Aloha Macau! Hawaiian cuisine is set to be Macau's next big culinary hit
With many of its culinary influences originating in China, Japan and the Philippines, it looks set to be a hit on these shores too
Think of Hawaiian cuisine, and pineapple-topped pizzas alongside garish, brightly-coloured, cocktails may come to mind, but it would be a mistake to assume that typical beach fare is all it has to offer.
Hawaiian cuisine is enjoying a moment in the sun and dishes such as poké (a cubed, raw fish on a bed of rice, generally tossed in a soy sauce-based marinade) are gaining recognition from here to Europe and mainland America as one of the year’s hottest food trends.
“People’s perception of Hawaiian food is that if you put a slice of pineapple on it that the dish automatically becomes Hawaiian,” says Alan Wong, celebrity chef and one of the co-founders of Hawaii Regional Cuisine. “In reality, not all people in Hawaii enjoy pineapple on their pizza or hamburgers.”
Wong, who runs his own eponymous Alan Wong’s restaurant in Honolulu, and a favourite haunt of US President Barack Obama, is keen to point out that “Hawaiian” is a term that refers to a specific ethnic group of people and not the entire food of Hawaii today.
“Hawaiian is a specific ethnicity all by itself with its own cuisine,” Wong says. The type of food that we serve at our restaurants is called Hawaii Regional Cuisine. ‘Hawaii’ because it refers to an entire geographic region made up of a variety of ethnic groups and cultures.”
