Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas

Last week, my cousin Dan and his wife Nancy enjoyed a vacation here in Hawaii. They've both traveled all around the world and are very open to new food experiences, hooray! Well...Nancy is a micro biologist and won't eat ketchup in a restaurant (I'm also against it and you probably should be too!) or anything raw, like sushi. Those were our only restrictions :)

Bryce and I went with Dan and Nancy for dinner/appetizers at a great restaurant on Waikiki beach. We then did a double-dessert stop! First to Leonards for malasadas, then to Bubbies for mochi ice cream. Dan's holding the pumpkin, I have the chocolate espresso, and Nancy's got the chocolate peanut butter. YUM!

A few days later, once Darren (the other cousin who lives in Hawaii) arrived back on Oahu, we all went out for dinner at Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas. Dan and Nancy researched and chose the restaurant in advance and they did a great job! Hiroshi describes its food as Modern Asian Inspired Tapas and Innovative Cuisine. Sounds good to me!



First we were given these rice crackers. They don't look like much and you expect that they're just given to hold over your appetite until dinner but they're crunchy, light, and ADDICTING. The dipping sauce, which they brilliantly give you many of, has a great kick and compliments the salty crackers well. I ate them throughout the whole night and would have loved to take some home.

We ordered several appetizers to share:

Panko-Crusted Ahi 

nori-wrapped with braised celery, konbu,shiso & kim chee lemon grass sauce

So fresh and delicious! The panko crust was perfectly crunchy to compliment the tender, fresh ahi. Yes, this is raw tuna, by the way! The sauce was just the right amount to liven up the other flavors. Yum.

Big Island Baby Abalone "Casino"
tosaka salad with roasted garlic aioli, shiso, tobiko, parmesan cheese & white truffle oil


This appetizer was my suggestion because a) abalone caught my interest when I saw it during my first visit to the Farmer's Market and b) 3-words - white truffle oil. Turns out they were not my favorite! They were very fishy tasting and you had to eat the whole thing in one bite, making it overwhelming. The texture was quite tough, too. I'm glad I tried them but won't jump at the next chance to do so.

Portugese Sausage Potstickers
wilted choi sum, sweet corn, kim chee foam, and truffled poznu sauce 


Portugese sausage isn't one of my favorites but this was great! The kim chee foam was incredible and like nothing I've ever eaten before. Pretty much anything is delicious when blanketed in a won ton wrapper, right?

Seared Sea Scallops
bacon-tomato takana ragout with kabayaki butter sauce and tobiko


Delicious and so tender, these melted in my mouth!

Then we each ordered an entree:

Bryce had the Vintage Natural Beef New York Steak
with seasonal vegetables, potato au gratin and teriyaki butter sauce

Darren and Dan both got this, the Ginger-Scallion Crusted Mahi Mahi
seasonal vegetables, angel hair potato and Hiroshi's original miso cream sauce

I got the Panko Crusted Broadbill Swordfish
roasted shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, fresh thyme, Thai basil, and roasted garlic soy butter sauce


Incredible! Even the vegetables were fantastic. The swordfish was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Those little rice rolls were fragrant and delicious. I managed to save part of this for lunch the next day to prolong the experience for one more day. Does anyone else do that?

Nancy had the Sous Vide Snapper
cauliflower puree, wilted tatsoi, ume shiso vinaigrette, crispy bacon, and fresh shiso

We were all very happy with our dinner choices and managed to save room for dessert! As our (mine and Darren's) Pap/Dan's Uncle Sam would say, we have to eat extra for our brother in jail!

Dessert is always my favorite part.

Bryce and I strayed from our committed relationship with chocolate desserts to try the unique Macadamia Nut "POG" Cheese Cake
liliko`i orange coulis, dulce de leche ice cream, and guava foam


This was heavenly! POG is passion-orange-guava juice which is very popular here in Hawaii and was where the pog game originally came from. All of the light, fruity flavors and varying textures {smooth and cool ice cream, light and fluffy foam, and thick and rich cheesecake} made this a dessert I won't soon forget.

Darren ordered the Island Banana Mousse Cake
banana and caramel sauce, chocolate lollipop truffle, and dulce de leche ice cream

Dan and Nancy shared the Lemon Cake
strawberry auki bean ice cream and fresh whipped cream

What a fantastic dinner with family! It's so nice to see family members when you live so far away from home (Darren and I in Hawaii, Dan in Washington - when we're all originally from Pittsburgh) and these mid-year meetings are the most fun.

Here we are - fat and happy after dinner! Bryce, Me, Dan, Nancy, Darren.

Darren and I are first cousins, our Moms are sisters. Dan is our cousin, too, although it's either second cousins or first cousins once removed?! Our Grandmothers, Marina and Evelyn, were sisters. Family is family, doesn't really matter to me!

Thank you, family, for another great meal and memory to cherish.