Alan Wong, one of the 10 pioneering founders of the Hawaiian Regional Cuisine movement, will be the new occupant of the current space of Hoku’s at the Kahala Resort, beginning in early 2026.
Hoku’s fine-dining format will shut down by year’s end, with Wong securing the space and ending his inactivity since the closure of both his signature Alan Wong’s in a second-floor space on King Street in McCully, and the companion Pineapple Room at Macy’s at Ala Moana Center, where Liliha Bakery now is thriving.
Wong, winner of the prestigious James Beard Award, has been a key player in supporting the Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, a chef’s club of sorts, from the time of his original island restaurant, the Canoe House at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows in 1989.
The HRC gang included other restaurateurs including Roy Yamaguchi, Sam Choy, Philippe Padovani, Roger Dikon, Gary Strehl, Amy Ferguson Ota, Jean-Marie Josselin, George Mavrothalassitis, and Beverly Gannon. Two others who shared the goals of the movement included Mark Ellman and Peter Merriman.
Hawaii Regional Cuisine is a contemporary style of cooking tapping traditional Hawaiian ingredients with diverse flavors from Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipino, and American food traditions. Fusion specials mandate produces like taro, and slow-cooked meats, rooted in the island history.
Wong closed his restaurant during the pandemic five years ago, and his return to the cooking front will also attract members from a pool of notables, including, Mark Shishido (who has been Hoku’s beverage director), who will become general manager of the new Alan Wong’s. Shishido previously was with the Pineapple Room.
The Wong team will include Joe Almoguero as executive chef; the restaurant also is seeking a chef de cuisine, a sous chef, and a pastry chef.
Old favorites are expected to be on the menu, too. And surely, an extra attraction for diners should include Barack and Michelle Obama, who were never shy about listing Alan Wong’s as their favorite restaurant…
‘HAMILTON’ DIPS, BUT STILL IN $3 MILLION CLUB
“Hamilton” still has the Midas touch, the lone member of the $3 million club ln Broadway. It’s dropped a skosh ; it logged $4 million earlier.
The Top 10:
1—”Hamilton,” $3.764 million
2—”Wicked,” $2.266 million
3—”The Lion King,” $2.048 million
4—”Waiting For Godot,” $1.833 million
5—”ART,” $1.787 million
6—”Mamma Mia!,” $1.645 million
7—”Death Becomes Her,” $1.429 million
8—”Just in Time,” $1.364 million
9—”MJ the Musical,” $1.349 million
10—”Oh, Mary!,” $1.280 million
The complete list of grosses, courtesy the Broadway League:
And that’s Show Biz…