HALE

(Before Lunch)
BABY BELLY: What are we eating for lunch today?!
ME: We’re having a work lunch at HALE Macrobiotic!
BABY BELLY: Ooo you always feed me the best food so I’m excited!
ME: Yes, I’ve been wanting to eat here for ages. Supposedly it’s healthy plus tasty so we get the best of both worlds!
BABY BELLY: I can’t wait…
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(After Lunch)
BABY BELLY: Well what the hell was that Mom?!
ME: Uh, I think we ate lunch but I’m not sure. I’m still hungry.
BABY BELLY: Five little dishes of vegetables and three pieces of some flat salty brown thing that looks like squished poop. Yeah, that was not lunch.
ME: Seriously right?
BABY BELLY: And what was up with that Mochi Waffle dessert? I’m not even out of the womb and you’re already feeding me cardboard? Do you want me to make this painful for you? You realize I can rip you apart from the inside like ‘Aliens.‘
ME: Hey!!! Don’t make empty threats to me Baby! I can feed you nothing but tasteless macrobiotic dishes for the rest of this damn pregnancy!
BABY BELLY: I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I think I’m just really hungry so I’ve gone a little crazy.
ME: Tell me about it. All I want is a martini but thanks to you they’ll be none of that!
BABY BELLY: Well can we go and have a Big Mac now?
ME: No Big Macs! Here have a rice krispy treat from the bake sale.
BABY BELLY: Ahhhhh…
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I realize that the whole point of eating at HALE is so that you can be healthy and eat clean food. Well I’m 7 months pregnant and food with zero sugar, zero dairy and zero fun is just not what I’m into. The waitresses are really nice here, the décor is modern chic, and the skinny me who took Bikram yoga five times a week would have loved it! Well that girl is on vacation right now so for now HALE we are not going to be fast friends. Maybe in January when the baby is out and I’m back on the workout wagon we’ll revisit and update this review.
For now I’m going to load up on sugar strewn, fat ladden food that will cause me to go into food comas. Sorry, that’s the Baby Belly talking. Anyone want to join us for a burger?

This year makes two years as a vegetarian. I don’t eat red meat. This is the best vegetarian place in Hawaii. The owners are so sweet, so is the staff.
$ 33 will get you an appetizer, soup, salad, and an entrée. The organic wine is pretty good to. They use no preservatives, sugar, meat, or dairy products in all of their items.
The desserts are pretty good, too, especially for vegetarians like me.
Best time to go is at dinner.

This place has been on my list of must-try’s since it opened (looong time coming right?!) it’s tough convincing any of my carnivorous friends to try mostly-​veggie/​healthy eats. After eating here, I kinda see why. I’ll preface the following review by saying that I think if I had ordered something different, I would probably have had a better food experience but ah, here goes…

I’d like to reiterate my opinion (see Peacefood Café review) that vegetarians must have smaller appetites than carnivores. Since it was my first visit to Hale, I chose the macrobiotic plate — from its description and recommendation from the waiter, this would give me the best overall taste of what Hale’s macrobiotic food was all about. It’s a darn good thing my dining partner and I decided to share an entrée size salad from the specials menu (mixed greens with fried tofu and a sesame ginger dressing — simple but ono) because when my plate arrived I kept looking for the rest of it. Good thing I was having an off day appetite-​wise cause if I would’ve been my normal hoito self, I would have put a hole in my sponsor’s pocket. There was a good variety of tastings (about 5 or 6 small salads and root veggies, etc.). Everything was really simply prepared and kind of plain if you ask me. My friend’s tempeh sandwich looked pretty substantial but I was trying to stay away from anything deep-​fried …HELLO, defeats the whole purpose of my mission to try this place to find a healthy food option right?!! Next time I want to eat healthy or low-​cal i’ll stick to Aloha Salads or something similar. If I come here again, i’m going for deep-​fried baby!
Oh, I almost forgot… Hale’s saving graces:
AMAZING cup of 100% Kona Coffee, brewed to order. Delicious!
Beautiful presentation
Really tasty miso soup — there was a hint of citrus in the broth, unexpected but great twist on the traditional

