FUUD: Cream Pot in Waikiki
July 17th, 2009 by CatThere aren't many places in Hawai'i that serve good crepes.
I'm talking the kind of crepes that make you feel like you're sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Paris in the middle of spring. And you're wearing a beret.
So I was couldn't-contain-myself excited when I first dined at the Cream Pot in the Hawaiian Monarch Hotel in Waikiki.
Outside the little restaurant in the Hawaiian Monarch Hotel.
The only way I can describe the decor is charming. Honestly, it looks like a scene from a fairytale.
The ambiance resembles something you'd see in Disneyland. In a castle somewhere.
Don't you feel like the Keebler elves will serve your food?
Though it seems small, the restaurant seats several dozen people.
There are these miniature things everywhere. These were little candles in the shape of desserts.
This took up an entire wall. The decor is definitely memorable.
Aside from the distinctive decor, the Cream Pot specializes in European-style breakfast and brunch items — with an Asian twist.
On the menu are Belgian waffles, French-rolled omelets, a variety of eggs Benedicts (including one with 'ahi carpaccio, rice cakes, avocado and shiso), and — of course — crepes.
The delicate French pancakes are served in two ways: sweet or savory. You can get banana crepes with a housemade vanilla custard cream with a dark salted caramel sauce ($9.50) or one filled with baked maple-cured bacon, potatoes and Gruyere cheese ($13.50).
Here's what we ate:
Here's the special French-rolled omelet: Burgundy beef stew and rice ($18).
The egg was fluffy and perfectly cooked. And the beef stew — just the right heartiness and saltiness to match the thin omelet.
The vegetarian in our group had the vegetarian crepe ($12).
It was more like a salad atop a crepe, with seasonal mixed greens, grapes, strawberries, blue cheese and a vinaigrette dressing.
The banana French toast ($9.50) was another hit at breakfast.
The Kahuku bananas topped several French baguette slices baked in a creme anglaise. You can also get it with apples, too.
I had the classic omelet ($11.50), which came with Gruyere cheese, potatoes, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and maple-cured bacon. (Rice pilaf and a small salad come with the meal.)
Every bite was a different flavor, which I like. The mix of bacon, cheese, potatoes, onions and mushrooms was perfect with the egg. I could've eaten two!
Several in our group had the waffle set with a banana shake ($14). You could get it with bananas (shown here), apples or strawberries.
Here's the strawberry waffle set.
Here's the one with apples.
The set came with this banana shake, which wasn't overly banana-flavored and paired nicely with the not-so-sweet pancakes and waffles.
The set came with pancakes and waffles. Here's a close-up of the pancakes, which weren't that sweet. They tasted more like bread than traditional pancakes.
The waffles had more flavor than the pancakes, with that little bit of crunch. Apparently, the chef uses traditional yeast-leavened batter but lightens it up with whipped egg whites, making it crisp and light — and delicious.
This is the salmon eggs Benedict ($12.50), which comes with a small salad.
Two perfectly soft-poached eggs, Grey Goose vodka-cured salmon, caramelized onions and a Mornay sauce — excellent.
It's not the kind of restaurant you can eat at every day. But the Cream Pot is worth visiting at least once. If not to satisfy your craving for French-rolled omelets or traditional crepes, at least to enjoy the ambiance different than anywhere else.
Cream Pot, Hawaiian Monarch Hotel Waikiki, 444 Niu St. Hours: 6:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily. Validated parking in the hotel. Phone: 429-0945.
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Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish, send her an e-mail at cat@thecatdish.com, and now watch her every Thursday at 6:45 a.m. on KHNL News 8.
