Restaurant:
Café Hiro
10509 Valley View St.
Cypress, CA 90630
Hello and Welcome to another edition of Restaurant Reviews!
Today, we’re taking a look at a small local restaurant in the city of Cypress that’s combining Japanese and European flavors to create one of the most unique fusion cuisines you’ve probably never heard of.
ABOUT THE RESTAURANT
Café Hiro is a small Asian fusion restaurant located in Cypress, CA that specializes in combining popular Japanese dishes with French and Italian cuisine. Their menu mainly consists of curries, risottos, pastas, and traditional Japanese entrees with some added European flair.
The restaurant itself is relatively small and cozy and can seat approximately 35-40 people. There’s a colorful artsy feel to the interior design of the restaurant with a variety of art pieces and designs on the walls that exude a whimsical and charming ambience.
Although Café Hiro is probably lesser known than some of the more popular restaurants in the area, many people seem to visit this location with over 900 reviews on Yelp. They serve food you can’t really find anywhere else and I think this is what attracts so many people to this unique establishment.
APPETIZERS
1. Green Pea Soup and House Salad
Description:
Sweet Green Pea Soup and House Salad with a Yuzu Ginger Dressing.
Review:
Now, these aren’t actual separate menu items and come as part of the entrée meals but I wanted to briefly mention them because of how tasty these actually are.
The salad is relatively standard, but comes with a pleasant light and citrusy dressing that is similar to that of the carrot ginger dressing often served in Japanese bento boxes. It works as a nice little starter to get your taste buds ready as you prepare for the main course.
The soup they serve is pretty phenomenal and I believe is good enough to be listed as a separate appetizer on the menu. The green pea soup was silky smooth and had a subtle sweet taste from the sweet green peas that was both warm and comforting. Their soups change seasonally and I’ve tried some of their other ones like sweet corn and carrot and they’ve all been really exceptional. I think it’s great that they include this with most of their entrees as they’re both simple, but tasty starters.
Result:
Simple, but great and they come free with most entrees. 8.5/10.
2. Scallop Carpaccio ($10)
Description:
Raw Scallop with oba daikon, yuzu curry oil, and shiso leaf.
Review:
This dish seems to be one of their most popular appetizers and is one of the items on their ‘specials’ board that isn’t part of their menu. I was pleasantly surprised to see that each of the carpaccio bites were served with thick slices of raw scallops that really exemplified that soft and creamy texture that scallops naturally have. The topped slices of daikon and shisho leaf complimented the dish nicely adding a pleasant crunch and herby aroma to the soft scallops.
The yuzu curry oil was the main flavor component to this dish and actually caught me a bit off guard. I had never tasted a flavor combination as unique as this but they surprisingly worked amazingly well together. There was a slight sweetness from the yuzu and the perfect amount of savory spice from the curry that added a unique depth of flavor that didn't overwhelm the natural taste of the scallops.
Result:
Strange at first but amazing after you get accustomed to the flavors. 9/10.
ENTREES
1. Sea Urchin “Uni” Pasta ($20)
Description:
Spaghetti Noodles with an “Uni” Cream Sauce topped with real wasabi and nori (dried seeweed).
Review:
The Uni Pasta here is one of their most popular dishes and is even sometimes referred to as the 'King of Uni Pastas'. They seem to take a simpler approach compared to other uni pastas I’ve tried, but there’s one thing that really separates this dish apart from those of other restaurants and that’s that ‘heavy/overly rich’ factor. To explain what I mean, other uni pastas I’ve tried use a heavy, cream based sauce that’s rich in flavor but gets overbearingly so after a few bites.
Café Hiro’s, however, is lighter in taste, but still doesn’t lose any of that hearty uni cream flavor (which appeals to my personal palette a bit more). The added real wasabi is another huge bonus that adds a delicate sweet kick that just cannot be replicated by the artificial horseradish ‘wasabi’ used in most other restaurants.
Result:
Perfectly balanced in flavors and may very well be one of the best Uni Pastas. 9.5/10.
2. “Hamburg” Steak ($20)
Description:
“Hamburger” Steak made with Ground Beef and Sauteed Onions in a Demi-Glace Sauce served with Scalloped Potatoes and Steamed Seasonal Vegetables.
Review:
This is another one of their signature dishes and although “Hamburg” steaks originated from German cuisine, it’s become an extremely popular Japanese dish today. Café Hiro serves their “Hamburg” steak in 3 different ways: with Curry, Ponzu Sauce, or Demi-Glace Sauce (which is the one we opted to order).
The “Hamburg” Steak was thick with a perfect crust on the outside. The inside was extremely tender and juicy and there was a slight sweetness from the sautéed onions mixed in with the ground beef. The demi-glace (which is a French-style sauce similar to that of a reduced beef stock), was light and savory and added an almost buttery texture to the juicy steak.
I also loved the fact that the sides were also phenomenal in taste. The scalloped potatoes were hearty and creamy and reminded me of something like cheesy potatoes.
I’m normally not a big fan of steamed vegetables because of their soft and mushy texture, but even those were great. They only slightly steam the vegetables to retain that snap and fresh crunch of the vegetables and also add a bit of a yuzu ginger type sauce to add an extra dimension of flavor to the otherwise ‘normal’ veggies. Overall, this dish is very well-rounded and is executed nicely.
Result:
Very solid all around and I appreciate that they also focused on the flavors of the sides and not just the main steak. 9/10.
DESSERT
1. Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding w/Bitter Caramel Sauce ($6)
Description:
Dark Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding topped with powdered sugar and a bittersweet Caramel Sauce
Review:
Bread pudding is one of my new favorite desserts and from past experiences, they tend to be either really good, or a disaster depending on the execution. Fortunately, Café Hiro’s bread pudding didn’t fall into the latter category and was actually very delicious.
Because they used croissant bread (which is already pretty airy and fluffy) the texture of the bread pudding was a lot softer than most other bread puddings I’ve tried. The texture was almost custard-y or gelatin like and at first was hard to get used to, but the more I ate, the more I grew accustomed to it. There were chunks of dark chocolate on top of the pastry and it contributed a much stronger medium-sweet chocolate taste than I was expecting. However, it worked perfectly with the bitter caramel sauce as it mellowed out the punchy chocolate flavor of the bread pudding.
I’m fond of desserts that aren't overwhelmingly sweet and this bread pudding, I feel, had the perfect balance of sweetness, flavor, and texture that I usually look for in desserts.
Result:
Delicious with just the right amount of sweetness. 9/10.
OVERALL RATING
Café Hiro is a true fusion restaurant with flavors and cuisine that’s rare to find. They serve unique and high-class foods worthy to be served in more expensive restaurants but in a more charming and local setting. A lot of their dishes, like the Kurobuta Pork Cutlet and Risottos that I haven’t mentioned in the above list, are also absolutely phenomenal and I wouldn’t really hesitate in trying any of their menu items.
I always get excited when I’m able to discover a restaurant that’s so distinctively different from anything I’ve ever tried. It’s one of the main joys I get when trying new places and I hope I can continue to find more exotic places to share here. Although my current reach is solely restricted to Southern California, I hope, one day, to extend that reach and try new places around the world that I can document and share with everyone on Steemit. Until next time!
Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Value: 8/10
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