Imagine dining as the sunset paints the sky all gold and orange above the magnificent angles of the dark and mysterious mountains, turning the ocean almost purple in Hanalei Bay. Sip a cocktail while the cool evening breeze, fragrant with tropical flowers, touches your skin like silk. At the Bali Hai Restaurant, you can find the Kauai of your imagination, the dream of an island paradise that haunts you in the dead of winter.

The dining experience could not be more relaxing, the food brought at a leisurely pace by polite waiters and served at large, elegantly appointed tables, on china painted in colors of the sea. Open to the air on three sides, the dining room’s tall ceilings and two-tiered arrangement of tables make the room spacious and, even when full, remarkably quiet. Tables are angled and set to put each chair in the best position, while a wonderful salt water pool meanders through tropical gardens one level below, so that you can look out at the flowers and palm trees and listen to the sound of waterfalls. As we lingered over coffee to watch a sudden shower fill the air with shining drops, we felt more at peace than when we arrived.

For years, and through many changes in management, Bali Hai has struggled to find a cuisine to equal its view. In its newest incarnation, the restaurant seems to have found the right niche with an imaginative, yet practical, Pacific Rim cuisine. For example, fresh fish entreés ($27-$31) come in five styles: “Ha‘ena Hanapa‘a” (with crab, cheese and portobello mushroom), “Rock Jumping Fisherman” (Thai style, with coconut sauce), “Pele Goddess of Fire” (blackened), “Bali Hai Sunset” (sautéed with papaya ginger glaze), or “Tropical Breeze” (grilled with fruit salsa).

We still prefer the fresh fish plainly grilled, though we enjoy having these sauces served on the side for a quick dip. Most entreés are expensive, like the tasty lamb chops ($30), and are accompanied only by vegetable and ‘starch of the day.’ Appetizers drive up the dinner price, though they are appealing, like blackened seared ahi with cabbage and wasabi cream, or superb crab cakes ($13) with curry corn sauce. Prix fixed menus ($55) are also available.

Bali Hai has a wonderfully romantic ambiance and unmatched view. Before dinner, listen to some of Kauai’s favorite musicians who play nightly at Happy Talk Lounge next door (see p. 106), or enjoy a pleasant evening stroll. Head towards the cliff along the sidewalk between the tennis courts. From path’s end, you can look down at Hanalei Bay, sparkling with beads of light and turning deep purple as the sun descends. A sailboat cuts silently across the water, the sails filling with the breezes which brush your face and fill your head with the fragrance of evening flowers. The dark craggy edges of the cliffs blend into soft purples and deep blues as the gold and orange sun sinks slowly towards the water, shining more brightly with each second, until flattened into a disk that shrinks to nothing before your eyes. A golden glow remains, burnishing the clouds, polishing the water, then fades to darkening dusk.

Princeville, Hanalei Bay Resort. Reservations: 826-6522. Credit cards. Breakfast 7 am -11 am; Lunch 11:30 am - 2 pm; Dinner 5:30 -9:30 pm. Children’s menu. Enter Princeville at the main gate, take the third left onto Liholiho Rd., then turn right onto Hono‘iki Rd. Map 2.

For more restaurant reviews, consult your Kauai Underground Guide.