Some value summer as a symbol of leisure, travel, lazy afternoons and freedom. Others wait patiently for one thing: mango season. Its return marks time for celebration, and restaurants and resorts are doing just that. Here are a few of the special dishes and events paying homage to the sweet, golden fruit.
UNDERWAY
Taormina Sicilian Cuisine: Chef Hiroyuki Mimura’s Tropical Flair Risotto ($28) combines white wine, mascarpone, blue cheese and the sweetness of Haden and golden mangoes. The dish is topped with black pepper-seared Hokkaido scallops.
For a full mango meal, add a Mango Tango salad ($18) of shrimp, avocado, tomato, cucumber, prosciutto and diced mangoes, and finish with mango mousse cheesecake ($10).
If you’re old enough, sip seasonal cocktails of mango sorbet Bellini ($12), mango mojito ($14) or a mango sidecar ($14). A no-alcohol mango No-jito ($12) is also available.
The restaurant is at 227 Lewers St. in Waikiki.
Hilton Waikiki Beach: Get your mango fix 24 hours a day all month at M.A.C. 24/7, starting with a short stack of Mango Tango pancakes topped with fresh fruit, mango bread cubes, candied li hing mango, whipped cream and mango syrup ($15).
The restaurant and the pool bar Hang 10 are also offering a Mango Mo‘o frozen mojito with coconut cream ($9.50); a no- alcohol version is $6. The lobby bar LBLE Lounge is presenting a Mango Negron ($13).
MW restaurant: Co-owner and pastry chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka has a summery dessert special, a 6-inch Makaha mango cheesecake ($6), offered as a takeout special along with $10 bento lunches to go from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Call 955-6505, ext. 2, to order. The restaurant is at 1538 Kapiolani Blvd.
JULY 9: KONA MANGO FESTIVAL
Kona’s ninth annual celebration runs all day at Hale Halawai, with displays of the many varieties of mango grown on Hawaii island, plus edibles and smoothies. A recipe contest will give home chefs a chance to show their skills and creativity using mangoes in salads, entrees and desserts. The zero- waste event will also feature arts-and-crafts booths and entertainment. Visit facebook.com/MangoFestivals.
JULY 15: MANGOES AT THE MOANA
Summer’s premier mango event takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Moana Surfrider Hotel. Events include mango- growing seminars, a farmers market, mango cocktails, baked goods from the Royal Hawaiian Bakery, cooking demonstrations (a mango cream puff by Moana’s pastry chef Nanako Perez- Nava and “Froot Loop” pudding by Beachhouse chef David Lukela) and a silent auction.
A highlight will be the “Ultimate Mango Throwdown,” with local chefs vying for top honors for their mango specialties. Participating chefs are returning champion Lee Anne Wong (Koko Head Cafe), Andrew Le (The Pig & the Lady), Wade and Michelle Ueoka (MW Restaurant), Ronnie Nasuti (Tiki’s Bar and Grill), Hiroyuki Mimura (Taormina), Robin Maii (Fete Hawaii), James Aptakin (Turtle Bay Resort) and John Salcedo (RumFire).
And if you think your backyard tree produces the best-tasting mangoes, put them to the test in a mango contest. Submissions by local growers will be judged for flavor, texture and aroma. The winner will receive a two-night stay at the Moana.
Admission is $55 before July 14, $60 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Kapiolani Community College Culinary Arts Program. Go to 808ne.ws/mmangoes.
