Nadine Eats Hawaii: Chef Chai goes Hawaiian with Waikiki opening of Kalo Hawaiian Food!

#ChefChai #KaloHawaiianFood #Waikikirestaurants
Hi, I'm Nadine, and I'm your foodie guide to some of Hawaii's best restaurants. Join me Mondays for a peek into some of Hawaii's newest restaurants for a look at what's cooking on Oahu.

With the recent Hawaii reopenings, there's been a lot of movement in Oahu's restaurant industry, and the post-COVID surprises keep coming! Chef Chai Chaowasaree, whose initial claim to fame was elevated Thai cuisine at Singha Thai, before moving on to contemporary Hawaii regional cuisine at Chai's Island Bistro and modern American fusion at Chef Chai, has turned his attention to more traditional Hawaiian fare at Kalo Hawaiian Food in Waikiki, serving up such island classics as laulau, kalua pork, poi, lomi salmon and ppipikaula shortribs.

The shortribs are the restaurant's signature item and so good that even tho I was sharing two of Kalo's Hawaiian sampler plates with four others, I ate just about one whole pipikaula portion of six pieces by myself (one came home in a doggie bag I ate the next day)! Garlic noodles were another fave dish, a dry-fried saimin with bacon, green onions and a bit of butter to guarantee universal love.

In addition to classic Hawaiian fare, chef added a handful of his signature dishes to the menu, such as miso Chilean seabass with lobster reduction and pineapple shrimp curry served Vietnamese style with toasted baguette for sopping up the spicy coconut curry. Everything was delicious!

Prices reflect the rising cost of producing Hawaiian food, and the limited supplies of such necessities as poi, taro, luau leaves and ti leaves for wrapping laulau. The sampler, for example, is $45, but you can always go a la carte and cherry pick your favorite items. *Note prices are subject to change over time.
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Kalo Hawaiian Food by Chai is in the Courtyard by Marriott Waikiki Beach, 400 Royal Hawaiian Ave. Call 808.931.6222. Dinner only until July 1, 2021, when breakfast service starts.

Video by Nadine Kam © 2021 Thanks so much for watching and joining me on another restaurant excursion! Please like and subscribe for more foodie adventures from Hawaii. I’m also on Instagram @nadinekam


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