Hiro’s: Yummy Specials! (February Edition)

Since we’ve been trekking down to Kendall almost every Monday for skating, we’ve also been frequenting Hiro’s Yakko-San every evening also. So I’ve just decided to update a monthly post with the new specials that we try. ^_^ Mmm…now onto the yummy goodness!


Seafood Kushi Katsu: Chilean Sea Bass, Scallops, and Shrimp.

What I imagined this dish to be and what it actually was were on completely opposite sides of the spectrum. I was thinking this was going to be some delicious amalgamation of sea bass, scallops, and shrimp mixed together into a patty shaped croquette. However, it was just each item separately breaded and lightly fried. I was sort of disappointed, but the dish was decent. The different types of katsu were good (nothing spectacular) and the accompanying horseradish sauce was nothing short of amazing. I typically hate horseradish sauces, but this was light in flavor without the lingering sour aftertaste that usually accompanies horseradish. However for the price we paid, I think we’ll pass on this dish the next time around.


Salmon Kama Miso Yaki: Grilled Salmon cheek, marinated with miso sauce.

The salmon was perfectly cooked and considering the cut was the collar, the meat was extremely tasty. The flesh was buttery, moist, flavorful, and even seemed to melt in your mouth. Wow, is all I have to say.


Okonomiyaki: basically a Japanese “pizza” made with cabbage and batter, topped with okonomiyaki sauce and special mayonnaise.

This item isn’t on the specials menu or their regular menu. However, if you ask really nicely and the kitchen isn’t busy, they will make this traditional Japanese dish for you. There’s a special batter and the base is made with cabbage traditionally, what they add after that is up to how they feel. ^_^ As I said it’s a “Japanese pizza.” When I make it at home, I usually add scallops and shrimp to my batter. It’s not bad and you should definitely try out the dish if you have ever wanted to see what all the commotion over it is about.


Kimchee Hotpot: shredded daikon radish, tofu, pork, sesame oil, ponzu.

This dish is always on the menu, this is just the first time I’ve tried it out. The hotpot is a single serving ceramic bowl filled with semi-spicy goodness. There’s enough to eat to satisfy one person or to share with a few people, if everyone just wants a small bowl of soup to taste. To be honest the kimchee isn’t as spicy as I expected it to be, but it definitely has a slight kick. I was cold that day, so it was a great way to warm up. ^_^ Would I order it again, maybe, but probably only if it was cold day out.


Batan Ebi Heads Kara-Age: Simple crispy fried shrimp’s heads.

This isn’t your average dish and definitely caters to a more sophisticated palette than usual (only because your average person would cringe in fear). But those who brave enough to try this dish will probably find themselves pleasantly surprised. Most Asians eat shrimps with their head still on and depending on how it’s cooked, sucked the oishii goodness out of their heads rather than eat them whole. The “head meat” is rich in flavor and has a creamy texture, definitely one of my favorite parts of the shrimp. Since it’s fried you can just pop these right into your mouth and eat it all! The shell is crisp and light enough to be easily chowed down upon.


Kabocha croquettes: Japanese sweet pumpkin with beef

Sadly this dish was one of the few that we’ve had at Hiro’s that was not to our liking. The pumpkin croquette was overwhelmingly pumpkin in taste and had very little beef within. We were hoping for a bit less pumpkin and a bit more beef to add a bit more complex flavor.


Black pork belly grilled

As described above, but definitely was left wishing for more pork on the dish. =) Was pretty yummy as an appetizer to share with everyone.


So those are my experiences this month with Hiro’s. ^_^ Hope you enjoy hearing about them!

Hiro’s Yakko-San
17040 W. Dixie Hwy.
North Miami Beach, FL 33160
(305) 947-0064

Hiro Yakko San's (redux) - North Miami Beach

For the past few weeks, we have been making roller skating excursions down to Kendall. The boys love to roller skate and I like to pretend I can jam skate as they practice their moves and routines. I’m more of a figure skater and at home on the ice, but jam skating is slowly growing on me.


