This Indonesian island cafe is tucked in behind a small tourist filled shopping mall right off of Alii Drive. It's closed except for dinner and it's "hole in the wall" appearance may make some tourists think twice and opt for a more trendy or tourist popular restaurant. We found it by way of locals and in my opinion that is the best way to pin down the best food in town.
The restaurant's interior features perhaps six tables and another four or five spilling out into the exterior walkway of the outdoor shopping. The owner and chef is from New Zealand and that tradition of food is brought into the food with a slight Hawaiian twist. The service was great, I was amazed at the fact that there was, in total, one server. She got it all right!
While we were waiting for our food to arrive ...
I realized that I was sitting just outside of a wooden slat window into which one side looked into the dining room and the other side into the kitchen. With no control over my trigger finger I caught a few images of each small space and the chef busily putting together the smells that were permeating all around us.
Of course when our entrees arrived I couldn't put down my camera. What a feast it was!
Dennis had the fresh catch of the day, I think it was Walu. It was seared and then set atop a vegetable and coconut jasmine rice stir fry with a mango and passion fruit chutney to dress the top.
I almost always order fish while in the islands but they were serving, because of their anniversary, a New Zealand rack of lamb prepared just the way the owner prefers it. Now how could I pass that up? It was delicious and I ate the whole thing!
This is a definite "must go to" for anyone planning to visit Kona.
The restaurant's interior features perhaps six tables and another four or five spilling out into the exterior walkway of the outdoor shopping. The owner and chef is from New Zealand and that tradition of food is brought into the food with a slight Hawaiian twist. The service was great, I was amazed at the fact that there was, in total, one server. She got it all right!
While we were waiting for our food to arrive ...
I realized that I was sitting just outside of a wooden slat window into which one side looked into the dining room and the other side into the kitchen. With no control over my trigger finger I caught a few images of each small space and the chef busily putting together the smells that were permeating all around us.
Of course when our entrees arrived I couldn't put down my camera. What a feast it was! 
Dennis had the fresh catch of the day, I think it was Walu. It was seared and then set atop a vegetable and coconut jasmine rice stir fry with a mango and passion fruit chutney to dress the top.
I almost always order fish while in the islands but they were serving, because of their anniversary, a New Zealand rack of lamb prepared just the way the owner prefers it. Now how could I pass that up? It was delicious and I ate the whole thing!
This is a definite "must go to" for anyone planning to visit Kona.
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