Dining at golf course restaurants is a rare occurrence for me. I tend to feel out of place. I’m not a member and I don’t play golf — but I do love good food. When I heard a new restaurant was open at Moanalua Golf Club, I was intrigued … and a little nervous.
We headed to E Ohi Restaurant for lunch after running errands, and I was in my boro-boros. But I needn’t have worried. It felt like stepping into your favorite restaurant. It’s not pretentious, and the people (golfers and public diners alike) were so nice. They smiled kindly at my daughter, who loved all the conversations taking place around us, and our server even prepped a mini set of tableware for her. The laid-back atmosphere immediately made me feel at home.
The menu features home-cooked favorites, like Korean fried chicken, rib-eye steak, kalbi, loco moco, garlic shrimp and grilled salmon, as well as unique items like tofu bahn mi ($12 for three pieces), volcano fries ($10), chicharon-crusted chicken wings ($15 for six pieces; your choice of vinegar or spicy chile) and E Ohi’s signature lemon cream pasta ($14; add chicken for $5, steak for $6 and shrimp for $10).
We started off with the ahi poke with wonton chips ($22) that features specialty flavors that rotate on occasion. I was intrigued by the lemongrass variety, since I don’t see that on menus too often. That homemade sauce elevated the poke to a whole new level, and I’d return just for ahi poke over steaming hot rice.
The prices were pretty reasonable, so we also ordered the pork belly ($15), which was braised in a delicious sauce. It doesn’t come with rice, but I lucked out since my main dish had rice already. The pork belly would be good as a plate lunch-style entree.
The breakfast menu, for its part, is simple. It’s got eggs, meat and rice. It’s got omelets. It’s got pancakes and French toast. If you find it hard to choose, go all out and order the Golfer’s Breakfast Special ($15) that comes with a veggie omelet; a side of bacon, Portuguese sausage, link sausage and Spam; two scoops of fried rice; and a pancake. That was way too much food for me, so I got the good old-fashioned steak and eggs ($15). The eggs were seasoned well and the steak cooked to my liking, but after seeing what my husband got, I regretted opting for breakfast.
One look at his meal and I knew I made a mistake. E Ohi’s stuffed cheeseburger ($18) was by far the winner of the meal. The restaurant’s homemade hamburger patty is stuffed with spinach and cheese, and the burger is topped with bacon and sauteed mushrooms and onions, as well as crispy lettuce and a juicy tomato. It comes with fries, but I still recommend ordering a side of garlic fries ($7) because there’s so much buttery-garlic sauce to dip regular fries (and steak) into.
E Ohi Restaurant by Moanalua Golf Club
Address
1250 Ala Aolani St., Honolulu
Phone
808-454-3861
Hours
Call for updated hours
Food: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Price: $$
Parking: Free in the Moanalua Golf Club lot
Nicole Monton is the managing editor of Crave and contributing editor for Kaka‘ako VERT magazine. Follow her on social media (@nicmonton).
