House Without a Key at Halekulani just launched its Aha ‘Aina Plantation Pāʻina, which is available every Sunday for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. The dinner buffet costs $95 per adult and $55 per child (ages 10 years and under). The buffet, which started on May 24, will be weekly until Sept. 6.
The buffet celebrates Hawaiʻi’s diverse cultures, with designated buffet stations representing each one.
“I wanted to do something to represent the plantation era and figures that made the food scene here in Hawaiʻi,” explains House Without a Key chef de cuisine Jarrin Otake. “I tried to combine a little bit of everything, something that represents each country or ethnicity. All these countries influence the food we eat today; without them, we wouldn’t have the Pacific Rim flavors.”
“[At House Without a Key], we have beautiful Hawaiian music and the education of Hawaiiana through the song and mele; now, we have the food to match,” Otake says.
Buffet guests can look forward to a carving station with slow-roasted and carved proteins, inspired by Hawaiian and plantation traditions; a Japanese station with a variety of tempura and made-to-order hand rolls; a Chinese station with Peking duck, char siu chicken and steamed pork and shrimp dumplings; and Korean station with bulgogi, kalbi and tteokbokki.
There’s also a plantation market table with Island-inspired starters — including inari, California rolls, spicy nairagi poke, ‘ahi poke with ogo, and watermelon and tomato salad with feta cheese and balsamic glaze — and fresh garden selections.
The dessert station includes a variety of unique offerings, ranging from Tahitian fruit pudding with coconut cream and coconut butter mochi to banana lumpia, malasadas and chocolate haupia tarts.
Guests can not only enjoy the island-inspired cuisine, but also live Hawaiian music and hula, which House Without a Key is known for.
Buffet guests will also have the chance to try the legendary KONG burger, available as sliders. Originally created in partnership with radio icon Kamasami Kong, this signature burger includes a beef patty topped with grilled pineapple, beanless chili and melted cheese in a soft potato bun.
The sliders are a throwback to the original KONG burger, which started in 1977 when Kong was working at KKUA. It was served by local eatery MeatBun and was given away on-air, according to Kong.
“In 1977, I was working at KKUA wand we needed a promotion to get more listeners,” Kong recalls. “I said, ‘Let’s create a promotion that’s a win-win for everybody involved. Let’s make a burger and we’ll give away free burgers on the air every night.’
“It has to have some Hawaiian essence,” Kong adds, when asked about the burger’s elements. “[I said], 'Let’s cook the burger up through a thin slice of pineapple to give it a little bit of Island sweetness. We’ll have the burger on top of that; homemade chili on top of that; and a little bit of cheese to give it a little extra flavor.' It had to be topped with a toasted bun to give it a little bit of crunch.”
Every night, Kong would call the MeatBun restaurant, and the burger giveaway would be live.
“The first five people to run up to the window and say, ‘I’m hungry!’ would get a free KONG burger,” Kong remembers. “We would hear people over his telephone, screaming and yelling, ‘I’m hungry! I’m hungry!’ It was wild; it was crazy. We gave away these KONG burgers every night from 1977 to 1980.”
The KONG burger sliders at House Without a Key’s Aha ‘Aina Plantation Pā‘ina are similar to the original burger, according to Kong.
Halekulani chef de cuisine Melissa Kaniki "did such a great job at improving the original KONG burger by adding her own little touches with the cheese and the chili; it’s her own homemade chili,” Kong says. “She got the buns toasted to perfection. It’s just a little bit different from the one we started with.”
CONTACT
House Without a Key
Halekulani
2199 Kālia Road, Honolulu
808-518-2019
halekulani.com/dining/house-without-a-key/
Dinner buffet Sundays from 5 to 9 p.m.
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
