In pondering the future of restaurants a few years ago, I spoke of the ever-shrinking restaurant in light of a younger generation of chefs no longer willing to spend years toiling for someone else, their lack of capital and adoption of the mantra I have long espoused, “If you can’t do it all, do one thing well.”
The pandemic sped up the process, with job losses spurring many more individuals to strike out on their own, even with limited means. The push for takeout eliminated the need for tables, chairs and extra help.
That being said, I miss the days when restaurateurs could dream big. Believe it or not, there was a time when people stayed home and cooked, and dining out was reserved for special occasions. With few places to go, it wasn’t unusual for restaurants prior to the 1980s to seat 500-2,000 people in a single seating, and the destinations were meant to wow diners for whom dinner was an event, not merely a daily chore. Restaurateurs took to the sky — with La Ronde (opened 1961) and Windows of Waikiki (1965, later renamed Top of Waikiki) — and water. H.T. Hayashi created Pagoda Floating Restaurant, an oasis encircled by carp ponds, in 1961, and U.S. Sen. Hiram Fong opened The Oceania at Pier 6 in 1972. The floating restaurant was set in a four-story barge from Hong Kong dressed in Chinese palatial style.
Of these restaurants, only Pagoda survives and it’s doing so by evolving with the times. While there was a time restaurants could survive on the power of sentiment and nostalgia for institutions that once connected generations, consumers today are driven by more pragmatic matters of quality and value, which the restaurant is now addressing through revamped breakfast offerings.
Its buffet had already been losing ground pre-COVID, thanks to a plethora of newer breakfast spots around town. The pandemic offered the opportunity for a reset with an a la carte breakfast focusing on basics with healthier twists. For instance, you can still get your beef, but it will have been raised grass-fed. Lean pork from Waianae’s Mountain View Farm is raised naturally, without use of antibiotics, vaccines and steroids, on land farmed without pesticides or herbicides.
It was pleasant to be back at the restaurant. I think human beings have a natural affinity for water features with calming sounds that are an invitation to relax, and the koi that fill the ponds are perfect greeters, rushing up to the water’s surface to meet each human face, even if only in hope of being fed.
My first clue that this was a changed restaurant was ordering orange juice that turned out to be fresh squeezed. Outside of dedicated juice bars, it’s a rarity on Oahu. At $9, it costs more than the sugar water passed off as orange juice elsewhere, but it’s well worth the extra cost for a boost of vitamin C.
Those who want to start their day light can choose from a “healthy” category that includes smashed avocado toast with arugula ($12); muesli with yogurt, apples, oats, raisins and island touches of toasted coconut, pineapple and local honey ($10); and a Greek yogurt bowl ($12) filled with seasonal fruit, plus granola, hemp hearts, chia and a touch of pomegranate juice.
If carbs are your wake-up call, the simple deliciousness of a crisp toasted croissant ($7) spread with guava jelly and macadamia nuts fits the bill. There is a lot more to choose from in the “sweet” category. Haupia pancakes ($14) are blanketed in haupia cream and, as a special touch, are accompanied by a house-made pineapple-papaya jam that takes two days to prepare from scratch. Punaluu sweet bread is the base of a thick French toast. It’s $10, but I recommend getting it topped with caramelized bananas or macerated berries ($4 more) for a more luxurious experience for the eyes and palate.
More farm-to-table options fill the savory portion of the menu that includes Ohana Cattle Co. beef loco moco with onion gravy layered throughout so you never get a dry bite ($18), and kalo and kalua pork hash served with rice or house potatoes and two family-farmed Shaka Moa eggs ($16). I loved the slightly sweet and distinctive flavor of the Chinese taro used in the dish.
There is more Chinese influence in the offering of a Chinatown-inspired lup cheong fried rice, also accompanied by two eggs ($18), and egg foo young with fried rice and oyster sauce gravy ($16). A handful of omelets, including a kalua pork omelet ($17) accompanied by lomi salmon and baby bok choy, round out the menu.
On weekends, the dinner buffet survives, offered at $49.95 for adults, $39.95 for age 65 and older, and $29.95 for children ages 5-10. Offerings include salads and appetizers, a poke station, chef’s station with slow-roasted prime rib and entrées that include catch of the day, chicken of the day, a beef or pork selection, shrimp and vegetable tempura, plus desserts. Knowing a lot of people go to buffets only to fill up on prime rib and crab legs, steamed snow crab legs are now an a la carte add-on at $30 per platter.
There may be more innovations in the works as the staff is currently toying with the idea of adding a small to-go shop with food items such pork broth and ground pork to make home-cooking easier.
Pagoda Floating Restaurant
1525 Rycroft St., Honolulu
Food: ***½
Service: ***
Ambiance: ***½
Value: ****
Call: 808.948.8354 Hours: 7-11 a.m. Daily, 5-9 P.M. Fridays-Sundays
Prices: Breakfast about $40 for two
Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).
