OAHU'S ROY'S IS STILL TOPS IN HAWAIIAN FUSION.

Byline: - Eric Noland

Two decades ago, Roy Yamaguchi pioneered the concept of Hawaiian fusion cuisine -- European cooking techniques using the delectable ingredients of the South Pacific and Asia -- and now oversees an empire of 35 Roy's restaurants that reaches from Japan to New York.

It can be a challenge to maintain quality when a celebrity chef stretches himself so thin, and I've found the execution of the dishes uninspired at the Woodland Hills restaurant and have been rushed through dinner at the Kauai one.

Fortunately, the original Roy's, in southeast Oahu, maintains the attention to detail and pride of originality that gained this chef so much renown when he first opened it in 1988. The dining room is on the second floor of a huge building in a shopping center, and the broad, open kitchen imparts the energy of the cooking staff to the room.

The high quality of Hawaii's fish and produce contribute mightily to the dishes produced here -- tender, moist, flaky opakapaka fish, for example, with Roy's signature jade-pesto steam preparation.

We resolved that we might just order off the appetizer menu next time, however, because that's where we found the most interesting items. One was a dim sum canoe for two, with crab cakes, tempura ahi, pork ribs, chicken spring rolls and chilled shrimp. But our favorite was the heavenly Sunrise at Haleakala, a tempura roll stuffed with tuna, salmon, asparagus, avocado, rice and seaweed, prepared with an inside-out rolling technique and finished with a crispy exterior.

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(color) MAHI-MAHI ENCRUSTED WITH MACADAMIA NUTS