Raku: Japanese Restaurant


Raku is our new Japanese Restaurant at Makena Beach and Golf Resort which takes this kitchen back to its roots. After a few changes, this beautiful restaurant is bringing classic Japanese food and tradition back in full force. With a great team of chefs with a real passion for Japanese food, Raku is making a major impression on Kama'aina and travelers alike. With the Raku Bento Box, Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu, accompanied with 1/2 price sushi in our opening hours daily, you can count on this place catching on.

With beautiful views and incredible decor, we are very proud of the direction we chose for this outlet. We had a Grand Opening celebration on Friday that brought in a nice crowd. We served the entire menu half off, including drinks. We had an overwhelming turnout, and expect to see business booming soon. For those of you located on Maui, and those who plan to visit, you have got to make it to Raku. Enjoy!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pomegranate "Caviar" using Geletin

Image
I ran into the problem of having to come up with an alternative for pomegranate seeds for a relish today. I got online and found a recipe for making pomegranate caviar from gelatin rather than the sodium alginate and calcium chloride method. These are a little more firm than using the spherephication method, but works well since the dish require they be tossed with other ingredients before serving. The method consists of blooming the powdered gelatin (3tsp) with cold water (4Tbs). I then added heated pomegranate juice (3 oz) to the gelatin mixture and poured it into a squeeze bottle. I then dripped the mixture into chilled olive oil ( grape seed oil works well with pomegranate). After just a moment the liquid firms up and simply straining the caviar from the oil finishes this component. It has held its shape now for several hours.
Read more

A Few Food Shots

Image
Here are a couple of food shots we took from our main dinner restaurant. Although our original food photographer canceled last minute, we were able to bring in another photographer. He had no experience in food photography, so we didn't know what we were in for. I am happy with the results. The above image is a renovated version of the house smoked salmon appetizer. It includes a nest of Molokai sweet purple potatoes, mango pico de gallo, cilantro-kaffir lime leaf puree, guajillo salt and pomegranate "caviar". Our Lobster salad also uses the Molokai purple sweet potato, which it is wrapped in and fried. The salad also has fresh mache, blueberries, edamame, avocado, tomatoes, mango and aquaponic baby lettuces wrapped in fresh cucumber. The big island honey with vanilla-citrus vinaigrette finishes the dish nicely. Our lamb entree consists of an ancho braised lamb shank and seared rack of Australian lamb. The parsnip puree serves as the starch on the dish and the grape d...
Read more

Going Local

Image
As our resort transitions into a whole new operation, our Culinary team is in for a great ride. With many food trends, you see things happening in the food world that are cool, unique, and yes, of course trendy. The molecular gastronomy, the meals that require dozens of tiny portions, the fads that practically wipe out entire species like Chilean Sea Bass. One of the more recent ones, I don't think is going to fade out or disappear like many of its previous trends. Local ingredients, grown organically, and where the chef has a more intimate knowledge of where his ingredients come from. With many vendors I have dealt with over the years, this is the first time I have ever had them send me photos of the products I intend to buy, as they are growing so delicately on the hillside overlooking the Pacific. This photo was taken 4 weeks ago, and I was delighted to see the beautiful lettuces arrive today. This is the first step in a direction for our resort that I believe is just a brush s...
Read more