Hawaii's Share Your Table

Mark Suiso, mango farmer of Makaha Mangoes, boasts that mango tastings can rival wine tastings both in variety and complexity. On Friday, August 6, you can taste for yourself at the kick-off dinner for the Mangoes at the Moana, with a five course mango dinner and wine pairings. Taste alongside winemakers and Suiso himself as they approach mangoes with the same palate as they do wines and grapes.



"Whenever we do these mango tasting and displays, we have a whole array of different types of varieties," says Suiso. "There’s hundreds of varieties that are available here in Hawaii. Thousands if you look around the world…we can essentially rival the wine tasters out there."

Mango and Wine Pairing Dinner

First course is a Hawaiian Style Mango Sampler, which offers up a few mango varieties side by side: Rapoza with pancetta, red pickled Keitt, and White Pirie with soy vinegar glaze. Next is a poached Kona lobster with mango, avocado and black truffle vinaigrette. Tender braised Big Island Red Veal showcases some of the Islands' finest ingredients: Surfing Goat cheese, mango chutney, and roasted Kona chocolate cacao nibs. The savory courses conclude with Moyer Farms Mignon of Beef with foie gras and balsamic glazed mango, finishing off with dessert: a deconstructed mango bread pudding.

Mango Festivities All Month

The mango festivities continue throughout the weekend with a mango recipe contest, mango culinary demonstration with chef de cuisine Rodney Uyehara from the Beachhouse at the Moana, and mango seminars with Mark Suiso on how to care for your backyard tree. Throughout the month, the Moana will be featuring mangoes in all their restaurants, from mango scones during afternoon tea, to foie gras with mango at the Beachhouse and a MangoRita at the Beach Bar.

The event concludes on August 27 with an Iron-Chef style throw down among local chefs. Competing chefs include Jon Matsubara of Azure, DK Kodama, Peter Merriman and Roy Yamaguchi.