After circling around a block that could be in any city, anywhere, I take the elevator to the 3rd floor of a dingy building. Alan Wong's is old school as it gets, and even though the block that the restaurant sits on could pass readily for 189th and Park, it is a trip to brave, for the foodie in paradise.
The only disappointment was the very good wine list, which was unfortunately, significantly overpriced. Once I got by the sticker shock and ordered some mediocre Spanish vino (which was good - apparently the overpricing issue is regional-specific).
As we finished a few pre-wine cocktails and ordered dinner, I tried two of the house specialities.
For an appetizer, I had a modernized version of the traditional Hawaiian Poke (ahi tuna mixed with onions, spices and sometimes avocado). The chef takes this traditional dish and deep fries it, with large spikes of wonton to make this a "Poke-Pine". It was excellent, albeit difficult to eat.
However, the real treat was the opakupaku; a perfectly texture fish (unusually so), topped with pork hash, evoking a spicy Polynesian fusion. I also had great opakupaku in the hotel the next day - this fish needs to make it back to the mainland.
After dinner, a very cool Hawaiian coffee list was presented with a number of good deserts. I had a decent smorgasbord of creme brulee (5 spoons with various flavors including coffee and mango, among others).
All in all, a good meal at a very special spot in Honolulu. A must-go for foodies when on O'ahu.
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