After a nine month hiatus, The Food Connection is back!
If you are from North Jersey, then you are very familiar with Lee’s Hawaiian Islander. Previously located in Clifton, it is now on the corner of Stuyvesant Avenue in Lyndhurst. I had actually only vaguely heard of Lee’s. My stepmother chose this restaurant for her belated birthday dinner. I have to be honest, when I turned the corner to the place, I thought “oh this is where she wanted to go?” The outside is very misleading.
When you walk in, it’s such a fun atmosphere with an island feel. Perfect spot for a date night.
They have a very elaborate menu but sadly I have been on a strict diet and need to stay on it until August 18 so there really wasn’t much enjoyment food wise for me but my family loved it!
They started out with the Pu Pu Platter which was a hor-d’oeuvres combination of shrimp toast, Hawaii beef, fantail shrimp (fried), BBQ spareribs, mini egg rolls, BBQ chicken wings. I thought the fire in the middle was really cool. If anything on the platter got cold, the food could be placed over the fire to warm it up. I was able to try the BBQ chicken wings. They were very tasty but I didn’t really taste any BBQ. They had a nice crisp though which tells me I really shouldn’t have eaten the two I ate. The family loved it and devoured almost the whole thing with the exception of a piece of Hawaii beef and a few other things.
For dinner, my stepmother ordered the Mongolian beef platter. This was huge! She has dinner for another night. It had two round pieces of filet mignoin and was served with a rum sauce over a bed of Chinese vegetables and pineapple. The first thing she said when she cut into it was how extremely tender the filet was prepared. When I looked over it as she cut it, it had a nice medium pink in the middle. It really looked good. She loved everything about the platter.
It also came with a large serving of white rice
My brother Jason ordered boneless Cantonese chicken and chicken fried rice. The chicken was deep fried in a “moderately seasoned batter” served over Chinese vegetables. He couldn’t even finish it. His portion was large as well. He is not big on this type of cuisine but he enjoyed it.
My other brother, Anthony, kept it basic like he always does. He is the plain Jane of the clan. He ordered chicken lo mein and said it was very good.
As I stated above, dietary restrictions are in place until August 18. I ordered steamed chicken and broccoli. Lee’s did not have brown rice which was disappointing, but I had a few little spoons of the white rice. The mustard they put on the table was super HOT. My eyes watered and I felt it all around my head in my sinus cavities. I naively thought the hot level would be like the hot mustard packs you get at the Chinese restaurant. OOPS! I ate the whole plate because well it was steamed chicken and broccoli.
I highly recommend this place. It has good energy, something for everyone on the menu and a fun atmosphere. I am not going to put the total because we paid for my stepmom and I don’t want her to see it. It’s somewhat pricey but worth it! Go try Lee’s and have a fancy shmancy cocktail with your dinner!
Lee’s Hawaiian Islander
768 Stuyvesant Ave
Lyndhurst, NJ
Lee’s does not have a website
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