GREAT EATS HAWAII: MW RESTAURANT

Monday, November 18, 2013

MW RESTAURANT

MW RESTAURANT
HONOLULU, HAWAII

MW RESTAURANT

1538 KAPIOLANI BLVD

HONOLULU, HI 96814

808-955-6505

HOURS: Monday thru Saturday 10:30 AM - 10:00 PM

Sunday 10:30 AM - 9:00 PM

www.mwrestaurant.com

I love to hear when young chefs take the plunge and invest in their own dreams. Such is the case with MW Restaurant located at the Shops on Kapiolani. Michelle and Wade who worked for Alan Wong and other fine dining restaurants are the owners of this new establishment located in the old KGMB building that should receive a "shoot the architect" award for its green color and total lack of creativity in design. Thankfully, the food at MW has a lot of creativity and should prove to be successful for awhile. Long term I think the menu needs some tweaking and prices need to be lowered a bit. Hey, I'm not a critic just calling em like I eat em. We arrived at MW totally by chance after driving down Kapiolani Boulevard. Made a right turn on Keamoku Street and then turned right going back towards Ala Moana. I saw MW on the right but did not know it was a restaurant. We could not see the sign which is very high and simply a MW that looks like two forks. I did however see people sitting inside and flowers out front. New restaurant I said lets check it out. We entered a were greeted by two attractive gals. "Do you have room for three" I asked. It was around noon on Sunday. "Sure" the gal said and we were seated near the open kitchen and the door to the kitchen. I was facing the door which continually opened as food went out and dirty dishes went in. We were greeted by a waiter who politely introduced himself after a few minutes of waiting. The service here was good but very slow. Took a while to get our appetizers and entrees. This is totally to be expected with any new venture so it did not bother me. We started with the Pizzadilla ($8). This is a Quesadilla Pizza. Served with homemade pepperoni and lots of fried shallots. I liked the first slice of this pizza but really did not want to eat much more. I ordered the Sunday Special Benny ($18). Eggs Benedict with a twist. They use a homemade Japanese Bread and add a very thick and dense slice of Corned Beef and thick slices of bacon. Topped with an egg and some kind of sauce. The dish was decedent and rich. I liked the flavors of Benedict but did not get the pickled vegetables and Kim Chee on the side. The Kim Chee tasted terrible to me but my wife said it was ok. We loved the Sweet Potato Fries that were not greasy at all and were drizzled with a spicy ketchup. There was a whole lot going on here. Maybe too much for my taste. My daughter enjoyed the Loco Moco Meatloaf ($18). I took a bite and could not believe the Meat Loaf was loaded with Curry. Tasted like Curry Meat Loaf. I would not eat this again but my daughter said it was good. The Steamed Onaga ($24) which sold out after we ordered tasted like most Onaga you order in a restaurant. Nothing really new or inventive here. At $24 for lunch, I thought this was a bit expensive. Since Michelle who is the "M" in MW spent time as a Pastry Chef at the world famous French Laundry in Napa, California, we saved room for a few desserts. The Kula Cheescake ($9) comes "deconstructed" as the waiter called it. I liked the individual flavors of the Strawberry Sorbet and graham cracker crust but really would have enjoyed this more if it were constructed. The MW Candy Bar ($9) again was series of individual treats. A chocolate mousse, Macadamia Nut Cookie and Praline and Salt Caramel Candy. Again would like to have these flavors blended into one bite rather than pick at each one individually. I know this deconstructed thing is the way they are doing things in fine dining restaurants, but when I want a slice of Cheesecake - I want a slice of Cheesecake. Overall we liked our experience at MW. This is not the type of place you can eat at often as lunch for three was over $100.00 with one Ice Tea and two waters. There were a few things that I must return for. The Vegetable Poke and Beet Salad looked fantastic. Looking forward to returning to MW.
Click link below for updated post on MW Restaurant;
https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2016/03/mw-restaurant_20.html