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Sunday, August 5, 2012

OFF THE HOOK - DISNEY AULANI RESORT, HAWAII

OFF THE HOOK
DISNEY AULANI RESORT
KO'OLINA, HAWAII

OFF THE HOOK
DISNEY AULANI RESORT AND SPA KO'OLINA
92-1185 ALI'INUI DRIVE
KAPOLEI, HAWAII  96707
(714) 520-7001 RESERVATIONS
(808) 674-6200 HOTEL OPERATOR

After playing 36 holes of golf at Ko'Olina on a hot summer day with co-workers and a friend from California, I decided to take our California friend across the street so he could see the Disney Aulani Resort that sticks out like a sore thumb when you are playing golf at Ko'Olina.  You can research this blog for more photos and video of Aulani.  It is not my favorite resort in Hawaii.  In fact, I really do not like the place.  With our bodies aching from 10 hours of golf and our mouths watering for some cold beverages and food we walked past the lazy river filled with adults and kids riding in inner tubes in bumper to bumper gridlock on the water.  Disney Lifeguards are posted every 20 feet or so watching every movement to ensure safety and reduce liability.  Kids screaming while flowing down the watersides and the sounds of Moms and Dads yelling at their bathing suit clad and sunburn kids fill the summers air.  Little Johnny runs past us with brother in tow.  They slip on the water soaked path and again the yells and screaming fill the air.   Ahhh....Paradise?  Off the Hook is located near the main pool just steps from the lagoons and adjacent to the fine dining restaurant called Ama Ama.  Aulani's website describes Off the Hook as being decorated with cowry-shells lures, shark-tooth knives, fishhooks and fish-shaped ku'ulo stones once used as decoys, this relaxed beach side lounge resembles a Hawaiian fisherman's seaside dock.  Look for the extra special touches - a colorful school of fish swims above the bar!  I have been in Hawaii 20 years and never have seen a Hawaiian fisherman's dock that looks like this.  I found the atmosphere to be that of a pool bar that could be in any resort across America.  Anyway, on with the food.  We were greeted after holding up a menu to get some attention.  Waitress turned out to be very courteous and polite.  We started with some cold beverages.  Since I was driving, I went with a light Sangria.  At $8.25 for a glass of watered down wine, I wouldn't touch this drink ever again.  Tasted a bit like cough syrup.  My friend enjoyed a couple of Kona Long Board Beers ($7 each) and a glass of wine at ($10).  The wines per the glass here go upwards of $20 each.  A Sonoma Chardonnay set us back ($14) per glass.  The Cheese Platter ($12) was excellent and served with four different cheeses, fruit and nuts.  The Ahi and Hamachi Sashimi ($15) was fresh and delicious but sliced very thick.  Would be better to thinly slice the sashimi to add more slices to the plate and allow you to enjoy small bites rather than a huge block at one time.  The Korean Style Chicken Wings ($12) were basic wings coated in a Korean Sauce that was not spicy.  Would have liked more kick in the sauce.  We loved the Kobe Beef Sliders ($15).  Three small mini burgers topped with caramelized onions and tomato.  At $5 per mini burger, I could only think of In n' Out burgers for $2.30 each.  Our lovely waitress recommended we try some "fresh" oysters at $1.50 each.  We ordered half a dozen.  I felt a milky like substance going down on my first Oyster.  Tried a second and they just didn't seem that fresh.  Here is the entire menu:
APPETIZER MENU Served daily from 5 - 10 pm.
Feast of the Sea
Build your own seafood platter.
Choice of Oysters, Prawns, Alaskan Crab Legs, and Sustainable Catch Ceviche

served with Chili Pepper Water and Cocktail Sauce
Priced per piece.
Goose Point Oysters
1.50 ea. / Prawns 3.50 ea. / Sustainable Catch Ceviche 7.00 Center Cut Alaskan Crab Leg (2 oz) 11.00
Hamachi and Ahi Sashimi with Ume Ponzu Sauce 15.00 Spicy Korean Fried Chicken Wings 12.00
Kobe Beef Sliders 15.00
Hoisin Barbecue Pork Riblets 14.00
Farmer’s Market Vegetable Crudité with Ranch Dip 9.00 Domestic and Imported Cheese Platter 12.00
Miniature Dessert Sampler
Chocolate Mousse with Toasted Brownie, Coconut Panna Cotta with Braised Pineapple, and Macadamia Nut Cheesecake with Guava Pate de Fruit
each served artistically in a small glass
13.00 

OFF THE HOOK

DISNEY AULANI RESORT IN KO'OLINA.  A HAWAII THEMED
RESORT WITH LARGE POOL WITH LAZY RIVER AND
WATER SLIDES.  
LAGOON IN FRONT OF AULANI IS GREAT FOR SWIMMING
OFF THE HOOK RESTAURANT AND BAR IS NEAR THE MAIN
POOL AND LAGOON
VIEWS OF MAIN POOL AND HOTEL FROM RESTAURANT
OUR TABLE OVERLOOKING THE POOL
REFRESHING SANGRIA ON A HOT SUMMER DAY
CHEESE PLATTER
THICK SLICED AHI AND HAMACHI SASHIMI
KOREAN STYLE CHICKEN WINGS
KOBE BEEF SLIDERS
THESE MINI BURGERS WERE GOOD
OYSTERS 

2 comments:

  1. When I think of Hawaii, I get a mental image of me sipping my piña colada while walking along the beach and appreciating the view. It’s always like that. I’m not so much into the food as I am into the experience and the place.--->Alison Spalding

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  2. I know it's a bit late but I feel sorry for your not-so-good experience with the food, Drew. But I think we can always count that as an experience, and it can happen to anybody, anyway. The good thing is that not all of them made you lost your appetite to enjoy the breathtaking view of the resort.

    Darius Cartmell

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