On the long car drive home, I have been pushing the idea of stopping by Hiro Yakko-san’s for dinner since it is open late (2am on weekdays and 3am on the weekends). This was only after I learned how far we actually drove to get skating. I was previously under the assumption we were west of Dania and not deep into Homestead. We usually get out of skating around 10:30pm and it’s roughly a little after 11:00pm by the time we make it to the restaurant.


So this post is going to be an amalgamation of the past two visits to this establishment and only of the dishes that I have not yet reviewed. First up is the zaru-soba! Basically this is a cold buck wheat noodle dish served with a dipping sauce on the side. You are given scallions and wasabi to add to the sauce until it suits your tastes. For me, that meant I was only adding scallions as I dislike the taste of wasabi. However, I found the flavor profile of the soba to be quite bland without the wasabi added. No, I didn’t add the wasabi to find out if I liked it more that way. Sorry guys, I’m just not the wasabi type of girl.

Takoyaki is a quintessential Japanese snack food from Osaka, Japan. Fried balls of molten cheesy goodness that surrounds a “tako” (octopus) center. It’s frequently topped with bonito flakes, a special mayonnaise, and a takoyaki sauce. I have tried really hard to fall in love with this dish, but I just can not. I’ve eaten it several times at Yakko-san’s, once at another Japanese izakaya in South Florida, and twice in California to no avail. I just don’t think takoyaki is my thing. To Yakko-san’s credit, they are the best takoyaki I have ever eaten, but it doesn’t mean they are on my list of favorite things to eat.

On the other hand, I simply adore their onigiris (riceballs). It’s a simple dish, like most of the food they serve, executed perfectly. My favorite onigiri to order is the mentaiko (spicy cod fish roe) onigiri. I love the combination of spicy and slightly salty to complement the sushi rice. Even the rice has an ever so perceptible flavor which I can’t pinpoint, but it is definitely not bland.

I love mackerel, so when I saw mackerel as one of the specials of the day, I immediately ordered a portion. “Aji Himono” was described on the menu as being half dried Japanese Mackerel grilled and lightly salted. It was served with a small side of grated daikon and a slice of lemon. The fish was cooked perfectly and the bones were crisp enough to eat. The dish truly came together when you squeezed the lemon over the fish and ate each piece with a bit of daikon. The accompaniments added the perfect accent to the slight smokiness of the mackerel.

The boys have taken to ordering the yakiniku beef. They love it so much they have dubbed it “crack beef” for its addictive taste. I don’t blame them, the beef is always cooked perfectly (medium) and is always tender. The sauce itself is very addictive and goes great over rice! My boyfriend always pours the remnants of the sauce into his rice bowl. XD

The boys love their curry and it’s inevitable that a curry dish is going to be ordered (if not several). Curry Chicken Katsu is a breaded chicken cutlet served on top of a bed of rice with a side of curry. Chicken is a proteins which dried out very quickly if cooked incorrectly. As such, I usually avoid ordering chicken when I go out to eat. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cutlet was tender and moist! The curry served on the side is the ubiquitous Japanese curry served in this establishment. Not to say it isn’t good, it’s delicious. But if you are ordering a curry dish, the curry is going to remain the same while the protein may change.

The boys’ love of curry knows no boundaries, so yet another curry dish was ordered. The beef curry was reminiscent of curry chicken katsu, except beef was substituted for the chicken cutlet. The beef seems to have been slow cooked with in the curry and fell apart/melted in your mouth. I definitely prefer this dish over the chicken katsu, despite my predilection for fried foods. =)

I’m sure there will be many more excursions to Yakko-san’s. I just can’t get enough of the Japanese tapas and their ever rotating and seasonal specials. It helps a lot that their prices are also quite affordable, though with the amount of food I order (our eyes are bigger than our stomachs usually) we usually leave with quite a sizeable check. It’s an average of $25 per person when we visit, so not horrible for an evening out and the superb quality of the food prepared.

