Wow. That’s how I felt after eating the legendary Sunday brunch buffet at Halekulani’s Orchids restaurant. It was for my girlfriend’s mother’s birthday, so we all went out to Halekulani this past Sunday to eat brunch. We arrived at 9:30am and valeted our car to very friendly people. After walking over to Orchids, we were seated next to the beach end of the restaurant, and were treated to a fantastic view of the ocean. The server promptly asked what kind of drinks we wanted which were included in the meal. They offered coffee, orange juice, cranberry juice, pineapple juice, guava juice, and water. I tried both the orange and guava juices, and I ended up liking the orange juice much better. The guava was slightly on the bitter side, and wasn’t that sweet. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all that great either.
So what did they offer? On one end, there was the usual salad area and cold section. This included poke, thai beef salad, papaya salad, asian duck salad, tomato with mozarella slices, green bean salad, assorted sushi, sashimi, cheeses, cold cuts, soba, and the soup of the day just to name a few. This section was OK, but the papaya salad was good as well as teh tomato with mozarella. I also had their salmon with capers, but they lacked bagels and cream cheese. Nevertheless, the salmon was delicious.
The next station was an omelette station that included LOTS of toppings. What I remember seeing was shrimp, salmon, bacon, chives, onions, american and swiss cheese, tomatos, and mushroom. The omelette was delicious and made very well.
Next, we went over to the hot foods/entree section. There we found suckling pig (with the head still on!), roast beef, chicken, mahi mahi, bacon, rice, mashed potatoes, spicy sausage, turkey, assorted stir fried vegetables, and a unusually good warm pastry wrapped around cream cheese and topped with blueberrys. I loved all the dishes, btu the spicy sausage wasn’t all that great. They also had a puffed bread that was very airy and looked like a chef’s hat. I forgot what it was called, but you get this type of puffed bread at Mariposa in Neiman Marcus, which is much better than the one at Orchids. They do have a very nice lilikoi butter, which I wish I could purchase and use everyday.
Finally, there is the famed dessert section. If you have a sweet tooth, you are in luck! There are TONS of cakes, mousses, haupia, fresh fruit, cheesecake, and chocolate everything. There is even an awesome ice cream station where you can get a wide range of toppings, including fresh blueberrys, blackberrys, raspberrys, caramel, chocolate, cherrys, macadamia nuts, and even lilikoi sauce. The ice cream was definitely the best dessert for me, but if you are into lots of variety, make sure you stop by this hard to miss station.
My girlfriend’s brother was gracious enough to pay the bill for the five of us, but beware because it is on the pricey side. Looking around the internet I found that it is about $50 a head to eat at Orchids. But they don’t have trouble finding business since it was completely packed that morning. Personally I would go back there again. If you want to splurge on a great brunch with a great view, don’t forget to head down to Halekulani’s Orchids restaurant! Oh, and don’t forget to make reservations. From what I heard, it’s hard to get in without reserving first. Happy eating!
Tags: Restaurant Review
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