'19th hole' menu goes the distance in variety

By Matthew Gray
Advertiser Restaurant Critic

Athena Atamian is about to serve a dish of pata, pork shank (ham shank) fried to crispy perfection, at the Mililani Golf Course Restaurant. Other local-style favorites on the menu include beef steak, loco moco, sari sari, oxtail soup, grilled pork chops, steamed mullet and even omelets for breakfast. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Mililani Golf Club Restaurant 95-176 Kuahelani Ave., Mililani 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily Good

"Excuse me?" was my flummoxed response.

"We were just about to go have dinner, but hey, why not?" I said. "I haven't spanked a golf ball in quite a long time."

It was now that time. "Got any lefty clubs?" I asked.

Dinner would wait; the Mililani Golf Course Restaurant earns its living taking care of Tigers and sharks, everyday duffers, and sluggers like me. They refresh us afterward, and keep us fed on a daily diet of creative local-style food.

My swing was definitely a bit rusty. I was distracted while thinking about the house special — Alonzo's Hawaiian beef steak ($10.75) — as I swung, and missed the ball by what seemed a country mile. The folks here call this steak the "most tender and delicious meat you've ever tasted. ..."

I have to admit that I admire that kind of spunk — anyone who delivers a line like that with a straight face deserves my attention. Well, guess what, the steak is mighty darn good, grilled, sliced and juicy.

My next swing resulted in a 50-foot ground ball, and I wasn't feeling very golf-macho at that moment. I yelled "hit the deck" instead of the more golf-appropriate "fore" with impending doom close at hand. Tiny children and very old people were laughing. I figured they were in a good mood because they tried the "perfection" loco moco ($7.50), the "tee time" oxtail soup ($8.50; $8 for oxtail saimin), or the "championship" pork chops ($10.50).

The loco moco is exactly what you'd want: two hamburger patties, two scoops rice and two eggs, smothered in brown gravy. The oxtail soup hit the spot, too, rich and meaty; and the pork chops are grilled to your liking and served with more of that yummy brown gravy. The pupu menu includes something that caught my eye, sardines with onions ($3.95), a dish that's so wonderfully retro. I'll try it next time.

I knew eventually I'd be making good contact at the driving range. I was on my second bucket of balls, and before long I was launching dimpled missiles into the atmosphere. Now, instead of hiding my head in shame, I was looking around, hoping to catch a glimpse of somebody watching me in awe. That would not come to pass.

What was awesome, though, was the steamed mullet ($10.50), done Chinese style with sizzling oil, soy sauce, shreds of ginger, green onions and parsley. The fish itself was whole, large enough to peer over my plate, moist, soft and deliciously simple.

Ann, our helpful and sweet server, boasted of the not-to-be-missed Filipino foods ($7.50 each) that they take pride in. Sari sari was a huge bowl of soup, a bit fishy-tasting and jam-packed with shrimp, zucchini, green beans, chunks of meat, tomatoes and bitter melon, the source of the unusual flavor in this concoction. The more I ate of it, the more I enjoyed it.

Next came the fried pata, pork shank (ham shank), fried to crispy perfection — the exterior resembling a freshly cooked gargantuan pork rind (code word: crackling) hiding strikingly tender meat underneath. This was served on a bed of fresh sliced tomatoes and onions, with a ponzu-like (soy sauce and vinegar) dipping sauce.

There's a lot of food to choose from here:, local, Filipino, even breakfast. The "hole in one" ($5.50) gives you two eggs over easy resting in a hole of grilled toast, with a side of your favorite breakfast meat.

The omelets are all made with two eggs. The "par 3" omelet ($5.25) includes breakfast meat, the "par 4" ($6.50) adds fried rice, and "par 5" ($7.50) adds pork adobo to the fried rice for this omelet filling.

The interior blends a snack-bar motif (white plastic chairs and lighted menu sign) with a mini beer hall (TVs, both large-screen and regular) that looks out toward the driving range, practice putting green, and the beautiful (6,000-plus yards) golf course in the distance.

Reach Matthew Gray at mgray@honoluluadvertiser.com.