Kō Shares Maui’s Plantation Culture through New Summer Menu

A diverse spread of food, to represent Maui’s diverse array of cultures in a new summer menu at Kō. Courtesy photo.

Fairmont Kea Lani’s award-winning signature restaurant Kō is offering a new summer dinner menu, which includes expressions of plantation traditions with a focus on utilizing Hawai’i’s freshest ingredients.

Each dish stays true to Kō’s concept of sharing Maui’s history and culture through recipes passed down for generations and infused with contemporary flavors and techniques.

New summer menu highlights include:

SOUPS
miso soup
kabocha pumpkin, upcountry baby spinach, aburage

STARTERS
five spiced duck steamed bao bun
duck confit, big island cucumber, mango compote

vegetable tempura
sweet kula onion, hon shimeiji mushroom,
kabocha pumpkin, bush beans

SALADS
avocado and spicy ahi poke
orange tobiko, kaiware sprouts, daikon, ogo, sushi rice

PLANTATION TRADITIONS
mauka and makai
teppan yaki maui cattle co. beef tenderloin, sustainably harvested
lobster tail, citrus-soy miso

grilled farm raised moi
kauai shrimp, tomato, spinach, kabocha pumpkin, bush beans

seared hokkaido scallops
yaki udon, shiitake mushroom, sugar snap peas, sweet pepper

pancit noodles
farmed kauai shrimp, upcountry vegetables

roasted coconut madras curry chicken breast
pineapple sweet chili, cilantro

“Our summer menu at Kō pays homage to the past and those who came before us by showcasing the recipes and techniques of our ancestors dating back to Maui’s plantation era. The dishes share the stories of the island by giving center stage to the bounty of the land and sea.” explains Kō Executive Chef Tylun Pang. “Our agricultural partners including ranchers, fishermen and farmers, are as influential in the flavors of our menu as the cooks are in preparing each dish.”

Kō, which translates to sugarcane in Hawaiian, is inspired by the sugarcane plantation era, a time when people from around the world came to the Hawaiian Islands to work in the sugarcane fields. The plantation workers brought recipes and cooking techniques from home while utilizing the ingredients available to them in the islands. This culinary evolution eventually developed into what is now considered modern Hawaiian cuisine. Through these dishes and family recipes, Chef Pang and his team share traditions and stories of the island’s immigrants – including Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Korean and Japanese. By utilizing the island’s fresh produce, meat and seafood, Chef Pang gives these authentic recipes a farm-fresh, contemporary twist. For more information, please visit Kō’s website.