San Diego Metropolitan - University Towne Centre Dining

Back in 1988, when “pan” went with “fried” instead of “Asian” and “Pacific” was followed with “Northwest” rather than “Rim,” Chef Roy Yamaguchi was quietly creating his own style of contemporary Hawaiian cuisine at a little-known place called Roy’s Restaurant in Honolulu.

Although he was born in Tokyo and lived there until he was 17, it was on one of his many childhood trips to Maui to visit his grandparents that Yamaguchi was exposed to Pacific Island cuisine. In 1974, he enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, N.Y., where he learned classical traditions.

He graduated in 1976 and spent the next few years working around Los Angeles, mainly in French venues honing his skills and acquiring the confidence to tackle his first executive chef position at Le Serene in late 1979. This was followed by a memorable stint at the posh Michael’s Restaurant in Santa Monica.

In 1984, Yamaguchi opened his first restaurant, 385 North, on Hollywood’s La Cienega Boulevard, where he began gaining recognition for fusing French techniques with largely Japanese ingredients. In 1988, he dissolved his interest in that partnership, uprooted his family and moved to Hawaii.

He opened the first Roy’s Restaurant at the east end of Honolulu in late 1988. About a year later, he opened Roy’s Kahana Bar and Grill on the neighboring island of Maui. Twelve years, 23 restaurants, a cooking show aired in more than 60 countries and a best-selling cookbook later, Yamaguchi has opened a San Diego restaurant.

Although the UTC site has a rather prosaic exterior, the torch-lit trellised patio is inviting. Interior designer Dan Saurbrey took a theatrical approach to contemporary Asian design. The bar and dining room are divided by a five-foot accent wall of exotic lacewood and glass laminated rice paper. Edge-lit interpretations of shoji panels throughout the entry and dining area add to the soft, warm, sensual feel of the room. To bring some splashes of color and excitement to the space, Saurbrey designed custom pendant light fixtures in jewel and suntones, representational of flowers indigenous to the islands.

The menu consists of a handful of Roy’s signature Euro-Asian dishes, along with a good share of nightly and fresh-sheet specials. Not only do actual menu items frequently change at Roy’s, sometimes a regular menu item will be prepared differently without notice.

I experienced this with the wonderful “Roasted Beet and Braised Fennel Salad” ($8). On my first visit to Roy’s, the beets were indeed oven roasted, sweet and slightly sour (because of the hearts of palm vinaigrette). On another visit two weeks later, the beets were almost “sundried” or dehydrated. When I asked about the recipe change, my server said he checked with the kitchen and was told they just “had a whim” that night.

The bottom line is: if this wasn’t just a clever cover for somebody who left the beets in the oven too long — and they really do tweak the menu items on a nightly basis — be careful what you fall in love with. You may come home one evening to your beautiful auburn-haired wife only to find she’s bleached her hair blond. Not bad, in fact, maybe not bad at all, just not what you were expecting.

Anyone who has honeymooned in Hawaii undoubtedly has dined at a Roy’s. Ahh the honeymoon, the grass is so green and the air so sweet and light, so chock-full of hope and promise. And the food, can food ever taste that good again?

Believe it or not, they pull it off at Roy’s. One of his signature dishes, the “Szechwan Spiced BBQ Baby Back Pork Ribs” ($9 appetizer/$20 entrée), tastes exactly as good as it did, however many years ago, when I had it at Roy’s Poipu Beach Bar and Grill. The ribs are marinated overnight in miso, hoisin, ginger, garlic and sake then simmered in chicken broth and finished on a mesquite grill. These sticky, sweet, beauties should not be missed.

One cannot go wrong with any of the seafood entrées.

The only difficulty I encountered at any of my three visits to Roy’s was trying to decide what to order. Choosing from “Macadamia Dusted Whitefish” ($23), “Teriyaki Hibachi Grilled Atlantic Salmon” ($22) or “Cilantro Seared Mahi Mahi” ($23) posed quite a problem. One night I strayed to the “Roasted and Grilled” side of the menu and just about lost it over the “Mongolian Pork Pot Roast” ($21). It’s a generous mound of stringy, sweet and tender pork roast lolling in a pineapple-peach sweet and sour natural sauce. It was served with garlic-mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach. Another non-seafood recommendation is the “Kal-Bi Flat Iron Steak” ($22) with grilled onions and shiitake mushrooms in a chile barbecue sauce.

Roy’s wine list offers more than 100 selections. Some very interesting, some very expensive and some rather trendy bottles are available. A unique choice would be one of the “bone-dry” pinks (Toad Hollow, Sonoma Pinot Noir Rosé, $28) that are well-priced and would taste ideal with the zesty foods coming out of the exhibition kitchen. The by-the-glass list offers less variety as most listed are “Roy’s Private Label.”

These days it’s “fusion” sans the “con” and “Euro” without the “Disney” and just as it was in the past, Chef Yamaguchi is quietly creating his own style of contemporary Hawaiian cuisine, though now at a well-known place called Roy’s Restaurants of Hawaii Inc.