Pounders Restauant's Keiki Culinary Academy

If you have a budding chef in the family, sign him or her up for Pounders Restaurant's Keiki Culinary Academy!

Taught by Chef Felix Tai, kiddos ages 4 to 12 create a culinary delight while learning all about ingredients and techniques in an hour-long class.

My kids were enrolled in a class last month, during which they learned how to make puff pastry.

Yes, that's right - puff pastry!  Something even I wouldn't attempt to make!

But Chef Felix was up for the challenge, teaching the kids how to make a really quick puff pastry dessert.

All the ingredients were set out for 22 kids, and after taking everyone to the kitchen to wash their hands, the kids started pouring, mixing, kneading, and shaping all of the ingredients to make a cookies and cream puff pastry dessert.

Chef Felix, along with team members Mark and Frances, were amazing with the kids.  They were so helpful and patient with every single one of them.

There were some kids who obviously were skilled in the kitchen, and those (like my kids), who had very little experience in the kitchen.  Regardless of skill level, all kids were treated with kindness, and they all seemed to enjoy themselves.

The class went about 40 minutes longer than expected.  A lot of that may have been to the large turnout of kids, as well as all the time it took for the kids to wash their hands throughout the process (they took at least three hand-washing breaks).  Because the class went overtime, and the restaurant was about to open to regular customers, the puff pastry did not have enough time to bake, so Chef Felix advised we needed to take the pastries home and finish it off in the oven.

Although the kids' pastries may have not looked too pretty, they sure tasted delicious!

I didn't mind that the class went well over the 1-hour time period, but I thought the biggest room for improvement was with identifying each child's creation.

When the puff pastry was done baking, there was no way to identify which pastry belonged to which kid, and the children randomly took home whatever looked the most appealing.

Hopefully in future classes there is a better way of making sure each child takes home (and eats!) his or her own creation.

Also - it would've been great if each child took home a copy of the recipe so they could recreate it at home!

All of my kids had a blast, and they were so proud of their desserts!  The Keiki Culinary Academy was such a fun experience for them!

The Keiki Culinary Academy classes continue on February 10, 17, and 24 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Classes are available on a first-come first-served basis. Courses can be booked individually for $22. Hawaii residents can purchase tickets for just $15 per class by joining the Ohana Club.

For more information or to make reservations, call Hukilau Marketplace at (808) 293-3142, visit http://www.hukilaumarketplace.com/events or facebook.com/hukilaumarketplace. To receive updates, event invitations and promotions, join the Ohana Club for free at www.PCCOhana.com.

My kids' classes were hosted.

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Lunch at Pounders Restaurant

Before adventuring through the grounds of the Polynesian Cultural Center (read about our adventure here), our family of four had lunch at Pounders Restaurant in the Hukilau Marketplace. Pounders is a full-service, air conditioned restaurant that proudly offers produce fresh from island farms, organic beef raised in Hawaii, and seafood caught in nearby waters. 

Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing I noticed were the two display cases full of tantalizing pies, cheesecakes, cookies, and assorted pastries from Aunty Emily's Bakery.  At this point I knew I would need to save room for dessert.

Since the boys were starving, we looked at the keiki menu first. It was very easy to follow - choose an entree, choose a side dish, and choose a drink. I love simple menus!

One of our boys wanted to build his own pizza, the other wanted a hamburger. Both wanted fries as side dish, and fruit punch for a drink.

After placing our order, we were then invited to the pizza station to build our pizza.

Here's what we started with - a prepared dough, pizza sauce and cut mozzarella cheese. 

My son has made his own pizza before so he knew exactly what to do.  

The cheese was the most fun part of the process for him. He said he was making a puzzle.  He ran out of pieces towards the end, but the pizza man was more than happy to give him more cheese so that he could finish his puzzle.

After he was finished making his pizza, the pizza was placed in the kiawe-fired brick oven which was imported from Napoli. 

After the pizza was baked, they plated it nicely with a side of french fries.

Here's the Little Buddy's hamburger (it's actually a cheeseburger on the menu but we asked for it without cheese) with a side of french fries.

The hubby and I shared three pupu items:

the mahimahi nuggets, which were my personal favorite..

the kalua pork quesadilla, which was served with a side of mango-papaya salad...

and the snow crab cakes.

I've been telling everyone I know, including Gem, who has dined here several times (click here) for her most recent blog post on this restaurant), how much I loved the mahimahi nuggets! They were crispy, moist, and tasted so good.  The next time we dine here, the hubby and I will skip the crab cakes and order two orders of the mahimahi nuggets, because he loved them too!

The kalua pork quesadilla took us by surprise, as the serving was much larger (almost double the size) as pictured on the menu.  

For dessert, we ordered a cupcake and lilikoi roll.....

Pounders Restaurant at the Hukilau Marketplace is a great place for family dining in the Laie area. There is plenty of free parking, the service is friendly, it's very casual and low-key, it's air conditioned (!), and there are plenty of shops at the marketplace to browse through before or after your meal.  

We rarely visit this side of the island, but the next time we do, we will definitely revisit Pounders Restaurant to try more of their menu items.  

Mahalo to our sponsor for hosting our meal today! 

