Aloha Ohana...

Aloha…
An old traditional Hawaiian meaning, “Welcome!” and that is just what Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine is. Being new to the Pasadena area, made me a newcomer to the fantastic dining in this area and one being Roy’s.
A little bit about the history of this unique Fine Dining Restaurant is that it was founded in Hawaii Kai in 1988 by Roy Yamaguchi, and now has 34 restaurants worldwide and 7 located in Hawaii 1 in Japan, 1 in Guam and 25 in the continental United States… (http://www.roysrestaurant.com/index.asp) This restaurant exercises the belief in, “Ohana,” or “Family.” It incorporates this belief in every aspect of this establishment; in fact employees are known as, “Ohana Members,” over being Called, “Crew or Staff members.” And it has a wide belief in being “Keiki” or “Kid” friendly! This reinforces the belief that this is a truly a Fine “Ohana” establishment.
Also what makes this a unique Place and sets it apart of other “fine dining” establishments is the menu it offers, since “Roy’s,” offers a wide selection of traditional Hawaiian Cuisine and a variety of different styles using Asian spices and European techniques to create these works of art. And I also like to point out all of the seafood on the menu are flown in fresh from Hawaii almost daily!
Now the basic demographic, of Roy’s is not your standard rich type of community that you would normally find in a fine dining establishment, in fact this place caters more to the family and special occasion group, since this place offers a wide variety of selection of unique and wonderful seafood and land base choices.
Now this Friday I sat down and talked to Kyle Simpson, one of the many Managers at Roy’s in Pasadena and we talked a lot about this unique menu and what it takes to be part of Roy’s Ohana…
We talked about how the menu changes for every season and how they only use the freshest and never frozen product flown in strait from Hawaii! And how they offer a Pre-fix three coarse meal that is designed based around all four seasons!
The affordability of Roy’s menu depends on what you choose and how much you are willing to spend…
The cost on average per person is about $50-$55 but the selection and portion size ranges from $11 to 30 dollars per entrée and the rest is based on what else you buy from cocktails to Bottles of wine!
But the portion sizes are very well and filling… I experience this first hand when after the interview I came back around 5pm to see for myself, how well the dining experience is? And to my amazement I was not disappointed.
The food and service was very well put together and the ambiance and the feel of everything was very, “Aloha” and I got to continue my interview with Kyle by asking him a little bit more about the POS, which they use “Aloha,” if anyone is wondering. We also talked about something you normally wouldn’t see on the floor, which is a, “Manager’s presences,” in fact at Roy’s each manager makes it a habit to great and see how every table is doing, so there that the guest knows that they are being taken care of. Also on this note Kyle and I got into a little discussion on what is known in this Industry as, “The Rule of Ten!” in this theory it is more or less true that a guest at a restaurant will tell ten of his friends/ people about the poor service they received at a place over complaining strait out, but at Roy’s, Kyle went on to explain to avoid this dreaded Rule, they feel having a manager present at all times on the floor and a very well trained staff to handle any situation that comes there way, avoiding the rule becomes easier.
Now back to my meal, since it was Friday and I wanted to treat myself a little well but still staying on budget of no more then $50- $55 based on the average quoted by Kyle… so I decided to go with the Pre-fix that only costs $35. So I ordered for my first course the “Curried Ahi Tuna” Salad this delightful dish was served to me in the same manner as every fine dining place should, and was very flavorful with the zesty, “Lemon Vinaigrette” and the Ahi Tuna was incredible. And within minutes of me finishing and the clearing of my plate already had my second course which was the, “Pecan Crusted Rainbow Trout” served with Farro and fennel tangelo salad, and speaking of portion sizes this entrée was very filling and I would have to say could have fed two people easily! Need I say anything else about this entrée besides that I loved its flavor of with the hint of pecans and Japanese spices working together create a celebration in my mouth? And need I tell you more about the last and final course the dessert? Well for dessert I treated myself to the “Roy’s Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé” which I can truly say is one of my favorite Chocolate dishes I have ever had, with the savory flavor working with the sweet vanilla-bean ice cream, truly turning my calibration in my mouth in to an all out orgy! Along with all this food and the Mango mojito I ordered the total Bill was only 49.39 and adding a tip of 15% I spent only 57 dollars and if you factor in the great service I have to say it was money well spent! Also Kyle talked about how they are a special occasion restaurant so what they do is they color code every special occasion and so whenever a person approaches the table they know the appropriate greeting and they right a traditional Hawaiian greeting on a complementary dessert for the guest, reinforcing the great service and the “Aloha” feeling you get as the staff at Roy’s makes you feel like part of their, “Ohana”
Speaking about the service earlier in the day when I sat down with Kyle for the first time, we talked about what it takes to be part of Roy’s Ohana…
Kyle went on to tell me that it is every vagaries hiring process and in fact when they first open about a year ago in Pasadena they had 1200 applicants and they only hired 100 of them so if I do the math right they only hire about 8% of all applicants… so this is very important to know for anyone looking to be employed at a Roy’s or basically any upstanding establishment. At Roy’s, when they hire you they look at the traditional Principles of Hawaii:
Aloha- always Welcoming and welcomed
Humility- Accepting and showing quiet confidence
Respect- reverence for diversity & worth of others
Kokua- enhancing & protecting what is of value to others
Energy- have a sense of necessity to do what need to get done
Fun- enjoys what one does and does it well.
Quality- High standards and acts with conviction
Mastery- Craft smith of his or her domain…
Courage- being strong in a difficult time.
On top of these principles, Roy also has four guiding principles;
i. Dedication
ii. Teamwork
iii. Self responsibility
iv. Cary a winning attitude
And if you exibite all 13 of these values Roy will offer you his commitments of; Clear direction, teaching, support and Belonging to you… (All Principles and Roy’s Commitments are found at any and all Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion ®)
Now if you are lucky enough to become part of Roy’s Ohana the real fun begins…
Since Kyle went on to tell me that all new hires are put through a 10 day training period that also included homework, and 2 days working in the kitchen learning all the sauces for the season and also the plating methods. And on top of all that everyone is cross trained to work every position, form server, host, sever assistant, food runner, ect… all this to give a greater understanding of what everyone’s job is…
Kyle quoted, “Only the best of the BEST!” since they are not considered employees but members of the Ohana, they only want the best.
So in over all to be part of Roy’s Ohana, you must exibit the spirit of, “aloha” must be willing to give 110% of yourself, and must be prepared…
However in the tradition of Hawaiian belief, “Ohana” meaning Family or relationships that are genuine and supportive with a deep feelings of belonging, caring and trust… so at Roy’s it is not only the Staff that works there, but also the purveyors that deliver the food to the restaurant, even the community that the establishment is set in and finally every guest that walks through the restaurant becomes part of Roy’s Ohana. With the traditional Hawaiian décor pictures on the wall to the worming feeling you get when you walk in the dining room, from the simple green candle centerpieces to the tenderly dimmed lighting… this place makes anyone feel part of the, “Ohana!”
If you read this entire paper you should realize the two key words are, “Aloha & Ohana!”
And for good reason which is when you walk into Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, you are greeted with the spirit of, “Aloha,” and have this feeling of being part of the, “Ohana!”
As I pull this a quick and swiftly close I would like to also end it with, “Aloha!” and I would recommend Roy’s to anyone who wants to try something new and unique style of dining!