We arrived in Kona yesterday, TGC is rewarding my compassion and understanding of his need to travel to Malaysia and other places for work nearly 2 weeks out of each of last 5 months. We had an amazing day, but that isn't what we are here to talk about... While headed back to the hotel from Costco (picking up some tasty Mai Tai fixings for drinks on the lanai) I was checking out the local reviews on Yelp. I came across Rapanui, it had some pretty good reviews and a great rating. Some of the entrées described sounded delicious, so I thought why not.Rapanui, is a small little restaurant located in the courtyard of a mall. It was difficult to find, nestled in the back of the Banyan court shopping mall. The restaurant has 9 tables, most of which are located in the courtyard of the mall. It is a quaint little place. There was just 1 server and the owner/chef cooking in the kitchen. I'm not going to lie, the mall was not the fanciest of places, the restrooms were shared with the mall, and the parking area was dark and a bit sketchy (If you were staying in downtown Kona, and could walk up Ali'i drive this would not be an issue). I was prepared for this ahead of time, based on the reviews I read, but it was still a little surprising. However, I know that many of my favorite restaurants are little places just like this one...
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| Rapanui |
When we arrived just two of the tables were full, I was a little concerned... if this place is soo good where are the people!?! The waitress came over right away and sat us at one of the courtyard tables right next to a fountain and koi pond, additionally, from my seat I could see Kailua Bay. It was a beautiful setting, and good company. Before I get to our orders and the menu, I must discuss what happened after we ordered. Right after we ordered, a large group of people showed up wanted to get seated at Rapanui. Included in this group were 5 children ranging in age from 2-10. When they first arrived the children were running around, splashing in the fountain, and having a grand time. I, however, was annoyed. I like kids, I work in education, it comes with the territory, but on vacation, at this quiet little restaurant, I was wanting a quiet dinner with TGC. In my head I was fuming at the audacity of this group to ruin my quiet dinner. Just then, the waitress kindly spoke the group,
and told the group that the children would have to be quieter. I know this may sound rude, but she said it in the nicest way. The group promptly
got the children seated quietly, and the rest of the
meal went smoothly. Thank you, kind waitress,
thank you!
got the children seated quietly, and the rest of the
meal went smoothly. Thank you, kind waitress,
thank you!
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| Macadamia Shrimp Stir-Fry |
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| Wha - Satay Skewer Sampler |
Now, to the good part. The menu is small, but full of enticing dishes. The fare is mostly island food, their slogan is "Island food for Island people." The owner is from New Zealand, and puts a little different twist on your typical Hawaiian fare. The menu offers local fish, curries, stir-frys, and satays (they call them sates). The wine and beer selection is small, but they do offer some eclectic choices not found in many other places (A Tahitian beer, and wine and beer from NewZealand). I have to say everything sounded amazing, TGC and I both could not decide what to order. In the end TGC went the Wha, which is a sampler of all of their satays. I went for the Macadamia Shrimp stir-fry. The smell of our food cooking, was all it took to know this was going to be a fantastic meal. My Macadamia Shrimp Stir-Fry was delicious from the first bite. The shrimp was cooked, perfectly, which is difficult. They had a light garlicky flavor, and when combined with the house rice and macadmia nuts, it was deliciousness. I can still taste the house rice, a coconut and lemongrass mixture. It wasn't dry and starchy, it was moist and packed with flavor. The buttery and crunchy macadamia nuts brought the whole dish together. Mmmm, I wish I was eating another bite right now.... The dish was served with a peanut sauce, but I didn't need it; the dish was amazing on its own.
As delicious as my stir-fry was, it is not the bite, that has me here typing this blog, fighting jet lag to get this out to you. It was the single bite of one of TGC's skewers. The Wha Skewer Sampler includes two skewers of chicken satay and one beef, shrimp, and pork satay. They were all good, but the unforgettable bite for me was, the beef satay. That one bite (all that TGC would part with) was bliss. All of my taste buds sang with enjoyment while I savored the best satay of my life. The beef satay is marinated in soy sauce, turmeric, 5 spice, cumin, ginger, lime and garlic then grilled perfectly and topped with peanut sauce. The zing of the lime and ginger combine with the earthiness of the spices to create the most amazing bite. Here the peanut sauce is the thing that helps marry all of the flavors together. This dish is sweet and earthy and yet lightened by the lime and ginger... I am still lamenting that I did not order a full order of the beef satay, if I had only known... if I had been more hungry we would have ordered a third entrée. It was that good. If the dish wasn't good enough on it's on it own, it was also served with amazing coconut lemongrass rice. In short the beef satay was deliciousness.
All in all, I don't have many negative things to say about Rapanui. I didn't love the location, the decor was a bit plain, but the food was amazing. With one bite of the food, you won't care where you are, all you will want is another bite of deliciousness...
4 ½ Whisks
Near Deliciousness
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