Valentines at Alan Wong's: A Dinner Drama in Four Acts

Act 1: The Reservations

All stories must begin at the beginning, and for restaurant stories, it all begins with The Reservation. Not wanting to screw anything up, I called for reservations a month in advance. Table for two, eight o'clock. I'd been reading consistent praise about Alan Wong's in eGullet and Chowhound. Gayot recently listed it as one of the top 40 restaurants in America. (Chef Mavro, just a few doors down, also made the list.) It sounded perfect, and I was gambling that they wouldn't cut corners just for Valentine's Day.

Next, I bought a ring and on the afternoon of the 14th, took it to the restaurant with the intent of having it delivered to our table during service that evening. Junko doesn't know yet, but this entire evening is orchestrated around me giving her this ring. More on the ring in a few moments, because first there's very bad news when I arrive at Alan Wong's to drop it off.

"Alan who? I'm sorry, but we have no reservation in that name."

They searched high and low. No reservation. We called over to Alan Wong's other restaurant, Pineapple Room, to discover that I was on their reservation list. My working theory is that I called the wrong number due to severe problems with the website--I'll rant about the website usability at another time and place--and whomever took my reservation intended to call it over to the main restaurant but never did. I know I insisted I did not want the Pineapple Room. Why oh why didn't they just ask me to call the correct number?

And so I found myself face to face with Kathy the Restaurant Manager at 4pm on Valentine's Day, begging for understanding of my situation. Maybe begging isnt' the right word. I kept restating my case with conviction and that tiny hint of desperation that frightens people. Will he go postal?

Kathy the Restaurant Manager did the only thing she reasonably could-- she pushed back. "It's Valentine's Day and every table is full, confirmed two weeks ago. I just don't have any more tables." At that point I was, from a logistics standpoint, a walk-in to one of the "top 40 dining locations in the country." On Valentine's Day. I'm surprised they didn't laugh at me.

But I had a ring, and I waved the little box around as I explained my plight again. In the end, they handled the situation with the aplomb you might expect from an establishment of that caliber. "Come at 8:30 and we'll see what we can do. You might have to sit at the bar for a while." It wasn't how I'd imagined the evening, but I knew it was unlikely that they'd close the doors before serving us.

Act 2: The Arrival

We arrived at eight thirty on the nose. "Do you have a reservation?" It was a funny question, given everything.

"Almost..." but before I could launch into my explanation, the hostess interrupted, "You must be Alan." Kathy glided to the stand right on cue, "You can wait at the bar." She does a quick glance around the room, as if checking to make sure nothing had changed in the last seven seconds. "It's going to be a while." We was okay with waiting. It was exceptional that we were there at all.

At the bar we ordered two glasses of Jordan "J" sparkling wine and toasted the ten years since our engagement. Not fifteen minutes later, the hostess returned to inform us our table was ready! Dinner was a five course prix fixe menu. Unfortunately I forgot to bring a pen, but I'll do my best to remember the details.

There weren't any official wine pairings offered for the evening, but we could see that the first several courses were fish and probably spicy. To balance out the spice, we selected a glass of Gunderloch Riesling (a bit cloying and sweet, even though it's dry for a riesling) and a glass of a Alan Wong self-labeled Pinot Pinot (Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc-- quite tasty).

As we sat, we were served a fresh roll with a mild chili pepper aioli. The aioli was so tasty that I found myself globbing it on the roll in equal proportion to the bread. Soon after, we were brought the starting course, a Trio of Appetizers. The first of the trio, the Hamachi Roll, consisted of raw hamachi lightly coated in sesame oil, rolled into sushi shape and topped with orange tobiko and wasabi infused tobiko. I loved the smoothness of the sesame on hamachi followed by the explosion of wasabi. Next in the trio was Chilled Shrimp on Avocado Coulis with Sevruga Caviar. The caviar was fabulous-- little salty pearls. The shrimp and avocado were both fine and fresh, but nothing earthshaking. There was also an orange colored coulis underneath, but I missed the name. Rounding out the trio was a Rappahannock Oyster on the Half Shell with Champagne Mignonette. I have no idea what a mignonette is, but this was a tasty oyster from Chesapeake Bay. Moving right along...

