Orchids

2199 Kalia Road

There are plenty of reasons to try Orchids--the service is extremely attentive, the food is very good and the room is elegant3but perhaps best reason to visit this restaurant is the view.

Located in the Halekulani Hotel, diners can enjoy the sound of waves breaking on the beach from the ocean front dining room and look up toward the towering Diamond Head crater. Enjoying a cocktail while the sun is setting on the ocean is about as perfect a way to start an evening as you are likely to find in Waikiki.

The menu, which is strong on seafood, features appetizers such as ahi tuna and king crab roll ($15.50) and sautéed jumbo sea scallops ($17). Other choices include steamed kalua pork and foie gras gyoza ($11), and the simple but tasty Big Island goat cheese and fresh beets ($9.50).

Entrees include a delicately flavored sautéed ehu ($31), which is Hawaiian short-tail snapper, served on fresh artichokes and edamame with a port wine glaze. Other dishes include lemon and rosemary roasted island chicken with caramelized beets ($22), charbroiled Kona-raised Maine lobster ($42) and a "healthy grill" option where any fish on the menu is grilled simply and served with steamed vegetables and rice.

Desserts include frozen nougat with Big Island honey and macadamia nut croquet served in a chilled guava strawberry cup.

American and European wines are available in a wide range of prices.

By Hawaii standards, Orchids is quite formal, and a shirt with a collar--a Hawaiian-style shirt if you wish--is required, but there is no need to bring a tie.

--By Gavin Souter

Indigo 1121

Nuuanu Ave.

Indigo--located on the edge of Chinatown, with three bars, a vibrant weekend scene and excellent Eurasian cuisine--is a hugely popular dinner and lunchtime spot in Honolulu.

Diners can choose between the main dining room, with its high ceilings, paper lanterns and adobe red walls, or the garden tables by the fountain in the rear.

At lunchtime, this casual restaurant is a perfect spot to relax and look through the huge windows as Chinatown walks by.

Chef Glenn Chu's understated menu blends East and West from the outset with dim sum plates including lobster pot stickers ($9.25) and goat cheese won tons with four fruit sauce ($6.75).

The garden spring roll ($7.75), which comes garnished with watercress on a bed of noodles with a lightly spiced tangerine sauce, is a delicious light appetizer.

Lunchtime entrees include miso-marinated salmon with cucumber salad ($19.25) and grilled dragon fire shrimp ($19.75).

The grilled island breast of chicken with peanut sauce ($16.25) might sound like a glorified chicken satay, but the menu description do justice to this blend of tropical and Asian flavors. Succulent chicken presented with chopped pineapple, tomatoes, peppers, carrots and bamboo shoots with a slice of pickled pear on the side is Indigo's most popular dish.

For a wider selection of dishes, the chilled buffet ($15.95) is a popular choice.

Desserts include a "many times rich" goat cheesecake ($6.25), ginger crème brûlée ($6.25) and Madame Pele's chocolate volcano ($10.75).

--By Gavin Souter

Alan Wong's

1857 S. King St.

Alan Wong's flagship restaurant offers some of Hawaii's finest contemporary dining and a soothing yet modern atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki.

Founder Alan Wong, who is one of Honolulu's most famous chefs, is known for his incorporation of Hawaiian regional cuisine. His dishes are prepared using local produce and Pacific Ocean catch.

An open kitchen, beautiful wood columns and a cityscape view from some tables help shape the restaurant's enjoyable atmosphere.

While it takes experimentation to create the lively dishes served at Alan Wong's, the food is serious. On a recent visit, the service also proved impeccable and friendly, and every item included in a five-course sampling prix fixe dinner was delightful.

The dinner cost $65 per person and started with a soup appetizer featuring a yin and yang arrangement formed with tomatoes of two shades. It also included a ginger-roasted onaga--a type of snapper--served with organically grown corn and mushrooms, pan-roasted day boat scallops served with truffled cauliflower puree and twice-cooked short ribs. The dinner finished off with a dessert duo of coconut tapioca and chocolate "crunch bars."

Entrees on the menu included kiawe wood-grilled mahi-mahi for $27, and Maui Cattle Co. New York steak with grilled vegetables for $35. Appetizers included a nori-wrapped tempura ahi with tomato ginger relish and mustard sauce for $13.50.

While Alan Wong's is located in a neighborhood away from Waikiki tourism activity, it's still an easy cab ride away from the most popular hotels.

--By Roberto Ceniceros