Kalen G.
Yelp
The whole experience here was amazing and absolutely astonishing! This will definitely be one of the best highlights, and be something I keep looking back on from my trip to Maui!
Being on the farm observing all of the greenery and life, and over looking the island from up-high is a beautiful experience in itself. Then having a gourmet, 5-course lunch, freshly made with all the luscious vegetation which you were just touching. The same plants you were looking at. The same vegetables you were taking pictures of. Then, the same greens that you walked past. All of that combined, makes a perfect farm to table experience which you can't forget.
Starting from the beginning, you start the tour off with about an hour of exploring the farm, and getting familiar with the place. The whole tour of the farm was very educational and enriching, and our tour guide seemed very knowledgable and passionate on what he did. We learned so much about the land, the crops, and what they stand for. The most interesting part was probably learning about their coffee, and what was even better was getting a chance to try real coffee beans fresh, straight from the source! I never knew that coffee beans were basically a seed, and they grow inside what looks like a cranberry! If you compare the coffee seed to an actual roasted coffee bean, you probably wouldn't even think they are the same thing. The fresh coffee bean-seed itself was pretty hard and kind of bitter, but the fruit around it was pretty sweet, and tastes just like a bell pepper.
Then, as we came around, we walked through the whole environment passing by so many different plants and crops. I love how our tour guide called some sections "scratch-and-sniffs." For the most part though, a lot of the crops were edible. It's pretty cool to be able to eat flowers too. They even had finger lime trees, and we were even able to try finger limes fresh straight from the source as well! Finger limes are pretty expensive, and look like caviar, but green, but pack A LOT of flavor! They are sweet, but also sour... just like a real lime, and they kind of pop in your mouth. I definitely tried to savor the moment trying the finger limes.
Next, we got a brief introduction from the chef, and what he was all about, and a brief overview of each course we were going to be served. I am actually really glad that we came here during COVID times because I've seen on past reviews that you would have to pick your own crops for your own salad, AND how the food would be served buffet style where there are many families or groups eating from one plate. However, because of COVID times, we didn't need to pick our own crops, and each group/family got their own dish. I like that process way more than what they had before because it sounds way more hygienic, also, by giving a dish per family, it allows for more time for beautiful food pics, which I was able to capture!
A brief overview of all the dishes is that they were all fantastic! I'm not just going to leave it there but, you could really taste the freshness of each dish having each component of the dish freshly picked from the farm you just walked in. Also, each dish was so insanely vibrant in color, and in flavors. The dishes were also pretty filling, so you better bring your appetite! My favorite dish was probably the tofu dish, or the chicken dish. The tofu dish (Course #2) was probably the most vibrant color-wise, and that is because of the luxurious, luscious, deep, sexy pink puree. But also the dish packs a lot of good flavors. I'm not a fan of tofu, but man, this tofu was insane! It was so crisp on the outside and had such a nice sear and made it even more delicious. On the other hand, the chicken dish was close to flawless. At first glance, I wasn't sure if the chicken would have that good of a cook on it, but I was wrong, it was perfect. When cutting into the chicken, it was glistening in the sunlight while juices oozed out of it. I don't think I have ever had chicken cooked to the perfection the chicken I had that day was. It was so tender, so juicy, and so good. It also had a nice rub and sear on the outside as well. Then, being paired with the rich root vegetables and the bright luscious puree it elevated the dish even more.
At the very end of our meal, which was super filling, we were given a very generous amount of their signature coffee. Very interesting ending a good meal with some coffee as dessert. I'm not a big coffee drinker, so I'm not sure what good coffee is like, but I was into it! We also got to chat with the chef and our tour guide at the end, and they're really cool people.
I could honestly go on and on about the whole farm experience, and about each dish, but I really believe you should go experience all of this yourself!
(p.s.~ I actually reach the word limit a few times on this review and actually cut out a lot of what I originally had... this is also by far my longest review).