GREAT EATS HAWAII: HCEE 2011 ANNUAL DINNER HONORING DORVIN D. LEIS

HCEE 2011 ANNUAL DINNER

HONORING DORVIN D. LEIS

SHERATON WAIKIKI

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Rarely do I go to a banquet dinner and have a really good meal. The Sheraton Waikiki knocked it out of the park with a great meal served in honor of Dorvin Leis. Dorvin is a Hawaii contractor who also owns many other businesses here and on the mainland. Our former Governor, County Mayor of Maui and other politicians and business people were in attendance to thank Dorvin for his charitable giving. The meal started with a bottle of red wine on the table. I thought it was the usual one bottle provided by the hotel. Boy was I surprised when the waiter informed us that it was unlimited wine for the evening. Suffice to say, the bottles just kept flowing. There was Merlot, Cabernet and even some Malbec. All were surprisingly good. My beer drinking employees who joined me soon began to take up wine drinking as the beers were $7 each. The wine was included with the meal. The meal.....Oh what a great menu. We started with Cucumber Cigars with Smoked Salmon Crumbs, Orange Pearls and Champagne Creme Fraiche. The Orange Pearls exploded in your mouth covering your taste buds with flavor. I loved the Meyer Lemon Roasted Waialua Asparagus Salad with Nalo Herb Baby Beets, shaved fennel and aged parmesan cheese. This salad was light and refreshing. I could have eaten two or three. Simply delicious. The Kona Spiced Beef Roulade was served with Slow Roasted Grapes, Swiss Chard and Alii Mushroom Ragout. Loved the beef, sauce and smoked cheddar and chive potatoes. The Vanilla Poached Island Fish (tasted like Mahi Mahi) was cooked to perfection and served with a braised tangerine that was a flavor bomb. Loved this too. For dessert we enjoyed Lavender scented Kula strawberries cheesecake with Mango Pearl. My hat is off to the chef, cooks and wait staff at the Sheraton Waikiki. This was a first class meal served by some really nice people. Great evening. HCEE (Hawai'i Council on Economic Education) promotes the teaching of economics in Hawaii schools.