Kaua'i Tidepools Restaurant

My favorite meal on Kaua'i was dinner at Tidepools, located at the Grand Hyatt in Poipu. I made advance reservations about 6 weeks prior to to my trip because I'd heard from so many people that it was worth the planning and the drive. I am very happy to say there were right! 

Following a winding path from the main lobby of the hotel, it is a bit tricky to find the entrance but all the hotel employees were very helpful in steering guests to this hidden treasure. Mobility challenged guests should ask for help and the waiter said they use the service elevator for wheelchairs. 

The breadbasket was filled with freshly baked rolls (you can watch them being made as you walk towards your seat) that were entirely too tempting to offer to hungry people! Somehow I only ate one (and a half)!

We got crab cakes made with crab, kula onions, panko, lomi tomatoes and a garlic parmesan aioli for $27

Poke with wonton chips made with dynamite furikake for $23, that the non poke lover at the table declared the best poke ever :)

The most enticing menu item was the Hawaiian catch with soy glazed Hawaiian fish, cold water lobster, shrimp, scallop, molokai sweet potato, served with a lemongrass buerre blanc for $65. It was a huge portion and every bite was delicately and gently cooked to perfection highlighting all the fresh local ingredients.

The misoyaki kurobuta pork chop with furikake rice cake, seasonal vegetables, and house made bok choy kimchee for $61 was one of the best pork chops I've ever eaten and I fought to take the bone home so that I could savor it in private;)

Getting a reservation at sunset is worth the planning just to get a view like this:

Kaua'i Chinese Food and Duke's

I like to explore both local low key places and scenic touristy places, so that I get a taste of different flavors while traveling.

Garden Island Barbeque in Lihue was one of the few places where I saw no other tourists in the entire restaurant. Located in an old section of Lihue, with fans blowing, and very modest decor, they serve great Chinese food in gigantic portions for very reasonable prices.

It was too humid to order soup, but some of the tables had customers happily slurping up wonton and I was tempted to get some to go :) Instead I ordered the duck with mixed vegetables for $12.95 that could have easily fed 3 people! Luckily I was staying at a condo with a full kitchen so I took most of it back to eat later. Chock full of fresh vegetables and very good duck, it would have been enough to just order this one dish, but since I had no idea the portions were so big, I ordered more dishes that ended up with having leftovers that lasted for 2 days afterwards.

I ordered the beef Singapore noodles for $15.95, which had nice flavors and tender beef slices.

I got some snow pea pods with shrimp that were succulent, savory, and absolutely fabulous because they painstakingly prepared the snow pea pods properly, removing all the fibrous parts before cooking. For $16.95 this is was one of the most expensive items on their extensive menu and worth every cent. 

I got a side of kimchee just because it looked so good at a nearby table and it was homemade!

For a completely different experience, I reserved at Duke's weeks before my trip because it was on so many lists of a place with good food and a view. They have free valet parking (please tip) down the steep driveway next to the Royal Sonesta hotel. Follow the walkway to the host stand.

The view from the entrance was very impressive with a bar, live music, and walk in tables below. If you make advance reservations you will get one of the ocean view tables on the upper floor.

The seared sashimi grade Furikake Ahi Steak served with shitakke, rice, and black bean bok choy, topped with pickled cucumber salad was a delicious twist on the usual tuna tataki for $43

The main course of chicken, ribs and added coconut shrimp (+$16) served with rice, cucumber salad and macaroni salad for $29 included high quality Compart family farms pork and all natural huli huli chicken. I wanted to try their famous salad bar, but this plate was so big that there was no room for salad or dessert!

There was room for my eyes to feast on the view though...