As Hawaii remains one of my favorite places in the world, I am always delighted to encounter any reminder of the Aloha State in Taichung. Undoubtedly, the best local place to do this is Kua’Aina Burger & Sandwich at Mitsui Outlet Park. This restaurant and a sister eatery at Mitsui’s mall in New Taipei City’s Linkou District are branches of the original Kua’Aina, opened in 1975 in Haleiwa town on Oahu’s North Shore. Thanks to its popularity among Japanese visitors, it expanded to Japan, where it now has 31 branches.
Sitting in the spacious, 120-seat premises, you can actually pretend you’re back in Haleiwa. The main area has ceiling fans, wall-mounted surfboards, vintage black-and-white Hawaiian photos, and wooden floors, paneling and furniture, plus a glass wall offering great views of Taichung Port, while a smaller area is designed to evoke open-air garden-style seating. An excellent Hawaiian music selection also provides the perfect soundtrack for your experience.
The main menu focus is eight burgers (NT$210-330), flame grilled over lava rock, and six sandwiches (NT$120-240) like the Clubhouse, or Teriyaki Chicken. I tried the flagship Avocado Burger, enjoyed with an optional chia-sprinkled kaiser roll, lettuce, tomato and onion slices, and thick slabs of cool avocado that nicely complement the full, flame-grilled flavors of the beef. I also sampled another must-try, the Pineapple Teri Chicken Burger, with a pineapple and teriyaki sauce giving it an appetizing tang.
Other than burgers or sandwiches, you can sample Kua’Aina’s three versions of a Hawaiian comfort food classic–Loco Moco (NT$240-320), which is basically rice topped by beef or chicken, egg and brown gravy–or US Prime Hawaiian Grilled Steak (NT$390), also prepared over hot lava rock.
In addition, there’s an avocado-topped Hawaii Cobb Salad (NT$200), soups, fried sides, and three fluffy Hawaiian Pancake options like the Pancake Brulee (NT$230), topped with crunchy caramelized sugar, custard sauce, whipped cream and ice cream. Suitably tropical beverage accompaniments include three fruit-flavored Chia Sodas (NT$80) and three types of Hawaiian Kona Beer (NT$180).
Don’t drink and drive
開車不喝酒 喝酒不開車
夏威夷漢堡(台中店) Kua’Aina Burger & Sandwich (Taichung branch)
梧棲區台灣大道十段168號2樓(三井outlet)
168, Taiwan Blvd, Sec 10, 2F, Wuqi Dist (Mitsui Outlet Park)
(04) 2656-9877
11 am-9:30, 周末與假日: 10:30 am-9:30 pm
接受信用卡；不收服務費
Hours: 11 am-9:30, weekends & holidays 10:30 am-9:30 pm
Credit cards accepted. No service charge.
夏威夷是我最喜歡的地方之一，也很樂於推薦台中的夏威夷餐廳。毫無疑問，位於三井outlet的夏威夷漢堡一定是首選之地，這間餐廳與新北市林口區的姊妹店，都是來自於夏威夷的連鎖店。創立於1975年北岸的海利瓦小鎮，由於大量日本觀光客光顧，進而拓展至日本並擁有31間分店。 在寬敞的室內，彷彿回到了海利瓦小鎮。用餐區的吊扇、壁掛式衝浪板、復古的黑白夏威夷照片，搭配木質地板、鑲嵌板以及家具，還有一面玻璃牆來欣賞台中港的風景，而較小的區域則設計成露天花園，悅耳的夏威夷配樂帶給你一段美妙的體驗。 菜單主打火山熔岩燒烤的8種漢堡(210~330元)和6種總匯三明治(120~240元)以及照燒雞腿。我嚐試了人氣推薦的酪梨牛肉漢堡，麵包選擇凱薩麵包、生菜、番茄和洋蔥切片，再加上酪梨厚片的組合，同時沒放過必點的鳳梨照燒雞肉漢堡，帶給味蕾一場難忘的享宴。 除了漢堡和三明治外，你也可以嘗試3種經典的夏威夷套餐，例如起司牛肉漢堡排飯(240~320元)，顧名思義就是表面覆蓋牛肉或者雞肉的白飯，搭配蛋與肉汁。另外還有美國 Prime等級夏威夷火山熔岩燒烤沙朗牛排(390元)也令人躍躍欲試。 除此之外，店家還有淋上酪梨醬的夏威夷柯布沙拉、湯品、炸物等3種鬆餅，像是覆蓋著鬆脆的焦糖、卡士達醬、鮮奶油以及冰淇淋的焦糖布蕾鬆餅(230元)。還有3種熱帶飲品，包括奇亞籽蘇打(80元)和3種的夏威夷Kona啤酒。
Don’t drink and drive
開車不喝酒 喝酒不開車
夏威夷漢堡(台中店) Kua’Aina Burger & Sandwich (Taichung branch)
梧棲區台灣大道十段168號2樓(三井outlet)
168, Taiwan Blvd, Sec 10, 2F, Wuqi Dist (Mitsui Outlet Park)
(04) 2656-9877
11 am-9:30, 周末與假日: 10:30 am-9:30 pm
接受信用卡；不收服務費
Hours: 11 am-9:30, weekends & holidays 10:30 am-9:30 pm
Credit cards accepted. No service charge.