Goen Dining & Bar – Kailua Town Shopping Center
Goen Dining & Bar is Chef Roy Yamaguchi’s take on a neighborhood restaurant, but with his own, elevated touch. A perfect place for a date or a catch-up session with friends, Goen’s menu includes tasty items that range from $7 to $40, so you can decide to ball on a budget or treat yourself–all while getting the Roy Yamaguchi experience.
For this visit, I decided I wanted to treat myself. Let’s start with drinks!
Who doesn’t love a good lychee martini? There’s a reason why this drink is on so many menus–it’s refreshing, sweet, and easy to pair with a variety of local foods. The one at Goen has a little bit of lime to balance the sweetness of the lychee. The Sunset Spritzer is a gin and prosecco cocktail. It’s light on the alcohol taste yet strong enough to get a light buzz.
Next, we have appetizers.
I honestly can’t choose a favorite of these two appetizers as both of them shine in their own way. The Crispy Brussels and Cauliflower are perfectly roasted and topped with toasted cashews, dijon vinaigrette, and a za’atar greek yogurt sauce that is to die for. So simple, but so good! The Blistered Shishito Snacks were so addicting: the crunchy chickpeas in combination with the soft shishito peppers had me constantly reaching for more. I loved both of these so much that I want to recreate them at home!
As for entree, I could not leave without trying to Lobster Bucatini.
Seafood pastas are so decadent, and this one from Goen is no exception. The lobster was perfectly tender and was complimented by pieces of kale, edible flowers, and micogreens. The noodles were prepared al dente providing a nice chew. This was the most expensive thing I ordered, but well worth it.
Lastly, for dessert I ordered the Halo-Halo.
The Halo Halo was a fun and refreshing ending to my meal. In Filipino, halo-halo means “mix, mix” so it’s a fitting dessert for someone looking for a bunch of different flavors. The one from Goen includes two different shave ice flavors (strawberry, which was amazing, and lilikoi which was a light tart), coconut ice cream, ube flan, li hing fruit, and azuki.
If you’re looking for a place to have an innovative meal, Goen Dining and Bar in Kailua Town Shopping Center is a great idea!
