February 14, 2020 A most unusual Valentine’s Day. Breakfast – French Toast, Kir Royals, truffles, egg, and fresh Honeydew Melon. Lunch – on the side of the road. Dinner – Three Course meal at Gerard’s Restaurant

February 14, 2020 A most unusual Valentine’s Day. Breakfast – French Toast, Kir Royals, truffles, egg, and fresh Honeydew Melon.  Lunch –  on the side of the road. Dinner – Three Course meal at Gerard’s  Restaurant

What an interesting day. A day that included one of the best French Cuisine  meals I have eaten in years and one of the worst travel experiences in the last twenty years.

  It started pleasantly at 8:00 when we went to the dining room at the Old Wialuku Inn for breakfast and were presented a rose for each lady and a Kir Royals made with Prosecco and Chambord with a hibiscus flower in syrup in it.

After we were seated we were served orange juice, a wedge of honey dew melon with pieces sectioned off set artistically and a small bowl with a hard boiled egg.  Finally we were served a plate with a whole wheat mini baguette of French toast spread with a white creamy sauce made from Cottage cheese, sour cream and ricotta cheese on the bottom half.  We enjoyed the breakfast and talking to the couple from Nashville.



At around 10:00 we left and drove south to the Aquarium of Hawaii located near the crossroads linking three main population centers, Wailea, Lahaina, and Wailuku.  The aquarium was the best I have ever seen.  It even had an exhibit with three living Tiger Coweries and several dead specimen shells with brilliant clarity of pattern.  We loved that display in particular because we had never seen a living cowerie in open water.  Suzette was particularly impressed by the retractable mantle studded with short antennae that appear to be used to hold onto rocks in strong currents. See https://es-la.facebook.com/ProdiverMaui/videos/cypraea-tigris-commonly-known-as-the-tiger-cowrie-is-a-species-of-cowry-a-large-/10158054729683990/

After seeing the aquarium we drove down to the wharf just below it, took out our binoculars and watched humpback whales breaching for a while.

We then drove south toward Lahaina but just before noon turned off the road at the outer point of Wailea Bay at a light signal and ate a few bites of chèvre in olive oil on baguette with sips of 2017 Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon we had bought at Costco.

We then drove on to Lahaina to the Kaanapali Beach Resort.  When we went to check in we discovered that our reservation commenced on February 15 instead of February 14 and that the hotel was overbooked. That left us without a place for the night.  The receptionist was helpful in trying to find us a place to stay and after a highly anxious hour of calling reservation services for other hotels we were able to find a suite at the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort for $1000.  We reluctantly accepted that even though it would mean an hour drive back along the road we had just traveled.  This was to be our first $1000 per night hotel room .  I did not feel like a Rock Star.

When we arrived at the Beach resort we were greeted with an orchid lei for Suzette and I was given a Kukui nut necklace.

https://www.discover-oahu.com/kukui-nut-lei.html

I parked the car while Suzette went to the reception desk.  When I returned she told me she had been
able to obtain a room at the Wailea Residence Inn about ¼ mile up the hill for $500.00, so we drove
up the hill. When we arrived at 3:30 there was no greeting party with leis or service, but we were happy to have found a room even though it would take 30 minutes to prepare.  We waited beside the lovely large pool with its expansive view of Wailea Bay.  When the  room was ready we found it to be large and included a small functional kitchen with two queen sized beds, a work desk, sitting area, balcony overlooking the bay and swimming pool, a very nice room.

I fetched ice and we  drank chilled glasses of cab and nibbled the aged Surfing goat dairy goat cheese flavored with caraway seeds and the chèvre in olive oil with baguette.  We then showered and rested and at 6:00 dressed and drove the 1 hour back to Lahaina to Gerard’s Restaurant for its Prix Fixe Valentine Day dinner for $125.00.

Here is the menu

Amuse Bouche
Smoked salmon, caviar, crème fraiche, dill, potato galette
Choice of Appetizer
Lobster Bisque
Cognac, fish consommé, lobster meat
Scallops tartare with mango
cucumber, passion fruit, coconut oil, Espelette
Risotto
Risotto with wild mushrooms, morels, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese
Choice of Entrée
Ono sautéed Grenobloise
lemon, capers, croûtons, spinach timbal, potato carrot purée, tomato confite
Quail à la Souvaroff
Truffle, foie gras, puff pastry, Madeira wine, quail jus, braised cabbage
Beef Burgundy
Glazed carrot, cipolline onions, mushrooms, lardons, fresh pasta
Choice of Dessert
Chocolate nut tart
milk coconut ganache, dark Guanaja chocolate, orange Anglaise
Crème Brulée
Rhubarb, ginger, strawberry Chantilly

Dinner was sublime for me and quite good for Suzette except she did not care for the texture of the ono sautéed in brown butter sauce.  She prefers grouper and found the denser more swordfish like flake of ono not to her liking.  She decided that if offered a choice of fish again she would chose Aji Tuna.

Other than that small complaint, the meal was excellent in every way.

We loved our appetizers.  Suzette ordered the scallops and mango tartare that was served in a ramekin made from a thick slice of fresh cucumbers during garnished with what appeared to be micro radish greens that had a bitterness that contrasted with the richness of the scallops.  The combination of the soft mango and scallops with the crisp cucumber was texturally very exciting.

My appetizer was risotto with wild mushrooms.  It exceeded my expectations.  It was not creamy or made with wine.  Instead the risotto had been made with only the liquid in which the morels had been reconstituted, so the risotto tasted solely like the morels. The morels  were still firm but tender. The rice was tender, not al dente and not mushy.   I thought it was the best risotto I had ever tasted.

We were served a glass of Nicholas Feuilatte Brut Reserve champagne as we sat down that we drank by the time we finished our amuse bouche of a slice of smoked salmon garnished with black caviar and a dab of crème fraiche on a thin slice of sautéed potato.

We talked to the sommelier about our menu and he recommended a glass of Pouilly Fuisse with all the appetizers and dinners, so we ordered two glasses.

Soon our entrees came.  Again mine exceeded expectations.  My Caille a la  Souvaroff looked like a pot pie, but was very special.  It was a large soup bowl covered with baked puff pastry filled with a whole boned quail, chunks of duck foie gras and slices of black truffle cooked in a blend of Maui onions, cabbage, and thyme, a very high end pot pie.

Suzette’s dish was served with a pastry extruded twist of tomato flavored mash potatoes, a spinach timbale and lots of capers.

My dessert was not as good as Suzette’s fresh rhubarb and ginger crème brûlée. The chocolate was slightly bitter, as was the orange crème anglais.

This was the best dinner I have had in a long time with two new terrific dishes

We finished dinner by 9:00 and were back to the Residence Inn in Wailea by 10:00.

Bon Appetit