Alan Wong's is the restaurant that defined Hawaii Regional Cuisine — the movement that applied French technique to local Hawaiian ingredients and elevated Hawaiian food from plantation cooking to fine dining. Wong was one of the twelve chefs who founded the movement in 1991, and his restaurant on King Street in Moiliili has been the flagship ever since.
The menu changes with seasons and availability but always centres on local ingredients: Keahole lobster, Big Island goat cheese, Kona coffee, Hamakua mushrooms, Maui onions. The "Da Bag" — a foil bag opened tableside to release steamed clams in black bean sauce — is the most theatrical dish. Reservations are essential and book up weeks in advance. Expect to spend $100-150 per person for dinner. It is worth it for a special occasion, and the service matches the food.