Page 7 - MidWeek - June 7, 2023

and his bride, mo
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Malia Jones. Me
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Elizabeth Hata-Watanabe
Saturday, 3pm on:
NEWS RADIO 830
ROWEN N. YOUNG
ESTATE PLANNING ATTY. L.L.M. IN TAXATION
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featured in MidWeek, and a lot has happened since then.
Replay Saturday at 5am
t’s been a decade since restaurateur Elizabeth Hata-Watanabe was last
Her latest venture is Maka- na Lani at ‘Alohilani Resort Waikīkī. Makana Lani trans- lates to “gift from heaven” and the name attempts to capture how fortunate she feels about running a locally owned and operated restau- rant in the former Pacific Beach Hotel, as well as how she wants guests to feel when they dine there.
And then we roll it in one of our proprietary mixings so on the outside you have the crunchiness from some cereal and on the inside it’s like des- sert for breakfast. You even get a candied banana on top.”
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Back in 2013, her whole- sale dessert business, Haute C o n f e c t i o n e r y B o u t i q u e , was taking off on Hawai- ian Airlines flflflights and her youngessttcchhilidl,dV, iVviavnianne, wasn’t yet in kindergarten.
Her kids like to drizzle syrup over the toast, but Ha- ta-Watanabe maintains that it’s amazing on its own or with a bit of whipped cream.
kids’ sense of play.
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he still needs to work during the summer and that could include mopping the flflfloors at Burgers on Bishop, her award-winning downtown Honolulu restaurant.
The French toast, available on Makana Lani’s breakfast á la carte menu, i i i s s s o o o n n n e e e o o o f f f H H H a a a t t t a a a - - - W W W a a a t t t a a a n n n a a a b b b e e e ’ ’ ’ s s s f f f a a a v v v o o o r r r i i i t t t e e e s s s . . . pP P hH H oO O tT T oO O bB B yY Y aA A nN N tT T hH H oO O nN N yY Y cC C oO O nN N sS S i I I lL L lL L i I I oO O
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L i g h t h e a r t e d p o w e r struggles aside, it’s clear Hata-Watanabe is as bold, assertive and driven as ever when it comes to what mat- ters most to her: good food and family. Perhaps it’s ge- netic; she is the great-grand- d a u g h t e r o f Yo i c h i H a t a , founder of Y. Hata & Co., Hawai‘i’s premier food ser- vice distributor. She also ran the former O Lounge night- club and the former Harbor Court Bistro.
breakfast, brunch and din- ner buffets, created by chef Erwin Manzano, formerly of Morton’s The Steakhouse in Honolulu, are a popular op- tion — but don’t sleep on the restaurant’s a la carte menus. Some of Hata-Watanabe’s favorite dishes can be found there.
a high school freshman), came up with the idea for this dish — with some help from Mom, of course.
a traditional Mexican sauce made of various chiles, nuts and spices — is something she is passionate about.
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“For breakfast, my most favorite aá la carte dish would be the French toast,” she says. “It’s 3 inches tall and stuffed with mascarpone cheese and local bananas. Mascarpone cheese is what you make tiramisu with, so it’s like dessert for breakfast.
“My children are always my inspiration and always my feedback,” she says. “So Ethan and I got together and discussed, ‘OK, what do you think about this?’ ‘What would make you really want it?’”
“This is one of the staples of Mexican food and there’s so many different varieties,” she continues. “There’s mole verde (with green chile), mole rojo (with red chile) ...”
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Ethan also came up with the children’s French toast, which is made from local sweet bread rolled in cinna- mon and sugar, cut into little logs and served stacked like J e n g a b l o c k s t o a p p e a l t o
For now, though, you can fififind her at Burgers on Bishop (burgersonbishop.com) and Makana Lani (makanalani- hawaii.com).
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— Karen Iwamoto
JuU nN eE 7 , 2 0 2 3 M iI dD wW eE eE kK 7 BACKYARDESTATEPLANNING
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RESENTED BY: THE LAW OFFICE OF
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Photo courtesy Elizabeth Hata-Watanabe
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