When you’re of a certain vintage — like old, in the 60s through the 80s — dining out at a favorite restaurant from the past is difficult, challenging and nearly impossible.
Sure, you relish and remember an earlier birthday dinner or show, or a milestone wedding anniversary, or the place you celebrated your retirement.
Chances are, these relic places from previous celebratory moments are gone. This sobering reality hit me this month, when I contemplated revisiting a favorite spot to mark a birthday.
The places I used to frequent are gone. Only memories remain.
I recalled fond outings at the Maile Restaurant at the Kahala Hilton, where waitresses originally donned kimono, carrying on the tradition originated at Canlis Restaurant in Waikiki. These were pioneering spots for very special meals.
Family buffets were common at Flamingo Chuckwagon on Kapiolani Boulevard near Ward, where an informal “ranch” motif prevailed. The Hawaiian staples, plus a picturesque environment including a small freshwater pool, made The Willows buffet a winner, too — a reminder of a kinder, gentler, unrushed time. Both gone.
When Keo’s Thai Cuisine first emerged in Kapahulu, Keo Sananikone was elevated to the epicenter of Thai food. (He also ran the smaller Mekong restaurant on King Street.) When Keo’s expanded to Waikiki, anchoring the Ambassador Hotel where Kuhio and Kalakaua avenues convened, he made Thai spring rolls, Evil Jungle Prince and Mussamun beef curry new jargon for locals and visitors.
The first rotating restaurant was La Ronde, at Ala Moana Center. Frankly, I recall the total 360-degree spin more than the cuisine, so this was mostly a curiosity destination. But fun.
Another site big with kids: Victoria Station, with a train car as a dining room, on Kaheka Street.
Also joyous: The singing-dancing waiters at Le Bon, once a fixture on Kapiolani Boulevard, performed between delivering appetizers and entrees.
Waikiki had a number of casual places to slurp saimin, order breakfast, eat burgers and fries, try Okinawan or Chinese fare, nosh on exquisite pies: Kau Kau Korner (the original Hard Rock Cafe took over the site, before moving to Lewers Street); Pier 7 at the Ilikai (now Cinnamon’s for townies); Yum Yum Tree at Kahala Mall (now Chili’s) and the Spindrifter a stone’s throw away (now a parking structure). The Wisteria on King and Piikoi streets (now a 7-Eleven and a gas station) offered splendid Okinawan selections; House of Hong (on Lewers) served delectable Chinese.
M’s Ranch House had a following in Aina Haina. What I remember best: On your birthday they’d play an old-fashioned recording of “Happy Birthday” on the house sound system. Remarkably simple and nostalgic.
I don’t miss elevator-rides-to-the-top sites, like the Hanohano Room at the Sheraton Waikiki, but I had a soft spot for Top of the I at the Ilikai, because one evening, while dining there, Elvis Presley walked in with an entourage of 18 and mesmerized the diners.
We celebrated my mom and dad’s (both now deceased) 50th wedding anniversary with a 10-course dinner at the Golden Dragon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, once the go-to place for Chinese banquets. Chef Dai Ho Chang created two signature dishes there: cold ginger chicken and Beggar’s Chicken, the latter wrapped in lotus leaves and encased in clay. The shell had to be cracked open with a mallet, providing spectacle with splendor, a Kodak moment for sure.
Oceanfront meals were especially inspired — John Dominis at Kewalo Basin was a triumph. The replacement, 53 by the Sea, doesn’t come close to its charm, despite the panoramic view of Waikiki and the sea.
For really special times, Alan Takasaki’s Le Bistro at Niu Valley was fine-dining French in a neighborhood community. No need to dress up and go to Waikiki.
Upscale in the hood is my style, so I’ll mark an upcoming birthday at Roy’s Hawaii Kai, a five-star entity since it opened 25 years ago. …
Dandy, Bumatai!
Comedian Andy Bumatai’s one-night stand-up gig July 23 at Manoa Valley Theatre was one of his best outings ever, and his first in a theatrical setting.
His backdrop was the set of “The Rocky Horror Show,” the current musical in residence, and Bumatai staged his own rocky hilarity show, filled with flights of fantasy, blended with real on-the-road experiences (he just concluded a motorcycle tour of Arizona, California and Oregon), juxtaposed with recollections from his 30-year stand-up career.
At 65, he’s still vrooming with vitality.
In his best bit he credited Bob Dylan as the original hip-hop rapper, proceeding to rap out the lyrics of 1965’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” completing the schtick with the thumping tempo of a Hawaiian chant. Now, that’s nifty stuff.
He provided generational observations, remembering that back in the day you’d hide your pot smoking from your parents, and nowadays, parents are hiding it from their kids.
Bumatai mentioned that his Filipino looks confuse mainlanders, who might pass him off as Hispanic or Native American. He once auditioned for a movie role as a Native American, listing his “tribe” as “Makaha,” and getting away with it.
A master of dialects, Bumatai spoofed his comedy peer Frank De Lima, rattling off nonsensical Filipino from the latter’s “Filipino Christmas,” beginning with “macadangdang soyut billy goat …”
Bumatai returns to Blue Note Hawaii on Saturday with Rex Navarrete as his guest. …
Calendar notes
Dates to note:
>> Manoa Valley Theatre’s season finale, “The Rocky Horror Show,” has been a sellout from the get-go. Final extension dates are 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14 and 15, 8 p.m. Aug. 16 and 17, and 4 p.m. Aug. 18. Call 988-6131 or go to manoavalleytheatre.com. …
>> Alvin Okami, founder of KoAloha Ukulele, makes a rare appearance with Ed Fiscella’s Harmony Show Choir from New Jersey, in a performance of Okami’s “America’s Song,” at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ala Moana Center’s Centerstage. The patriotic tune has been part of the choir’s repertoire for years, performed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Disney World in Orlando. Several other gigs are slated here. …
And that’s “Show Biz.”
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com.