Pounders Restaurant at the Hukilau Marketplace

55-370 Kamehameha Highway

(808) 293-3287

Reservations via Yelp

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One of My Favorite Restaurants in Laie - Pounders

Earlier in the year we dined at Pounders at the Hukilau Marketplace at Polynesian Cultural Center, and had a great dining experience.

The menu has slightly changed since then, but I am glad to see that they still offer the Kids Build-Your-Own-Pizza option.

My kids loved making their own pizzas!

Pepperoni and Ham Pizza

Mushroom, Pepperoni, Sausage, Olives, Green Peppers, Pineapple, and Red Onion Pizza

My oldest son opted for the Cheeseburger once again, but this time with French Fries (the fries are so addicting!).

My husband and I both ordered specials of the day.

Fish & Chips

I ordered the Fish & Chips - battered and fried pieces of mahi served with a housemade tartar sauce alongside (addicting) fries.  The fish was so good!  I am often hesitant to order fish & chips at restaurants, fearing the fish may be too fishy, too dried out, or too bland, but this fish was perfectly cooked and so tasty!  

Rib Eye

My husband ordered the other special of the night - the Rib Eye, which was accompanied by Ulu Mashed Potatoes.  He really enjoyed it.

For dessert, two of my kids ordered Vanilla Ice Cream, and another couldn't resist the Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookie from the bakery display case.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookie

Service was great, and Pounders just keeps getting better each time I visit.

It really is one of my favorite restaurants in Laie!

Pounders
Hukilau Marketplace
55-370 Kamehameha Hwy 
Laie, HI 96762
(808) 293-3287

Mahalo to Polynesian Cultural Center for hosting our meal.  Gratuity was paid on our own.

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Pounders at Hukilau Marketplace Revisited

Named after popular Pounders Beach, which was once the site of a dock to offload passengers, including royalty, Pounders restaurant at Hukilau Marketplace is a welcome addition to the Laie area.

Having opened just last year, Pounders has already gone through some changes - new chef, new menu, and although we had an overall good dining experience during our first visit last year, we were excited to give Pounders a second try.

Dragon Eye Crab Cakes

The Dragon Eye Crab Cakes were absolutely delicious.  Full of crab meat and crispy on the outside, the crab cakes were topped with a fantastic lilikoi-cilantro aioli.

Pounder's Fresh Poke

We also ordered the Pounder's Fresh Poke - a generous serving of poke that could be a meal in itself.

Hukilau Sandwich

I opted for the Hukilau Sandwich for my dinner entree.  The enormous sandwich consisted of battered, golden-fried locally-caught Mahi Mahi.  It was really tasty, and I loved the seasoned fries that accompanied it!

Fried Opakapaka with Sweet Chili Sauce

Blanched Vegetables and Rice

The catch of the night was Opakapaka, which my husband ordered fried with a sweet chili sauce. When our server brought the Opakapaka to our table, we were so taken aback by how huge it was! One of my son's even asked "Is that a shark?"

The rice and veggies that accompanies the fish were brought out on a separate plate, and this single meal could easily have fed our family of five.

The sweet chili sauce gave the fish a very nice flavor, and needless to say, there were a lot of leftovers (which had to be put in a pizza box since a regular takeout box was too small!).

Kids Little Buddy's Cheese Burger with Ulu Mashed Potatoes

Kids meals are a few dollars cheaper now - they still come with a drink, but no longer come with dessert.

One of my sons ordered the Little Buddy's Cheese Burger, and he asked for Ulu Mashed Potatoes (my son really loves mashed potatoes!) even though it wasn't listed as a side with the burger, but our server said it was no problem to substitute.

My other two sons ordered the Build Your Own Pizza, and they literally built their own pizza!

They got to roll out the dough, spread on the sauce, add cheese and other ingredients, and watch their pizzas get placed in the kiawe-wood-burning brick oven.

Kids Build-Your-Own Pizza - Cheese & Pepperoni

Kids Build-Your-Own Pizza - Cheese, Pepperoni, Olives, Pineapple, Onions

There are just two desserts on the menu, and the one we wanted (Red Velvet Chocolate Molten Lava Cake) was not available, so we opted to get desserts from the display case.

We picked a Dream Cake (from Ted's Bakery) and a Guava Cheesecake.

Dream Cake

Guava Cheesecake

I only ate the Guava Cheesecake, and it was so good!  It was creamy and dense, with a hint of guava.

Our server was very friendly - in fact everyone at the restaurant who assisted, including the employee who helped with the pizzas, and another who gave us our desserts - were all so nice! As the night went on the service did seem to slow down a bit because it got busier, but overall our experience was a lot better than our first visit, especially in terms of the food.

I would have liked to have seen some chicken options on the dinner menu, but the new menu offers a nice variety of beef, pork, and seafood dishes, as well as a vegetarian dish!

And I would gladly return just for the build-your-own-pizza option for the kids. That was definitely a highlight of the meal!

Pounders offers plenty of seating indoors in air-conditioned comfort or outdoors on the open lanai, and you will surely be served with aloha!

Pounders
Hukilau Marketplace
55-370 Kamehameha Hwy
Laie, HI 96762
(808) 293-3287

Thank you to Pounders for the complimentary meals.  Gratuity was paid on our own.

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