Darren and I went to a dinner tasting at Buzz’s Wharf in Ma’alaea on Halloween night. I received their catering menu in the mail a few weeks ago, and decided that I should try out their food and possibly recommend them to my clients.
As soon as we got to the restaurant, we were greeted by their hostess and they reserved a lovely table for us by the window with awesome lighting for photos. Their staff was amazing and they took really good care of us the entire evening.
This was a photo I took right before we headed into the restaurant. It was a beautiful evening:
Here are the dishes that we ordered. When it comes to food, it’s always better to look at the photos, doesn’t it? :)
For appetizers, I ordered the Buzz’s Famous Steamers - Fresh clams steamed in a special white wine broth served with garlic bread. I love clams so this was a perfect dish! If they could just add a little more garlic to the bread, it would be awesome! Don’t you just love that “fish” bowl?
Darren wanted to try the Shrimp Poke - Lightly seared shrimp pieces in a tobiko lemongrass aioli. It was really good and the spicy aioli had a little kick to it. We found out from our server, Ryan, that they added the Indonesian Sambal to the aioli. It was very, very tasty!
For the entree, I ordered one of the evening’s specials which was Steamed Hapu`upu`u (seabass) and Shrimp in a Lime, Soy and Ginger Broth with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables. The fish and the shrimp were steamed perfectly. Being Chinese, we eat a lot of steamed fish and I love this seabass because it has no bones in it. It was very tender and the lime/soy/ginger broth made the entire dish very light. I hope the Chef will consider putting this dish permanently on their menu! It was very nicely done.
Darren opted for the Surf and Turf combination: Petite steak & Sweet Prawns Tahitian with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables - Buzz’s House Specialty, seasoned sweet prawns from New Caledonia, baked in the shell with dry vermouth, dill, & parmesan cheese. I tried a piece of steak which was cooked medium rare, and it was sooo tender. Both of our entrees came with a house salad and we chose the Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. It was very refreshing.
No meals will be complete until you have dessert! We ordered the Mango Macadamia Nut Upside Down Cake and the Chocolate Lava Cake. I couldn’t really taste the mango on the upside down cake and wish there was more on top ‘cuz I LOVE mango. And maybe instead of the drizzled caramel sauce at the bottom, a mango sauce will be a better choice.
I also LOVE chocolate, and the chocolate lava cake was very dense and I thought the filling would be gooey (i.e. “lava”) but it wasn’t. If they could make the cake lighter and the filling more gooey, it would be perfect. I am usually very picky with my dessert as that is my favorite part of the meal, and I have tried many, many dessert dishes in my lifetime… so I am a little hard to please in this department! :)
IMAGE SOURCE HERE
One thing about the prawns that are used at Buzz’s is that they are all Markea Prawns which come from New Caledonian. They are closely monitored daily and are given nutritional feed that contain no hormones, no food coloring, no antibiotics, and no by-products from land animals. Because of these high standards the prawns have a unique texture, quality and sweet flavor. You can read more about it HERE.
All-in-all, we really enjoyed our dinner. The food was very good and the service was exceptional. Marla, thank you so much for arranging this tasting for us. Everyone took great care of us and I look forward to working with you very soon!