As a vegetarian in a meat eater’s world, it is definitely hard to find places that cater to a vegetarian’s needs.
For the most part, Hawaii restaurants tend to be of the meat persuasion so I’ve resigned myself to always having to ask a ton of questions re: meals to ensure that there is no meat added in my meal… or simply opt to eat one of only a handful of veggie selections on the menu.
So those who know me are always kind enough to be on the lookout for new veggie restaurants for me to try.
The first time I visited Hale was thanks to my boss. Knowing that I am a vegetarian, she forwarded an email to me when Hale opened and suggested we dine there some time.
So we did. It was my first experience eating macrobiotic food, with the only knowledge about macrobiotic cooking having read about it being an eating style that Gwenyth Paltrow engaged in.
We both ordered the macrobiotic meal and when it came it seemed really small and I thought I’d end up starving but lo and behold, I actually was full upon completion!
My second experience at Hale I dined on the Kuruma-​fu cutlet, which was a little heavy for me. While it was okay, I didn’t enjoy my meal as much as I did the first time I dined on the macrobiotic meal.
So this time – my third time dining there – I resorted back to the tried and true, the macrobiotic meal. It was divine! The meal came with fresh gobo, veggies, miso soup and brown rice. Yum!
I completely enjoyed the meal – it was healthy, refreshing and filling.

I love this place! There is a chef is so nice she is always remembering who we are and greating us everytime we walk in which always puts a smile on our faces. The menu is slowly expanding too so its nice to try out their newest creations every time we come.
Although my boyfriend is not a vegetarian, he loves this place too because the food is really good! I feel comfortable eating here knowing I don’t have to ask if it has meat or dairy in the dishes. This is my favorite restaurant in Hawaii :)

This is a 3.5 star review.
Since the closing of The Well Bento and our favorite restaurant on Kaua’i, Blossing Lotus, it’s difficult to find stand alone establishments that take vegetarianism to the next level.
Parking wasn’t a problem as we lucked out and got one of the few parking spots right in front. It was all timing. Place was pleasantly decorated with a Japanese modernistic sensibility. Place was almost empty, but by the time we left, it was totally crowded on a Thursday night.
Totally hungry, I ordered the $ 33 4-​course experience:
Soup: Creamy Brown Mushroom Soup; Delicious, savory with nice depth of flavor.
Appetizer: Kale & Kula Strawberry Salad with Sesame Tofu Dressing; Extremely pleasant and perfectly complimentary.
Entrée: Teriyaki Tempeh with slightly roasted lotus root; The inherent almond flavor of the tempeh paired well with the teriyaki zing that wan’t overpowering. The lotus root was prepared perfectly with just enough doneness and crunch.
Dessert: Pumpkin pudding that presented more like a flan that got better with each bite. Not overpowering and the pumpkin flavor sung through with just enough sweetness.
My dinning partner had the falafel appetizer that was spot on with a smooth hummus spread with adorning radishes that were a nice touch. Entrée was the Kuruma-​Fu Cutlet burger. Had a bite and it was surprisingly hearty, nice texture and extremely tasty. Dessert was a berry tart that was forgettable.
We sat at the bar or the cooking area and enjoyed watching preparations. Wine selections are limited, but decent and we had a pleasant Frey Cabernet Sauvignon. Overall, a nice and relaxing experience. A bit pricey, however we are delighted that HNL has this place as a serious vegetarian option.

Had a party of 5 adults and 4 kids, since our party was a bit large we had to sit and wait until the tables against the wall was available.
We did not mind waiting, however, the problem was we came in at 8pm and they took their last order at 8:30pm and no one was moving from their seats after finishing dinner. The staff was nice enough to offer us the menu and let us order our food while we waited for seats to become available. Fortunately, seats became available after15 minutes.
HALE is all about Macrobiotic food! Macrobiotic? What is that? Well like you I wanted to know and according to
it is «The theory or practice of promoting well-​being and longevity, principally by means of a diet consisting chiefly of whole grains and beans.»
So what did we have?
3 ea. Veggie Gyoza Dumpling $ 7.25
3 ea. Organic French Fries with home-​made ketchup $ 4.95
1 ea. Teriyaki Tempeh with Grilled Lotus Roots $ 18.75
1 ea. Scitan Cutet & Fried Maui Onion with Tartar Sauce $ 19.45
1 ea. Sashimi Plate (sorry can’t remember the name & price)
1 ea. Miso Soup $ 3.25
1 ea. Chocolate Brownie
1 ea. Mochi Waffle
The one thing we did not order but came with the bill was a 17% Service Charge. Our final bill was over $ 120! The food was interesting and everyone was okay with dinner, but no real big raves, even from our vegetarian friends who were in town.
I would try eating here again and try the Scitan Cutlet & Fried Maui Onion with Tartar Sauce, since I played it safe the first time and ordered the Sashimi Plate.
I like the modern look of their dining facility and the staff was very pleasant.