Hiro's Yakko-San
(305) 947-0064
17040 W Dixie Hwy
North Miami Beach, FL 33160

Hiro's Yakko-San on Urbanspoon

Hiro's Yakko-san (North Miami Beach)

Tonight I went to Hiro's Yakko-san in the North Miami area. It's always a joy to eat there as my boyfriend and I find that no matter what we order, everything comes out superbly cooked. We always try a new dish when we go, but tonight we went all out and ordered a bunch of plates that we had never tried before. As usual Yakko-san's did not fail to amaze our palates!

I was so engrossed in the feast before me that I forgot to take pictures. XD Gomen nasai! Well my boyfriend picked up the camera at one point, but the ensuing shots weren't the best. I took one picture, but as I clicked the shutter my boyfriend grabbed a shrimp to eat. Next time I promise I'll have better images for you guys to ogle. Anyways, on to the review!

Crispy Bok Choy: The Boy Choy by itself is rather unremarkable and honestly a bit oily for my tastes. However when paired with the sauce it is served with, the dish transforms completely. The combination of flavors and textures blew my mind. I believe the sauce was a light soy sauce with garlic and a hint of onion. It provided the perfect flavor profile to accompany the bok choy. The crispness of the leaves of bok choy, the accompanying sauce, as well as the slight bitterness of the stalk joined harmoniously together.

Curried fried rice: Mmm, their curried fried rice is always spot on. This was the one of the few dishes that we repeated from previous visits because we love it so much! It has both a good curry flavor and just the right amount of heat which keeps you coming back for more.

Simply Grilled Shio Shrimp: That's not the exact name of the dish, but I honestly don't remember the name of the shrimp. I saw the dish being taken out to another table and due to its brilliant orange color and size of the shrimps, I knew I had to order it! The server informed me that it was one of the specials of the day and that the shrimp were flown in from Australia. The portion given was quite generous, three large shrimps - each of them grilled to perfection. What caught me off guard was that even though they were only seasoned very lightly with shio (a Japanese salt) the flavor of the shrimp itself was very strong (in a good way). They were plump, juicy, and extremely flavorful. This dish truly was the epitome of great shrimp, simply yet masterfully executed.



Sea Bass Miso: Honestly, you just can't go wrong with sea bass. The fish was light, well cooked, and perfectly seasoned. The miso marinade added the perfect final touch to the flavor profile. Even though the portion seemed a bit small for the price we paid, I want to say that Chilean sea bass is just always expensive.

Chicken Live Itame: I loved the small "salad" of beansprouts and chives atop the pieces of chicken liver. I daresay that I loved the salad a bit more than the chicken livers themselves. It was light, crisp, refreshing, and lightly sauced/marinated. The chicken livers themselves were cooked well, however I find myself without much else to say about them.

Ginger Pork: Probably the least satisfying dish of the evening for myself personally. My friend ordered this and I'm just not a huge ginger fan. Mind you, I love ginger as a side kick in my foods, but not as the main flavor profile. From a completely objective point of view, the sauce provided a strong taste of ginger without being overwhelming (however, I just don't like ginger...so the dish still wasn't going to be a hit with me). The pork was a tad dry (when I say a tad, I'm just being nit picky. The dish was not dry by any means!), but still cooked very well.

Volcano: Our traditional ending to a meal at Yakko-san's! Sure it's definitely something I could make at home since it's just ice cream scoops stacked between butterfly cookies from the Asian market, but I honestly don't know how to make their wonderful red bean sauce/reduction. It's their red bean/"volcano" sauce which is poured over the dessert which makes it a stand out from a normal sundae. I'd seriously put this sauce over pancakes, waffles, cakes, and just about anything else I could get my hands on if I knew how to make it.

The entire meal was quite affordable at a little less than $25 dollars for three very stuffed and happy patrons. We even had leftovers to take home and enjoy the next day! I love Hiro's Yakko-san and it's always a treat to visit the establishment.

Hiro's Yakko-san
17040 W Dixie Hwy
North Miami Beach, FL 33160
(305) 947-0064


Edit Note: I've updated this post with pictures I've taken on subsequent visits.