Thursday, May 27, 2021 • ThE BuLLETIN
GO! MAGAZINE • PAGE 13
FOOD
TRUCKS
& CARTS
p.14
bendbulletin.com/goeat
Continued from previous page
They chose the name Rapa Nui, the na-
tive name for Easter Island off the coast of
Chile. To honor the people of Easter Island,
they are donating all proceeds from mug
sales to the Easter Island Foundation. The
charity provides scholarships for islanders
and builds libraries to keep their history
alive.
Servers wearing Hawaiian shirts have that
friendly island vibe. It’s noisy as it is filled
with lively young people out for a fun night.
The menus are contactless, which means
you point your phone’s camera at a QR code
on the table to see the offerings on Rapa
Nui’s website.
Soriano explained that they are staying
true to the original Tiki drinks. The Mai Tai
is the original Trader Vic’s recipe from the
1930s. Every day they spend hours squeez-
ing citrus and other juices for the drinks.
Even the orgeat (almond syrup) is made
from scratch. This care of ingredients and
time spent on the beverages is why, like
other Tiki bars before it, the drinks run
around $15. The price also reflects more
than a shot of alcohol in each drink. There
are 2 1/2 ounces of rum in the Painkiller. The
enormous Scorpion Bowl ($45) comes in a
“smoking” giant shell and is meant for four
or more people.
Other exotic drinks include the Sidewind-
er’s Fang that has two types of rum and the
Fog Cutter with dry gin, orange, orgeat, light
rum, and more. I had the Macadamia Nut
Chi-Chi with vodka, pineapple, frothy coco-
nut cream and nutty sweetness from maca-
damia nut liqueur.
A drink like that could be easily watered
down, but care is taken to use special ice that
doesn’t quickly melt. It was easy to drink
and tasted like a dessert. Best of all, it was
cool and helped balance some of the spici-
nesses in the food.
The menu is Pacific- and Caribbean-in-
fluenced. Chef Rud spent time in Asia and
fell in love with the food. Rapa Nui was his
chance to have fun with the recipes and
flavors he had discovered. We tried a sam-
pling of several items, and as one friend said,
“They are all equally delicious.” No one dish
stood out as being better.
We started with the fried chicken in a
house-made Bao bun with a hint of sweet-
ness. Most Bao buns have the filling inside,
but these followed the trend of folding the
bao bun like a taco. The “KFC sauce” (Ko-
rean fried chicken) gave it a unique deli-
ciousness. It starts with a pinch of gochu-
jang red chili paste for a bit of zing. Tamari,
lemon juice, lemongrass and fish sauce are
Seared Tuna Poke with Kalbi instead of soy marinade.
among the 17 sweet and salty secret ingre-
dients that complement the savory fried
chicken. The acid of the house-pickled cu-
cumbers with seasoned rice vinegar and
nutty tones of sesame add dimension.
Next came the red curry duck bits. Large
chunks of duck confit were mixed with a
bok choy salad in a miso vinaigrette and
served over coconut rice. The house-made
curry, miso dressing and coconut were sub-
tle flavors, allowing the duck’s distinct meat-
iness to hold its own. Duck skin is crispy
fried and crumbled on top to add texture.
The Seared Tuna Poke was served strewn
on a black plate with small chunks of avo-
cado, pickled onion and cucumbers. Rather
than traditional tuna poke flavor, it had
been marinated in kalbi — used in Korean
barbecue short ribs. This gave it more com-
plexity than a soy sauce marinade. We used
the large, light, crunchy wonton chips to
Rapa Nui Tiki Bar
360 SW Powerhouse Road
Above Saxon’s Jewelers in the Old Mill
541-668-6611
rapanuitiki.com
Reservations or walk-in welcome.
scoop up the tuna, vegetables and Sriracha
mayo dip that had a hint of spiciness. This
dish had it all — from the smooth, creamy
mayo to light crunchy wontons to a spicy
kick to the fresh coolness of avocado and
cucumber. I may have had more than my
share.
For a vegan option, there is the fried tofu
bowl with bok choy and peanuts. The tofu
had crunchy edges but was creamy and silky,
picking up the rich, smooth tamari sauce
flavor. It’s served on coconut rice. Even the
meat eaters at the table loved this rice bowl.
While all of the other dishes we ordered
were Pacific Rim-influenced, the Jerk
Chicken originates in Jamaica. Jerk mari-
nade is an odd mixture that tastes more like
fruit than its ingredients (none of which are
fruit). While jerk chicken can be overpow-
ering, this marinade was subtle and comple-
mented by pineapple and mango salsa. It’s
also served with coconut-flavored rice.
There are many ways to enjoy Rapa Nui
Tiki Bar. Eating in the bar while watching
episodes of “Gilligan’s Island,” at a table un-
der thatched “roofs,” on the balcony that
seats 40 or as takeout and delivery (which
includes drinks, until the COVID-19 rules
change). Taking an Uber to the bar may be
a good idea to get the complete let-loose ex-
perience.
e e
Reporter: barb@barbgonzalezphotography.com