Umami on the Prowl: Hakone

Umami went to a family birthday dinner at Hakone on Sunday.  It did not get off to an auspicious start when the restaurant called to say there would be no valet service because there was a wedding reception that was going to take precedence.  Regular restaurant customers could park at the Ilikai (Hakone would validate) or scramble for metered parking or very limited free parking at Ala Wai Harbor parking lot.  As it turned out, there was also a first birthday party as well, so there were tons of people milling about.

We were also there for the 5:30 seating, along with maybe two dozen other people.  So, when the doors finally opened, it was kind of crazy getting in, and then discreetly rushing to the fresh sushi bar.  Hard to say why there was such a rush for the sushi bar, since the sashimi trays are loaded with lots of varieties of fresh fish.  They are all beautiful pieces of meat, with a nice amount of fat . . . if fish could be buttery, these would be!  Also, the sashimi trays change as the evening progresses; a later tray had tako, and other fish.  Really, unless you have sushi fetish, you could do very well with just the sashimi and other items in the buffet line.

Umami likes this pic of the salmon.  The piece is about the size of a quarter, but it looks just like a mini salmon steak.

This is the Hiyayakko (Cold Tofu).  It's homemade, and comes with a number of toppings, but Umami liked it plain, with a little ponzu shoyu.  The little receptacle on the side held some citrus zest, and you poured the shoyu over it.  The tofu itself was creamy in texture, almost like a custard.  Beautiful with the sashimi . . . in fact, that's probably the best way to go.  Okay, maybe with some noodles, if you have to have a starch.

Or, just wait for dessert to load up on carbs.  These are four of the choices and they were all uniformly excellent.   Clockwise from top:  blueberry cheesecake (airy, with a cake "crust," so it was super-light, for a cheesecake), mini cream puff (filling was actually a custard . . . nice!), guava cake (very good, but Umami suspects DeeLite Bakery would turn in a superior version).

All told, it was a really excellent meal, and Umami thinks it's a value, even at $46/head for the buffet.  However, don't go at 5:30 and get caught up in buffet mania.  Instead, try a later seating.  It would be awesome to linger over the fish with good sake and good company.  Umami will be back!

Hakone
Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki (Umami calls it "the Waikiki Prince")
100 Holomoana Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815

944-4494
Dinner:

• Wednesday - Thursday, 5:30pm - 9:00pm
• Friday - Sunday, 5:30pm - 9:30pm