Unilocal lied to me. Ok, well, maybe not directly, but Unilocal did tell me this restaurant was only 3.5 stars! No way is this anything less than at least 4.5 at the lowest (and 5 from me, since I have mad respect for any restaurant with the guts to serve food like this).
Desiring some healthy, organic, local, sustainable, macrobiotic food, we ventured in regardless (especially since a local I trust recommended it), and were simply blown away.
Amazing flavor combinations, incredibly creative whole foods, delicious fake meats (and even some real island fish meat), and friendly, fun staff made for an incredibly better-​than expected experience at Hale. If I lived here, I’d dine at Hale quite often. That is, if we could afford it (eating healthy costs more!)
Hilary ordered the $ 33 multi-​course meal, which includes a soup, an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. I decided to order a bunch of small plates and an a-​la-​carte entrée «meat» item, so I could sample across the menu. We ate everything family style, so I got to try a bunch of food.
The kobucha soup with dill was fantastic — that rich kobucha flavor with a creamy base and the zing of dill? Yum! Next up was a papaya «dynamite,» a ½ papaya filled with onion, asparagus, tomato, and mushrooms, and topped with vegannaise, then grilled and finished with a flame broil. This was a fantastic flavor combo — the sweet papaya took on a squash flavor once cooked and mixed with the creamy vegannaise/​veggie combo. It was unexpected and delicious. Next came our ½ avocado with seaweed and ginger, covered with a soy/​ginger sauce. This was like eating avocado sashimi. So tasty but kind of small for the price.
Next on the list was a trio of apps (that came with the tasting menu), which was a hijiki/​carrot app, a «pickled» daikon radish, and some root (can’t recall the name). The flavors on all were nice and bright. A great sampler of tastes of delicious roots and sea veggies. We balanced this out with an order of falafel — 5 pieces of some pretty tasty falafel with a very tasty tahini sauce accompanying. The sauce was really where it was at with this dish.
For my «main,» I had the Kurama-​fu (sp?) cutlet. Breaded with panko and fried, this wheat meat was really tasty, and had a great consistency (not too dry, not too spongy, and not to scarily-​meaty), but the real bonus was the miso applesauce that was on top. A fantastic salty-​sweet sauce similar to what would accompany a pork chop. Mmmm… Hilary’s main was a moon fish grilled with house-​made pesto and vegainnaise on top, sitting with some grilled veggies which were adorned with a dollop of a ginger miso paste that was outstanding. The fish itself was great, but the pesto made it phenomenal (great pesto!). The ginger miso paste was so good I could have eaten it by the spoonful.
For dessert, we had the mochi waffle with vanilla soy ice cream and blueberry compote. As would be expected, the mochi waffle was chewy and stuck to my teeth (I like that tho). The blueberries and ice cream made it. A tasty and creative dessert.
Our meal was huge, delicious, and wholesome, and we couldn’t really have asked for more. Not only was is as organic as it could be, but it was macrobiotic and sustainable, and aside from the fish, totally vegan. If you have dietary restrictions, or want to eat healthy, and have the funds to make it happen, Hale can make it a reality for you. They take «healthy» a step higher — to gourmet. Most healthy places pass off bland food as fare. Here, they actually aim to make it delicious and healthy at the same time.
Mad props.

came for lunch and was very intrigued… interesting…very healthy food. had the quinoa salad… huge and very tasty… i do have to admit i was still hungry. i ordered the mochi waffle because i love anything mochi and it was pretty yummy. i have to say the texture was too hard but i did love the blueberry topping with the soy ice cream on top.
i have to try this place again for dinner, there are soo much other items i want to try. i did feel like i was in L.A.

After hearing some good things about this place from one of my friends, and being that it’s close to my current workplace, there wasn’t much of an excuse not to try it out.
After trying two dishes (as take-​out), I like the kuruma fu the best.
The prices for these are a little on the spendy side. It’s not everyday I’d go and spend $ 13 on lunch, so for me this kind of stuff is a splurge.
When calling in a take-​out order make sure you call with 15 – 20 min. in advanced as it takes a while for them to put together your meal. The extra few minutes are used to make sure its presentation is nice — even if it’s just for take-​out.
Bottom line, food’s good and the portions are ok — not to over stuff you, staff’s pretty nice, but parking sucks.

AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!
I was thoroughly impressed by the flavors, freshness and ambiance. I got the Seitan Cutlet & Fried Maui Onion with Tartar Sauce off the ‘Dinner Style Entrée’ and boy are the portions filling! I couldn’t even finish. When ordering I was a little apprehensive since I’m not a fan of oily foods, but when I got my plate, it looked more baked than fried. Not a trace of oil could be detected.
Everything was perfectly balanced and I love the sauces most of all — no other place like it! The salad was small, but just right, the seaweed adds a nice dimension to an otherwise ordinary salad. The pumpkin in my dish was perfect in texture — not too soft with slightly crunchy exterior. The miso soup fell a bit short for me compared to the other items, but my dinner partner thought otherwise. He ordered the Kuruma-​Fu Cutlet with Apple Miso Sauce, just as palatable as my dish. I really loved the apple miso sauce — the hint of apple totally changes the entire flavor and depth of the dish, in a good way.
All in all, it’s an incredible experience — one of my BEST for veg food!

Been to this place twice. Both times the food was unexciting, and the portions small.
There is healthy eating that is tasty and filling, and then there is Hale Macrobiotic.
I like healthy food, but in order to survive in Hawaii, you have to have the portions and the flavoring.
This is like eating the prepared healthy food at Whole Foods. Confusing. Not really local style health food.
Much better off going to Down To Earth deli, where you can get raw salad and some cooked tofu and califlower curry. Appetizing and filling.
Or Well Bento across the street from DTE is better too.

I am not a vegetarian/​vegan. I love meat and will eat greasy fried goodness on occasion! but…
My co-​worker took me here for dinner after a quick workout at the the gym. She’s been here a number of times and have tried most of their dishes and loves most of it. We weren’t really prepared to have dinner at Hale but they welcomed us into the barely empty restaurant in our workout attire. We sat in the back where we had a clear view of the cooks/​chefs preparing our food.
I ordered the iced mint tea $ 3.50 and Island Fish Burger with veggie mayo and basil sauce $ 15.45. It came with a side of sweet potato chips and pickles. It was tasty but the bread started falling apart after my first bite. My friend ordered the grilled island fish with veggie mayo and basil sauce dinner plate $ 22.45 and green tea $ 3. All entrée plates comes with grilled veggies, green beans, seaweed, brown rice (ask to have sesame seed sprinkled on it, yum!) and miso soup. We ordered their dessert special of the day $ 5.50. i forgot what it was but its not worth remembering because it was dry and flavor-​less. It came with a chocolate mousse but that didn’t help.
I would come back for lunch and try their other dishes.
For those who don’t know: Macrobiotic Cuisine is a low-​fat, high fiber diet that is a predominantly vegetarian diet, emphasizing whole grains and vegetable. Macrobiotic is not part of the «Raw Food» Movement. Macrobiotic dietary principles is eating balanced food that are more local and in season therefore maintaining good physical and spiritual health and line in harmony with nature.

Honolulu so needed a place like Hale. When my husband surprised me on my birthday by taking me there, I almost died of happiness.
We had organic wine, the fish plate, Maui onion mochi soup, Kale and Kula Strawberry salad (WOW!), kuruma-​fu cutlet with apple miso sauce, vegan brownie and soy ice cream. Everything tasted delicious and clean. Except maybe the kuruma-​fu cutlet – that was too fried for my taste so I probably won’t get it again. But if you’re a fan of katsu, you’d like it.
All their desserts are free of dairy, egg and refined sugar! Somebody pinch me! Next time I’m going to try the mochi waffle.

I thought this place was pretty good.
I went here for dinner and got the Seitan Cutlet and Fried Maui Onion. It came with lots of grilled vegetables, salad, more vegetables, brown rice with nori, and miso soup.
There was such a huge variety of vegetables and so many colors in front of me I felt like I was a Na’vi on Pandora eating a tropical rain forest.
I really like to eat healthy food. and I did leave the restaurant very full. but I can’t say I was satisfied.
In fact, I had a very strong urge to go to Jack in the Box and order some curly fries smothered with buttermilk sauce. However, I fought the urge and ended up eating a red velvet cupcake covered with frosting instead. Then I felt good again. =)

