It was by chance that we even ended up at Keo’s really. We were scanning through the hotel book for a place to have dinner: not really the way that great restaurants are normally found. But it was getting late, we were starving and so we made a snap decision.

Cabbing 5 minutes down Ala Moana from the Park Shore we jumped out at Keo’s hoping for the best.

The restaurant was very busy on this particular night, but we managed to get a table out by the street with a nice open air feel. The fit out of the place was intricate, with Thai artwork on the walls, and indoor plants scattered throughout. The atmosphere was energetic with tourists of all kinds enjoying loud conversation and Waikiki breezes.

Elysia and I started out with a couple of cocktails, reasonably priced, and not untasty while we waited for our food.

What we were waiting on was a Thai Vegetable Curry and a Satay Mahi Mahi.

I’m not a big seafood person, but I don’t mind a good piece of fish or a nice shrimp dish. Satay’s too can go either way. Some are on the spicier side and lose my enjoyment as my eyes begin to water, and others are not spicy enough and feel more like you’re eating a meal with melted peanut butter on top. I hadn’t eaten Mahi Mahi before but figuring we were on an island, and it seemed like this fish was super popular in the area, decided I had to try it out.

This Satay Mahi Mahi however was from the first bite, instantly inducted into my top 5 meals of all time. That’s any country, any restaurant, anywhere. Ohhh just remembering it now makes me salivate. Is that gross? Sorry.

The Mahi Mahi was battered. Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside was the coating. Inside the batter was a thick, fleshy, perfectly moist piece of fish of succulence and joy. The satay was right in that middle area, flavorful, peanutty, and with just a touch of spice that you knew was there with no eye water. All of this served on a bed of Thai rice.

Oh how I enjoyed it. I had so much respect for this meal that I conciously stopped eating, despite the deliciousness, just to avoid overindulging and ruining the ability to preserve this memory forever.

We payed the very modest bill (extremely modest considering the meals awesomeness) and made our way back to our hotel, discussing other top 5 meals we’d had and deciding exactly where in the rankings this one fit. Everyone we’ve talked to since about Waikiki, this meal has gotten a mention, the only frustration being not being able to adequetly describe just how fulfilling this meal was.

If you’re in Waikiki and DON’T go to Keo’s… I feel embarrassed for you.

Technorati Tags: Hawaii, Restaurants, Waikiki

But we were there with a purpose.

The only real reason I’d wanted to attend was the supposed magnificence of the diner’s Macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup. I consider myself a connoisseur of highly unhealthy sweet foods, so the second I heard the name of this breakfast special, the decision to have one of our breakfasts at Wailana was made in the shade…

Anyway, so Sunday morning we stroll down to Ala Moana boulevard along with a pilgrimage of other tourists and conference goers and the adventure begins.

I’d heard one reviewer say that eating at Wailana’s was a trip back in a time machine to his first Hawaii experience in the 80’s as a child. Walking in the door, we quickly saw why. The feel is extreme “vintage American diner” so don’t let the traditional sounding name fool you about what you’re getting.

The place was packed to the brim with tourists of all kinds, and the menu stacked with cheap, every day breakfast eats. As far as I could see, there’s nothing that stood out on this menu besides those pancakes, which however I’m sure you could have also gotten elsewhere in Waikiki.

But, after some friendly, relatively fast service considering how busy it was, the pancakes arrived…

I have no hesitation in saying that they made the whole experience worth it many times over.

I got a breakfast that was about $6 with unlimited pancakes. That means as much coconutty macadamia-y goodness as you can eat for a measly few bucks.

The first stack was 3 pancakes. The macadamia nut is finely chopped and both on top of the cakes and cooked in, so you don’t miss the macadamia flavor. The coconut syrup is a thick, sweetened coconut nectar type substance that comes in a container you can serve yourself; perfect for the pancake fanatic. You MUST have the macadamia pancakes with the coconut syrup too… don’t dare put maple syrup on that or you’ve ruined the whole day; as our Hawaian shuttle driver explained.

The combination is a unique but divinely sweet flavour that will leave you craving more. The cakes were nice and big too, leaving me unable to finish even my first plate, but leaving completely satisfied at the sugarry goodness I’d experienced.

At the end of the day, the restaurant and the food overall were just average, not amazing, but not bad, and diito to the service and the atmosphere but those pancakes, and the fact that we paid $17 total for the two of us for more food than we could finish, makes Wailana Coffee House a place that’s definitely worth checking out in my opinion.

Technorati Tags: Waikiki