QUICK BITES
Roy's to open at Ko Olina Golf Club
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
Roy Yamaguchi will open his 33rd restaurant at Ko Olina Golf Club in the fall (a 32nd outlet in Jacksonville, Fla., opens next month).
Rainer Kumbroch, operations manager for Roy's in Hawai'i, said renovations are on the drawing board and he expects the KO Olina restaurant to have much the same visual feel as Roy's Hawai'i Kai, although the 200-seat eatery will overlook the lagoon and waterfalls around Ko Olina Golf Club's 18th hole.
The menu will be very like that of Hawai'i Kai, he said, because a strong local following is expected there and the restaurant will cater to local tastes as the flagship restaurant does. Unlike in Hawai'i Kai, though, Roy's at Ko Olina will serve lunch.
A chef will be named from within the Roy's organization, Kumbroch said.
Cheesecake, more coming to Hawai'i
The Cheesecake Factory, a national chain of trendy but casual restaurants, will open its first Hawai'i spot later this year at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki.
Despite its name, the popular chain serves a dawn-to-dusk menu of extremely eclectic East-West dishes in which taquitos and egg rolls, omelettes and pasta all have roles. More than two dozen flavors of cheesecakes are offered, but there is a full menu of other desserts, too.
The restaurant will have a 15,000-square-foot dining room on the ground floor in the diamondhead corner of the shopping center, overlooking the gardens at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Renovations already have begun.
Zippy's moves into Mililani complex
A new Zippy's has opened at the Town Center of Mililani, 95-1249 Meheula Parkway, where the theaters formerly were. This is Zippy's 23rd location. It will be open 24 hours a day and include a fast-food counter, dine-in restaurant and a Napoleon's Bakery.
Workshops focus on Asian cooking
Asian cooking is the subject of two noncredit workshops being offered this month by the University of Hawai'i Outreach College:
- "Honolulu's Best Unexplored Asian Restaurants" meets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 20, starting off at the new UH-downtown facility at Pioneer Plaza, 900 Fort Street Mall (lower level). Fee for the one-day workshops, which includes a tour and tastings, is $38 plus a $15 lab fee payable to the instructor.
- "Spicy Hot Asian Dishes — Cool Asian Drinks" is the title of a cooking course that includes instruction in making Korean spicy garlic sauce, Japanese cold buckwheat noodles, Chinese spicy tofu and spicy hot tuna hand roll, among other good things. It's set for 6:30 to 9 p.m. May 22 at the JMD Educational Center in 'Aiea. Fee is $25.
To register: 956-8400 or see www.outreach.hawaii.edu.
Kona Brewing Co. to open new pub
Kona Brewing Co., the Islands' largest brewery, is opening a pub and restaurant at the Koko Marina Shopping Center in Hawai'i Kai.
This won't be a true brewpub: Beers will be shipped from the company headquarters in Kailua-Kona rather than being brewed on the premises.
The new, 7,000-square-foot site on the marina dock will offer seating for 275 and a state-of-the-art beer delivery system with 24 taps.
The bar will carry all of the company's ales and lagers, including several speciality beers such as Black Sand Porter, Castaway IPA, Da Grind Buzz Kona Coffee Stout and Old Blowhole Barley Wine. The brewpub menu will feature pizzas, sandwiches, salads and pupu.
It will have much the same feel as the original Kona Brewpub, with copper-mica light fixtures, koa finishing and brewing equipment as decor.
Quick Bites is published Wed-nesdays. Send tidbits of food news to food editor Wanda A. Adams, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; 525-8069 or taste@honoluluadvertiser.com.