Hale Modern Macrobiotic Cuisine is absolutely the bomb. Let me start by saying that I am a carnivore, a died in the wool backyard barbecue, mac cave meat eater. that said I was a bit leery about eating some full on Birkenstock clad tree hugger fare which in my mind automatically meant no flavor or even Tofurky was gonna enter my temple of a body.
I stand fully corrected, this stuff rocks and not only looks like food It actually tastes like food. I had Kuruma-​Fu Katsu with the Apple Miso sauce for lunch and it was incredible. You are not gonna believe me when I say it was actually better than real chicken katsu but really it is true not even fingers crossed true-​ish. I was pleasantly surprised.
Look I gotta tell you whats even better is I liked it so much I came back for dinner and had the Killer Kajiki Burger with Basil Cream Sauce. Hands down the best Fishwich in the Islands. It is served on a heavenly whole wheat grilled bun with micro greens and a sweet onion.
By the way my only knock might be desert but it was just good not quite broke the mouth; however, that may be due to the lack or processed sugars.
It is not the cheapest lunch by any means but Hale is well worth the money and well it won’t kill you.
Since my initial feat of eating Vegan food at Hale Last week friday I have eaten here 4 times in the last week.
I think I might need to buy some organic clothes, grow a beard and bathe myself in lavender and pachouli essence.

I love vegetarian food so needless to say I loved it here. Seitan, Kuruma Fu, and Tempeh. Yummy.
Pass on the sushi cakes. They are just okay.
Of course I knew it would be pricey because of the type of food and all the preparation it involves. I can deal with that but the service was so very very slow. They need more help in the kitchen.

Oh boy oh boy I wish I can give this place negative 5 stars… the awful service made us go hungry and not experience this macrobiotic meal this past Friday.
This is a Japanese owned restaurant, but the waitress who took our order was a hippie type girl who was explaining their food style as «ying and yang, helps with PH balance, blah blah». 20 minutes after putting in our order to the hippie, she comes back confirming our order… which means she didn’t put it in yet!!!
We were being patient, the good company helped with that. But after seeing 3 tables that ordered after us get their orders before us (same dishes we ordered) we left the restaurant after waiting for one hour. Ridiculous!!! Never again would I give this restaurant a chance. The girl was totally clueless and her incompetence will continue losing business for this restaurant.

I’d rate the décor here five stars for Hale’s trendy mix of wood, brushed metal and sculptural light fixtures. The modern, streamlined look of the modestly-​sized restaurant seems right out of New York or Tokyo. So why was it named «Hale», a native Hawaiian word for house or home?
But on to the food: all dishes here are prepared with fresh and healthy ingredients, organic and local where possible. Most items are vegan with a Japanese take, though they also serve fish. I ordered a seitan cutlet which came to the table coated with golden brown and exquisitely crunchy panko flakes. A healthy approximation of piquant tonkatsu sauce was served on the side. I had not eaten seitan before and so did not know what to expect. My lunch companions tried a bite and were put off by the mushy texture of the seitan; I didn’t mind it, though it was definitely not L & L’s chicken katsu. A generous serving of brown rice, a kale and carrot mix with a miso dressing, and what we think was a mildly sour apple and cabbage pickle were the accompaniments. It was a tasty lunch.
One lunch mate ordered the fried rice, which came to the table as a mound of Thai purple rice with vegetables, topped with nori strips. The other friend chose lentil curry. Both meals also came with the vegetable side dishes. Both lunch companions were pleased with their choices.
Dessert was another story. We tried the mixed fruit sorbet, which was a pretty tiny scoop of what seemed to be mostly assorted seeds and pieces of dried fruit skins. «Lots of fiber’» we joked. The sorbet contained large ice crystals as if the chef had not completed the mixing and freezing process. The flavor was mildly citrus and berry. The best part of the sorbet was the spoonful of berry sauce that came with it.
The staff at Hale is pleasant and attentive, and will readily answer any questions about the menu. Service was a bit slow, but will likely improve over time. Prices were a little higher than I generally pay for lunch ($ 10 -$ 14), but are probably due to the emphasis on fresh and healthy ingredients. I will definitely return for healthy lunches, but not the sorbet.

I’ve been going multiple times for lunch this month.
Their menu changes daily.
I’ve had:
lentil & mushroom curry over brown rice and walnuts
kuruma-​fu cutlet with apple miso
watercress corn soup
corn potage soup
pear & nuts dessert
oatmeal cookie
My favorite is defintely the kuruma-​fu cutlet.
Very hard to describe what it is. Best to ask the waitress yourself.
Ask for the sesame salt (goma-​shio) if you want to sprinkle it over your rice.