Roy's Restaurant | Honolulu, Hawaii

Last month, we went to Roy's to celebrate my wife's birthday. Tonight we were back, this time to support the American Red Cross' effort to bring relief to the people of Haiti. Chef Roy Yamaguchi (@RoysRoy) prepared a four-course meal, his "humble interpretation of traditional Haitian cuisine." The food was good, but what really made the night memorable are the people we shared our table with. We sat with L.P. Neenz Faleafine (@NEENZ), Noe Mendiola (@Noe808), Ed Morita (@NctrnlBst), Gypsy Raven (@GypsyRaven), Holly Hadsell Hajji (@HollyHadsell), and Holly's husband (who isn't on Twiiter).

Roy's
6600 Kalanianaole Highway
Honolulu, HI 96825
(808) 396-7697
Website

To start, the brought out this corn fritter appetizer. Apparently, it's just deep fried corn batter, but those little suckers were so addicting!


Course #1: Haitian Style Conch Ceviche (served with a piece of crostini). I found this dish to be very refreshing, despite the heat from the diced peppers. I suppose it's not unlike a Caribbean version of poke.


Course #2: Caribbean Style Chicken with Nalo Greens. The most interesting part of this dish was actually the garnish. What looks like purple ogo (seaweed) in the picture is actually strings of fried taro.


Course #3: Pork Loin Chop Griots. The generous portions of pork were tender, moist, and flavorful.


Course #4: Gâteau de Patate. This was a very dense dessert that reminded me somewhat of sweet potato pie. It paired nicely with the fresh fruit and unsweetened cream.


Sitting at a table with Neenz certainly has its perks as Chef Roy himself came over to chat and paused for a quick picture. What REALLY impressed me is what happened next: he proceeded to individually thank each and every person that was there. I was absolutely blown away.


All in all, it was a great evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the food and the company. Those of you who are going on Sunday are in for a real treat.