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Quick Bites: Special menus for Valentine’s Day

COMPILED BY NINA WU / nwu@staradvertiser.com

Vows and dinner: Renew your vows for free while dining buffet style at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani on Valentine’s Day Thursday.

The Sheraton Princess Kaiulani is offering a buffet dinner with carved prime rib, steamed crab legs, an iced seafood bar, hot food selections and assorted desserts.

Dinner, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Pikake Terrace, is $45 per person (includes the vow renewal, certificate, sparkling cider and chocolate strawberries). Renewals start at 5:15 p.m. on the Lava Stage.

Sheraton Princess Kaiulani is at 120 Kaiulani Ave. Reservations are recommended at 921-4600.

Two days of romance: The four-course Valentine’s Day menu at Alan Wong’s Honolulu will feature seafood, passion fruit and a choice of sweets on Thursday and Feb. 15.

Start with an amuse bouche of house-made egg tofu, ahi and caviar. For the first course, choose from a seafood salad or Hawaiian kampachi shiso tartare with passion fruit ceviche sauce and purple sweet potato.

For the second course, choose from Keahole lobster and crab or seafood dumplings a la nage (swimming). Pan-seared Hawaiian kampachi or ginger-crusted onaga is next. For the fourth course: Maui Cattle Co. beef strip loin in a red miso broth or roast rack of lamb caramelized with honey.

Dessert is a Wailea Meyer lemon frozen souffle with li hing mui strawberries or Waialua chocolate cake with popcorn okoshi ice cream and candied peanuts.

Cost is $95 per person ($140 with wine) at Alan Wong’s Honolulu, 1857 S. King St., Suite 208. Call 949-2526.

Love on the Rise: 3660 on the Rise is offering a four-course dinner for lovers on Valentine’s Day. The menu starts with a choice of crispy garlic scallion prawns with honey chili aioli or braised pork belly in natural jus, followed by a Greek salad.

Choose from the fresh catch of the day or fire-roasted tenderloin of beef. Dessert is a dark truffle tart with fresh strawberries and a strawberry coulis.

Cost is $75 per person. Dinner is 5:30 to 9 p.m. at 3660 Waialae Ave. Call 737-1177 or visit www.3660.com.

Heart-shaped pies: ZPizza is making heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day.

Choose from the Napoli (roasted garlic, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, basil and parmesan), Tuscan (mozzarella, cremini, shiitake and button mushrooms with caramelized onions, feta and truffle oil), Provence (mozzarella, artichoke hearts, capers, tomatoes and fresh basil) and more.

The pizzas are made with organic wheat flour which will be crafted into hearts for dine-in, carry-out or delivery in large (14 inches) or extra large (18 inches).

ZPizza is at Ward and in Kailua. Visit zpizza.com.

Vino’s Valentine’s: Vino’s Valentine’s Day dinner is simple but sumptuous.

Chef Keith Endo created a five-course menu that starts with a roasted fingerling potato with truffled cauliflower puree and osetra caviar. It’s followed by roasted candy-striped beets, then a butter-poached Kona cold lobster with ricotta cheese ravioli and lobster-uni sauce.

The main course is a braised horseradish-crusted short rib with homemade porcini linguine and root vegetables. Top it off with a Kula strawberry panna cotta and chocolate gelato.

Cost is $48 per person. Call 533-4476 or email Sara at svilliers@dkrestaurants.com.

Lover’s menu: Hoku’s at the Kahala Hotel & Resort will offer its “lover’s menu” from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesday to Feb. 16.

The five-course menu with wine pairings by Chef Wayne Hirabayashi starts with “Anticipation” — shrimp with hibiscus and Kaffir lime salt. The “Flirtation” course is next, featuring seared day boat jumbo sea scallops with vanilla, beets and crispy nori.

The “Romance” course stars the fresh island catch of the day with coconut rice and passion fruit sauce. The “Passion” course offers lehua honey lavender-glazed duck with baby bok choy and turnips. Finish with “Sweet Addictions”: a white- and dark-chocolate heart, cocoa nib meringue and fresh raspberry coulis.

Cost is $90 per person ($125 with wine pairings). Call 739-8760 or restaurants@kahalaresort.com.

Il Lupino hearts: On Valentine’s Day, Il Lupino Trattoria & Wine Bar is offering dinner specials plus a gift of heart-shaped Belgian milk chocolates.

Valentine’s Day specials include appetizers of fresh oysters, arancini and beef carpaccio. Entrees include a roasted chicken marsala, calamari stuffed with lobster and spinach, gnocchi and Roman-style lamb chops.

For dessert, enjoy a Valrhona chocolate mousse cake with creme anglaise and strawberry coulis.

Each couple receives Belgian milk chocolate hearts.

Il Lupino is at the Royal Hawaiian Center, 2233 Kalakaua Ave. Call 922-3400 or go to opentable.com.

Dining a deux: Shor at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki is offering two Valentine’s Day specials on its menu for Valentine’s Day.

The “Shor’s Famous Seafood Tower for Two” ($40) includes Kauai shrimp, crab legs, oysters on the half shell, mussels, clams, cocktail sauce and grilled lemon.

The “Lovers Duo for Two” ($20) features Waialua chocolate-covered red velvet cake with Kula strawberries, mascarpone and caramel sauce. Another treat: Cupid’s cocktail ($10), a blend of strawberries, amaretto and vanilla topped with whipped cream.

The Valentine’s specials will be available from 6 to 10 p.m. at Shor, Hyatt Regency Waikiki, 2424 Kalakaua Ave. Every couple receives a rose. Call 237-6395 or go to opentable.com.

– Email “Quick Bites” news to nwu@staradvertiser.com.