PRICE:
Frommer's Exceptional

For 30 years, the Swan Court was the dining experience at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort. When Tri-Star Restaurant Group CEO Aaron Placourakis (who also owns Nick's Fishmarket Maui) took over this restaurant, he and executive chef Geno Sarmiento knew they wanted to hit a home run every night with the cuisine. The restaurant already had perhaps the most romantic location in Maui, overlooking a man-made lagoon with white and black swans swimming by and the rolling surf of the Pacific in the distance. Now the combination of the culinary team's creative dishes, fresh local ingredients (Kula corn and strawberries, Ono Farms avocados, Hana hearts of palm, Maui Cattle Company beef, fresh Hawaiian fish, and sweet Maui onions), top-notch service, and relaxing atmosphere makes this one of Maui's best restaurants. My personal picks from the very tempting menu are the Maui Surfing Goat Cheese ravioli appetizer (with Kula corn, edamame, Hamakua mushrooms, prosciutto, and a sherry-vinegar pan sauce) and, for a main course, either the Hawaiian opakapaka piccata (with artichokes, caperberries, Lisbon lemon, sweet-potato hash browns, and tomato purée) or the seared scallops BLT (with bacon and poached cherry tomatoes in a Caesar-salad emulsion, served with truffled potato chips). A beautiful breakfast buffet is also served.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Hawaii 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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