COURTESY NADINE KAM
A sous-vide, herb-crusted piece of Colorado lamb is served with its chop, accompanied by a roasted half onion, at Arancino.
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For more upscale Italian, head to Arancino at the Kahala, where chef Daisuke Hamamoto has created a handful of new dishes to celebrate the restaurant’s fifth anniversary. They range from appetizers, to casual pizzas, to savory entrees that put nature on display, with flavors true to the essence of ingredients used.
Antipasti selections include a carpaccio of Kona kampachi with hearts of palm, grated bottarga (cured fish roe) and a light yuzu dressing; arancini filled with Bolognese and mozzarella risotto; and a lava rock-looking foie gras-and-fig-filled charcoal puff pastry.
Generously topped pizzas include the Pizza Bresaola combining the air-dried beef with arugula, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and lemon zest; and Pizza Rustica with Italian sausage, Ho Farms cherry tomatoes, broccolini and mozzarella.
Highlighting the menu are entrees of Chittara all Pescatora, the house’s specialty squid-ink pasta tossed in a spicy tomato sauce with lobster, scallops, shrimp, octopus, clams and calamari; and sous vide Colorado lamb with an herb crust that gives it the mossy look of rocks on a local forest floor, a work of art for eye and palate.
The restaurant is at the Kahala Hotel & Resort, 5000 Kahala Ave. Call 380-4400.