Located in Kaʻaʻawa, The Crouching Lion Restaurant & Bar just celebrated its one-year anniversary. Boasting picturesque views of Kahana Bay, the eatery offers modern Hawaiian cuisine and dishes with Korean-inspired flavors.
If the one-year anniversary seems confusing, that’s because the original Crouching Lion was in business for more than 60 years (it’s been open since the 1950s). The building was initially a private residence, but was eventually sold and converted into an inn.
Through an online search, I learned that the eatery’s earlier menus featured dishes like mahimahi, teriyaki steak, lobster salad and club sandwiches. There's one menu listed on eBay right now, going for $80. The mahimahi lunch entree was $1.95 back then! Don't get too excited, though, that's about $23 in today's dollars.
The restaurant changed hands throughout the years and was temporarily closed, but reopened last year under new owner Eddie Kim.
The restaurant now focuses on modern Hawaiian cuisine with Korean-inspired flavors.The open-air eatery is visually appealing, with lots of photo opportunities throughout. It’s a nice spot to take a break during an around-the-island drive.
I went to the eatery last year for dinner, and since then, the restaurant has added several new dishes to its menu.
The Asian bruschetta ($26) features crispy rice topped with spicy ‘ahi, hamachi, salmon and ikura. Of the dishes we tried, this was probably my favorite. The crispy rice base featured a spongier texture than I was anticipating, and the fresh seafood on top were delicious one-bite wonders.
The rose tteokbokki carbonara ($28) is a true fusion dish. The typical carbonara gets a Korean twist with chewy rice pasta, smoked bacon, heavy cream, an egg, shallots, Gochugaru chili flakes, house mushroom stock and Parmesan.
The Crouching Lion also offers a variety of dishes that are cooked on its robata grill. Choose from options like scallops ($24), grilled shrimp ($18), lamb lollipops ($26) and kalbi ($24). The grilled avocado topped with basil vinaigrette and shichimi ($10) is one of the newest options.
The Gochujang musubi roll ($18) — comprising Gochujang-flavored Spam, daikon, egg, Gochujang aioli, rice and sesame seeds — is another new dish, but was not available during our visit. However, the snow crab reverse roll ($32) is a popular option that did not disappoint, thanks to the generous amount of crab and tobiko.
Prime brisket tacos ($26) and wagyu sliders ($26) continue to be some of the eatery’s most popular dishes. The tacos are massive — these aren’t petite street tacos — meaty, and filled with pickled slaw, cilantro, fresno chili and shichimi aioli. Each slider ($26 for three) comprises white cheddar, tomato jam, shichimi aioli and pickled onions.
Besides the eatery’s newer dishes, our server encourages us to try the fries — which I probably would have overlooked if it weren’t for her recommendation. They’re cooked to a perfect golden brown and served with a honey miso aioli that boasted the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
While the eatery can be crowded during dinner because of its sunset, if you go during lunch, you can enjoy sunny views of Kahana Bay.
CONTACT
The Crouching Lion Restaurant & Bar
51-666 Kamehameha Hwy., Kaʻaʻawa
808-830-5025
Thecrouchinglion.com
Instagram: @thecrouchinglion
Open daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
