La Carmina in Hula-Land! I love how my Nanette Lepore dress flows; she’s an incredible designer.

Red Malibu silk dress: gifted by Nanette Lepore. Get the same one here, or try the strapless version.
Wedge sandals: Kenneth Cole (available here.)
Black cat on my purse: by BlaBlaHospital, stolen from Seby

For the last two days of the Maui press trip, I stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea. I had a large one-bedroom suite to myself, with a balcony overlooking the pools and gardens.

My filmmaker Melissa and I felt like we’d tripped into Kubla Khan’s Xanadu.

The Fairmont Kea Lani has several swimming pools (including adult-only), private beach access, and a koi fish pond that my cat would love.

I turned the flowers around me into a hair fascinator. My skull-tastic bracelet, gifted by Good Art, matches my nail art.

We filmed at the new open-air restaurant Ko.

I adored Chef Tylun Pang. His menu is lovingly inspired by plantation cuisine (a harmony of influences from the workers’ home countries of Japan, China, Philippines and Korea). As he put it, “The folks in my kitchen are cooking their grandparents’ recipes.”

Ingredients are sourced locally, from relationships of trust. We said “cheers” on camera and tried his ahi tuna on a stick, grilled on hot stone. Phenomenal.

Everything we tried was clean, simple, fresh. I ended up drinking three pomegranate cucumber mojitos (right).

Examples of his Asia-Hawaii dishes: shrimp and soba, poke (raw fish salad), calamari.

The macrobiotic bento box was perfectly balanced. Ko’s menu has entire categories for raw, vegan, gluten-free, and heart-healthy.

Eating sushi with Chef Pang, overlooking the pool… one of the most heartfelt dining experiences in my life. I interviewed him for my travel video, so you’ll see more of our interactions soon.

What’s the most memorable meal you’ve had recently, and why? What would you most like to eat from Ko’s menu?