Roy's Restaurant

So, this past Friday was my boyfriend and my three year anniversary! Yay! I told my boyfriend that I wanted him to plan our big date night because I am usually the one to decide where we eat and what we do. He decided to keep everything a surprise (just as like I like), and the night ended up being magical!

He picked me up with a white bouquet of flowers waiting in the car for me, and we drove to Waikiki. We parked at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and walked from there. There could have been so many places that we could have gone from there. At that point, I was thinking, "Are we going to Ruth's Chris?" But then we walked right pass, and then that's when I knew....WE'RE GOING TO ROY'S!

Living in Hawaii, Roy's is one of those big name restaurants that you hear people going to on dates but I have never actually been to it because we never go to such extravagant places for dates. If I have ever been to Roy's before, I don't remember. So this was pretty much my first time going.

Anyway, we walked up to the hostess and Gavin told her that we had a reservation.  We got moved to a seating area inside while our table was being prepared for us. After about one or two minutes, we were guided to our table which had purple, blue, and white ribbons on it! The ribbons were special for us since Gavin had notified them ahead of time that we were celebrating an anniversary. As soon as we sat down our waiter rushed to get us water and complimentary chili/garlic/sesame edamame. We probably got like one or two more refills after we cleaned off the first bowl, and what made it better was that it was free!

The ambiance of this restaurant is actually more casual than I imagined, probably because it is located in Waikiki and everyone is in resort clothes. There were also a lot of children. Not as romantic as I would have imagined, but it was still amazing. The only downside was that we were seated next to a table of 12 Japanese tourists that had been drinking a little too much. Anyway, we decided to order the shinsato pork and local beef potstickers for our appetizer.

Shinsato Pork and Local Beef Potstickers

These were amazing! I am usually not a super fan of potstickers, just because they are usually really oily...but these were amazing! We split it half-half exactly! I would usually just let Gavin have three and I would take two, but this time I wanted to be equal. The meat inside was so tender, the flavor literally gushes from the gyoza skin as seen as your teeth pierces the crispy exterior.

For our main meal, I decided to get the smoked duck breast, citrus marmalade, bok choy, and this triangular bread pudding creation. I have no idea what it was. The outside had a crispiness to it and the inside was like soft bread pudding. I got my duck medium-rare, and it was perfect. The excitement of dipping the fatty bird into the citrus marmalade was so overwhelming.

Gavin got the macadamia nut crusted shutome, which is a white fish. It had a Maine lobster sauce and another buttery sauce for variety. It was also very good! The chef recommended it prepared medium, so that's what we got. The shutome was incredibly moist, and the macadamia nut flavor shined through just enough.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Shutome

So the ONE requirement I gave Gavin was to choose a place that gives complimentary anniversary dessert. You know, the kind where they write the message on the plate? We had never gone to a place like that, so I knew that this would be the perfect occasion to go to a place like that. We ended up ordering the Roy's Classic Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle because that's what they are known for.

Roy's Classic Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle 

The only thing I was sad about was the fact that none of my cross-section pictures of the souffle came out nice because of the dim lighting!

Just when I thought I wasn't going to get my free dessert, BAM! It came out of the kitchen! 

A dense chocolate cake with raspberry sauce, topped with a raspberry and a blackberry, and a message written in chocolate. Best of all, it was free!

Our meal came out to to about $83, plus tip. Not bad if you ask me, considering we had fine service and a gourmet meal. Our glasses never even got to half full because the busser was constantly refilling them. The night meal was perfect, especially with such fine company. Thank you so much Gavin for the most romantic night ever!