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While dining at 100 Sails Restaurant at the Prince Waikiki, you may wonder where the fish and produce comes from. You’ll be surprised to learn it’s grown in their urban farm right on the hotel’s roof. HI Now host Kanoe Gibson is getting a tour of the aquaponics farm on the hotel’s roof!

Aquaponics is aquaculture and farming put together. The hotel raises swai and tilapia in 600 gallon tanks, and the water from the tanks is then pumped into the plant beds. The plants use the nitrates produced by the fish as nutrients, allowing them to grow twice as fast. After the plants absorb the nutrients, it filters the water and is recirculated back to the tanks creating a sustainable system. No pesticides or fertilizers are used, and the process uses 90 percent less water than traditional farming. Its fish have no growth hormones, no mercury and no antibiotics.

The swai, cilantro and green onions from the aquaponics garden are prepared and served during the Hawaiian buffet every Saturday at 100 Sails, a restaurant at Prince Waikiki. The basil from the garden is also used for making pestos or oils. The edible flowers and mint are used for garnishing many of the restaurant’s dishes.

A garden to grow herbs and produce to utilize in the restaurant’s kitchen had always been a dream, and eventually the engineering team partnered with the kitchen to create and maintain the garden there today. The aquaponics system is ideal because of the restaurant’s location in Waikiki, where there’s limited ground space in an urban area. The unused roof top space was the perfect place for the garden.

Recipe: Chinatown Style Steamed Swai

Swai fillet 12oz.

Cilantro 3oz. chopped

Green onion 2oz. sliced

Ginger 2oz. (julienne)

Lup cheong (1 piece sliced)

Shoyu ¼ cup

Sesame oil ¼ cup

Method:

1) Layer ginger and lup cheong on top of swai fillet, then steam for 5-8 minutes.

2) Pour shoyu over steamed swai and top with cilantro and green onions.

3) Heat up sesame oil until it is smoking and carefully ladle hot oil over fish.

For more information: PrinceWaikiki.com, 100Sails.com