The second course offered a choice of Ginger Crusted Onaga with Miso Sesame Vinaigrette or a Pan Steamed Mahimahi wth Seafood Sausage, Mussels and Clams in a Thai Curry Lobster Nage. Junko selected the onaga and I went with the mahimahi. Of the two, the onaga was a clear favorite, representing better than any other dish that night the Hawaiian Regional style for which Alan Wong is renowned. The local fish had a crisp coating with bright, clean ginger flavors, resting in a French-style sauce I can't clearly remember. Our waiter mentioned that the onaga is a favorite on their regular menu. My own mahimahi had a faint muddy taste to its flesh, but the actual coconut red curry was exceptional and not too spicy.

Act 3: The Proposal

It was at this point in our dining experience that we revisit the previously foreshadowed ring. Lest you overlook, this is the defining moment in the evening's drama, even more significant that then reservation debacle in the first act.

Ten years ago when Junko and I became engaged, we agreed not to have an engagement ring. Some of the reasons were driven by egalitarianism and others by poverty. At the time, it was the best possible decision, and one with which we were both comfortable. Recently though, I've been thinking that she deserves better and so I secretly bought her the engagement ring she never had. Right there, elbow to elbow with other Valentine's diners, I got down on my knee and asked, "If you could go back ten years and do it all over again, would you still say yes?" Mercifully, she said yes and I was able to slip the ring on her finger. Everyone around was trying to be discrete as they craned their necks to watch. Junko was terribly touched, but not so much that she couldn't find it within her to address the next course...

For the third course, Junko selected the Butter Poached Kona Lobster in Nozawa Farm Sweet Corn Sauce and I went with the Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops with Hamakua Mushrooms in Spinach and Port Wine Reductions. The cute little lobster was succulent, but I thought the corn chowder dominated the delicate lobster. The scallops were perfectly, and I do mean perfectly cooked medium-rare. Everyone tends to overcook scallops, but then they toughen and lose all their flavor.

Act 4: The Meal Wraps Up

The meat course offered a choice of Macadamia Nut Crusted Lamb Chops with Asian Ratatouille in Natural Au Jus or a Beef Duo of Grilled Beef Tenderloin in Mustard Miso Glaze with Asian Braised Vegetables or a Slow Braised Beef Short Rib on a Hilo Hearts of Palm Puree and Red Wine Veal Sauce. I'm a sucker for lamb, so of course I loved that. The macadamia crusting was a nice homage to the omnipresent encrusted fish one finds around the islands, but I found it worked best on a conceptual level rather than contributing anything special to the taste experience. The individual components of the ratatouille melded together causing them to lose their distinctive flavors, but did I mention that I loved the lamb?

I was barely able to wheedle tastes of the Tenderloin or Short Ribs away from Junko, but they were by far the most flavorful selections of the evening. I felt like my mouth came alive.

We were now quite full, but who can turn away dessert? We were presented with a Chocolate Sampler and a Fruit Sampler. The former contained Chocolate Crunch Bars, Valhrohna Chocolate Soup, Chocolate Sorbet and a Dark and Light Chocolate Ice Cream Bomb. The latter consisted of a Coconut Tapioca, Lilikoi Cheesecake, Raspberry Sorbet and a Blueberry Almond Tart. Every piece on both trays were quite tasty, but I liked the Chocolate Soup and Lilikoi Cheesecake in particular. As we were drawing to a close, Kathy dropped by to check on our meals, to see if I had bestowed the ring and to take our picture for us.

We briefly considered a glass of port or scotch, but we were seriously too full for anything else. It was time to collect our car from the valet and head back. On our way, we drove along Waikiki strip then around Diamond Head before turning back towards home, fully satiated.

And so we come to the end of the story. A good meal was wrested from the jaws of defeat, a pretty maiden got the ring she always deserved and everyone lived happily ever after.

Epilogue

Like many nicer restaurants, Alan Wong's employs captains and runners in place of a single waiter. This means that we saw our main waiter, Ryan, only sporadically, while our individual plates were brought by a handful of different runners. Personally, I prefer the rapport one can build with a single skilled server over the course of a meal. One advantage to the team approach is that the level of attentiveness is quite high to water glasses, dirty plates and fresh silver.

Overall, I was very pleased with our evening at Alan Wong's. The ambience was fantastic and the service was knowledgeable. They took mercy on me and gave us a table on one of the busiest nights of the year.

Would I call it one of the best 40 restaurants in the country? We'd have to make a second trip to know. All the food was very good, but was it that good? What would it be like on a non-Valentine's night? Right now it doesn't matter, because there is one woman out there who thinks I am the greatest.