna Jung of Donna Jung Public Relations who is the PR person for the awards, and I jumped at the chance to see what all the hype was about - never mind that I was interested in seeing what the various participating restaurants and chefs would serve.

The single change was that the awards were presented in November rather than in January. Traditionally, the award ceremony coincides with the January issue of Honolulu Magazine which features the winning restaurants, so an early revealing of the winners was a big deal.

This year's party was held at the Kahala Mandarin Hotel (I must make a special mention that this was one of the most pleasant and well-run events we've been to - the staff was at the top of their game and everything went very smoothly throughout the evening) with a pre-event cocktail party for the winning chefs and restaurants. Grey Goose Vodka and Bombay Sapphire martinis were dispensed and master sommelier Chuck Furuya of Vino's hosted a table with a nice selection of wines. Pupu from Hoku's were passed around and former editor, John Heckathorn, and current editor, A. Kam Napier, emceed this gathering along with magazine publisher, Scott Schumaker. The one curious thing that happened during the cocktail party was the closing of the beverage booths while the gentlemen made their remarks. There was quite a line of thirsty people at the martini table by the time they finished!

During the cocktail hour we spotted and chatted with a number of winners including The Bistro at Century Center owner Jackie Takeshita and her executive chef, Rodney Uyehara; Roberto de los Banos, one of Oahu's most talented chefs, who was recently promoted from chef at Bali-by-the-Sea at the Hilton Hawaiian Village to executive sous chef for the resort and OnJin Kim of OnJin's Cafe in Kakaako. Pamela Young and Gary Sprinkle of KITV news were in attendance as well with a camera crew in tow.

The award ceremony itself was emceed by KGMB's husband and wife duo, Guy Hagi and Kim Gennaula. They did a great job of keeping the event moving along at a steady pace. Entertainment was provided by slack key virtuoso, Makana and musical duo, Kona. Several beverage vendors provided the wine for the evening and our personal favorites were the premium sakes offered by The Cherry Co. The best was from Sudo Honke, the oldest brewery in Japan, and the sake was their Satono Homare. You can find this particular sake at Tamura's.

A number of winning restaurants including Alan Wong's, Chef Mavro, Shokudo, L'Uraku, Hoku's and Roy's Hawaii Kai and Roy's Ko Olina hosted food booths. The best dishes were Cumin Seared Nairagi with Waimea Vegetable Seviche from Chef Mavro and the Fried Chicken with Spicy Tartar Sauce from Shokudo. The only dessert offered was from Alan Wong's pastry chef, Mark Okumura. He prepared delectable Yuzu Meringue Tarts and the unique citrus flavor of yuzu gave a fresh taste to this classic dessert.

Several of Hawaii's most notable chefs were in attendance including Alan Wong, Roy Yamaguchi, Hiroshi Fukui, Chai Chaowasaree and, of course, George Mavrothalassitis.

Now to the winning restaurants. The most interesting of the winners were in the smaller categories which included only restaurants from Oahu. Here is where you can see some shifting which bodes well for our future dining prospects.

Best Restaurant of the Year
Alan Wong's

Best New Restaurant
Gold Winners: Shokudo and town
Silver winners: E&O Trading Co. and Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas

Best Meal under $20
Gold winners: Olive Tree Cafe and OnJin's Cafe
Silver winners: Murphy's Bar & Grill and Sweet Basil Neo-Thai

Little Restaurant You Love
Gold winners: Swiss Haus and The Little Village Noodle House
Silver winners: Le Bistro and Phuket Thai

Best Service
Gold winners: Bali by the Sea and La Mer
Silver winners: The Bistro at Century Center and Roy's

Best Ambiance
Gold winners: Bali by the Sea and E&O Trading Co.
Silver winners: Indigo and Orchids

Best Wine Program
Gold winners: Formaggio and Vino
Silver winners: Chef Mavro and Roy's

Best BYOB Restaurant
Gold winners: C&C Pasta Co. and Olive Tree Cafe
Silver winners: Mitch's Sushi and town

Best Dessert Menu
Gold winners: Alan Wong's and The Cheesecake Factory
Silver winners: 3660 on the Rise and Cafe Laufer

Oahu Gold Winners
3660 on the Rise
Assaggio's
Bali by the Sea
Chai's Island Bistro
Chef Mavro
Hoku's
Kincaid's
La Mer
Le Bistro
Mariposa
OnJin's Cafe
Palomino
Roy's
Ruth's Chris Steak House
The Bistro at Century Center

Oahu Silver Winners
12th Ave Grill
Aaron's
Hakone
Hy's Steak House
L'Uraku
Orchids
Sansei
The Cheesecake Factory
The Little Village Noodle House
The Willows

Moving on to the neighbor islands, I will list just the gold winners. One oddity on the Kauai list is that A Pacific Cafe has been closed since earlier this year, so one wonders when these voters last dined there. In fact, A Pacific Cafe owner, Jean Marie Josselin has opened a restaurant, 808, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. [Editor's Note: The publishers did remove A Pacific Cafe from the winners' list in the magazine which went to press after the event.]

Maui Gold Winners
David Paul's Lahaina Grill
Hali'imaile General Store
i'o restaurant
Longhi's
Mama's Fish House
Pacific O
Roy's Kahana
Sansei
The Ma'alaea Waterfront Restaurant
Vino

Big Island Gold Winners
Cafe Pesto
Huggo's
Kilauea Lodge
Merriman's
Roy's Waikoloa
The Seaside Restaurant and Aqua Farm

Kauai Gold Winners
A Pacific Cafe
Gaylord's
Roy's Po'ipu
The Beach House Restaurant

All in all this event was not really ground breaking but reinforced the influence of a certain mindset about fine-dining in particular and restaurants in general here in Hawaii. Not much further need be said and for those who dream of day when the strangle hold of HRC either loosens its grip or gets kicked into this century - well, that day was not this day! Some bright spots which offer a glimmer of hope were the selection of Shokudo and town as best new restaurant, and the win by Sweet Basil. I was surprised to find my favorite sushi bar on the list - Mitch's Sushi Bar - even if it was in the BYOB category.

There will hopefully be more new restaurants opening or old ones shaking it up a bit which will help to push our restaurant scene forward. And, lastly, a complete list of prior winners of the Best Restaurant of the Year award - how many of these do you remember?

THE BEST RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR HISTORICAL LIST

1985 - The Third Floor
1986 - Michel's at the Colony Surf
1987 - Michel's at the Colony Surf
1988 - Matteo's
1989 - Michel's at the Colony Surf
1990 - Bali by the Sea
1991 - The Golden Dragon
1992 - The Maile Restaurant
1993 - The Maile Restaurant
1994 - 3660 on the Rise
1995 - Roy's
1996 - Alan Wong's
1997 - Alan Wong's
1998 - Hoku's
1999 - Alan Wong's
2000 - Alan Wong's
2001 - Alan Wong's
2002 - Hoku's
2003 - Roy's
2004 - Roy's
2005 - Alan Wong's
2006 - Alan Wong's