Newest noteworthy restaurant to hit town, MW opened in Nov 2013 and has been lauded the James Beard award for best pastry chef (Michelle) and runner up for Best New Restaurant in its short six month run. Impressive.
It's a love story of food and two chefs, Michelle and Wade, who met while working at Alan Wong's. He the savory chef, and she the pastry chef, united in marriage and together they opened a restaurant that surpasses their former employer by far. MW has the fresh edge that Alan Wong has always lacked. Their menu is interesting, balanced, thoughtfully delivered, and perfects Hawaiian fusion cooking for an updated audience.
Our party tried the jidori chicken appetizer (photo) and ahi nachos to start--the chicken was an excellent selection. Of the entrees ordered, the sea bass was the tastiest and certainly worth ordering. Of the three desserts we surprisingly liked the airy donuts paired with a side of chocolate ganache.
MW is certainly the new go-to restaurant for Hawaiian food, beating out Roy's and Alan Wong's. The chefs are young and innovative so we can be sure to see more from this exciting and innovative culinary pair.
((And oh, did I mention that chef Alan Wong refuses to step foot in his protégées' place? He's boycotting. Not sure what happened here but Honolulu foodies certainly benefit from the culinary competition. So far the place has been packed with more locals than tourists.))
Note: It takes a month to get reservations for this place so plan ahead. Dress code is business/aloha attire--eg aloha shirts for men and spring dresses for women. Entrees run in the mid $30s. Attentive service. Valet parking only.
MW is located in a bright blue-green building behind Kinkos and the Vietnamese restaurant off Kapiolani across the Ala Moana shopping center.
MW
1538 Kapiolani Blvd, Suite 106
Ala Moana
10:30-10pm
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