“Where exactly are we going?” my husband asked, about 30 minutes into the car ride.
Truth be told, if I had planned this restaurant outing better, we would have made a day of it — starting out in Kahuku for lunch at a food truck, stopping in Laie for Chunky Cookies and hitting up The Crouching Lion restaurant on our way back. However, time on that particular Saturday was not on my side, so we made a special trip out to Kaaawa for dinner.
The Crouching Lion — named after the hike — reopened earlier this year. The eatery offers modern Hawaiian cuisine with a Korean twist. Dishes are designed to share and are presented in a traditional izakaya (small-plate) style.
Even though we went to the restaurant on an overcast day, it was still charming. The decor, ranging from the floral arrangements to lit signage, was definitely social media-friendly. On a clear day, you’ll be able to enjoy the ocean views from the restaurant’s patio seating.
We ordered one dish from each category on the menu. We started with kampachi ceviche ($26), classic mandu ($26) and crispy tofu ($18).
As expected, the ceviche was a refreshing start to the meal; the yuzu and sea asparagus gave it a bright crunch.
While the dumplings are made in house — the classic flavor featured a flavorful filling made with pork, beef, chives, onions, green onions, cabbage and tofu — the generous amount of chile powder sprinkled on top made the dish way too hot for me to handle.
The crispy tofu was topped with grated ginger, daikon, micro greens and optional bonito flakes and it was served in a light, flavorful dashi broth. Though it was tasty, it lacked the crunch I expected (it was called “crispy tofu,” after all). But then again, I took a long time taking photos, so perhaps the tofu got soggy.
Dishes made on the eatery’s robata grill — including lamb lollipops (two for $18), miso salmon ($18) and barbecue chicken ($14) — came highly recommended, since the grill was one of the eatery’s most notable features. The salmon was firmer than I would have preferred, but I enjoyed the dominant miso flavor.
Pasta options included The Crouching Lion pasta ($62) — a seafood pasta with scallops, shrimp, lobster, sun-dried tomato pesto, mushrooms, arugula and Parmesan — and a summer snow pasta ($26). The latter — cold buckwheat noodles served with a “snowy” mentsuyu sauce, sliced daikon, cucumbers, egg and shichimi — sounded intriguing, but in the end, the pasta with uni won.
The Crouching Lion’s uni pasta ($32) differed from others because it featured buckwheat noodles with uni, ikura, garlic, shallots, Hamakua mushrooms and shiso. Buckwheat noodles might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved the noodles’ chew (no surprise, since I love soba). The grittier texture paired perfectly with the more-indulgent sauce. We even got a little extra uni, since there was a bit of a wait before our entrees came out. This was easily my favorite dish of the evening.
Keep an eye out for specials — like Kona kampachi kama ($26) and Thai kabocha curry ($22) — during your visit.
I initially had my heart set on bingsu (Korean-style shave ice) for dessert, but changed my mind once we were told mango was the only available flavor. Since I prefer my desserts to be purely indulgent instead of fruity, the housemade cream pies ($14) were the way to go.
Pro tip: Check the selection upon arriving at the restaurant, since popular flavors like strawberry cream cheese, lemon cream cheese and Oreo might already be sold out. I was fortunate and snagged the second-to-the-last chocolate mousse cream pie for the day. The chocolatey, creamy filling, paired with the buttery, flaky crust, was the perfect finish.
“Would you consider doing the Crouching Lion hike one day?” my husband asked.
Since I’m not an avid hiker, my immediate thought was “No.” But then again, that would be a good excuse to return to the eatery and reward myself with a post-hike pie.
