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Yakiniku HIroshi, a closer look
Aloha!
4/16/09 - Wanna know WHERE'S THE BEEF?
Ruth's Chris? DK's? Morton's? Wolfgang Zweiner's?
Hmmm... Maybe - Depends on how you look at it... We all know about giant slabs of tender, succulent, Flinstone's sized steak and the legendary dry-aging process at places like these, where cuts of beef are stored in a temperature-regulated box for between two to four weeks, in a process that concentrates flavors and tenderizes the flesh. If you fail to carry dry-aged, USDA Prime steak, all for consumption in an elegant, ritzy atmosphere with only the finest of amenities, forget about competing with the classy American Steak Houses mentioned above. I won't really get into it here, but for more about dry-aging and this particular mode of restaurant, check out the Upscale Steak Houses section in the main pages. For today, however, we'll instead veer-in with a rather different approach on the matter.
At Yakiniku Hiroshi's in Waikiki, you can find the giant slabs of steak American restaurants are known for. However... I don't think you really wanna go there, unless you're used to spending one or two hundred dollars for a single cut, sometimes more! Whaaa...?!!! And here you thought that Morton's and Ruth's Chris were expensive?
What gives? Yakiniku Hiroshi's doesn't have nowhere near the fine-dining ambience, and does, in fact, more closely resemble a new-wave izakaya in its atmosphere and general feel, with short pants and slipper's all A-ok! How is it that prices can be so much higher, you ask? Well, before I even answer that question, I must add that we'll soon find out how to get around spending that kind of money, so don't worry too much about it for now, you'll see...
Getting back to what gives, USDA Prime may be top dog on the totem pole of an American grading system, but the Japanese BMS (beef marbling score) is a completely different animal in itself. If USDA Prime steaks at typical fancy-schmancy American Steak House were compared on this particular scale, which grades meats according to the amount of marbling and runs from 1-12, they would actually only reach levels of between 5 and 6. True Kobe beef, on the other hand, which they serve here at Yakiniku Hiroshi's, normally reaches levels of 9 or 10! We're talking about the top 1 percent of cow anywhere in America, right here at this little-known spot in Waikiki! Now, I know that marbling is not the only measure of a good steak, but I don't think anyone can deny that it is, by far, the most important one, for sure.
And what is Kobe beef? Well, for a more in-depth story, check out the Yakiniku section of the main guide pages. For now, I'll suffice to mention that it's a specific strain of black-haired cow that genetically carries the most highly-marbled beef in the world, no if's, and's, or but's. And hallelujah, pure Kobe strains are becoming more and more plentiful these days, as they no longer arrive strictly from Kobe or other farms in Japan (it's currently illegal to bring in Japanese beef!), but also from licensed farms in Australia, England, and the Mainland US. And don't be fooled by all the terms floating around out there, some of which only bring more confusion - Kobe has been used in the past by suspicious vendors making all kinds of untrue claims, and farms themselves have been known to cheapen the Kobe name by inter-breeding with other strains and generally not raising their cows in the optimal environments and superior levels of care found in Japan, which borders on fanatical, lemme tell ya!
Furthermore, Wagyu is another term often causing a mushroom-cloud of confusion. Wagyu simply means Japanese beef - that's it! Does that mean it's of a Japanese strain of cow raised elsewhere? Or does it entail, despite the illegality of the situation, Japan-raised beef of any strain, as I, myself, have heard restaurants on our very own island who claim to have genuine, Japan-raised Wagyu. I guess we'll never know for sure, as they can't shut down every vendor or restaurant choosing to make outstanding claims, and you're not gonna follow the wholesaler's down to the airport to check out the manifests and receipts, either! At Yakiniku Hiroshi's, however, you can rest assured that his cuts are legal, and of a quality that can be respected from anywhere in the world, including smack-dab in the center of Kobe City, herself! Snake River Farms in Idaho is one institution definitely familiar with the fascinating lore surrounding Kobe beef, and its finest line of 100% Kobe cuts, designated as Gold and Platinum grades, are what Hiroshi-san serves here.
Yakiniku Hiroshi's is located about half-way between Kuhio and Kalakaua, on Royal Hawaiian Ave., in a small, two-story building right across the street from the massive Duty-Free Shopping Complex. Doesn't look like much from the outside, but step-right-up, and you'll see immediately that this ain't no ordinary restaurant.
As you can see, despite having steak of a better quality and higher cost than Morton's or Ruth's Chris, it ain't exactly a suit-and-tie kind-of-place. It is, however, of an attitude and design that works extremely well, and in totality, quite unlike any other restaurant I know, of any type, on the island. A kind of modern, urban, street-hip aura is dominant here, typical of the accessible, but very stylish scenes found across Japan today. With customer-driven graffiti all over the walls; sleek, shiny chrome artfully driven-in by heavy bolts; jet-black tables and ceilings; and clean, well-orchestrated lines, it richly resonates from a young, trendy perspective without being childish at all, not in the least bit. Waiters and waitresses dash in-and-about with black Yakiniku Hiroshi t-shirts and aprons, while up-beat, Japanese pop music solidifies the tone in perfect order, all serving to create an atmosphere perfect for a with-it type of crowd in general. Not that the clientele is always young, however - in fact, that's not the case at all, as the bulk of traffic here comes mostly from Japanese tourists of all generations.
Even the beer looks as cool as Chester the Cheetos cat, coming with frosty, iced mugs and as refreshingly cold as a dawn patrol dip at Ala Moana Bowl's this past and very unusually chilly winter.
Yakiniku being, sometimes arguably, of Korean origin, you'll often find kim chee served as side dishes, as well as other types of namul, a general term for a variety of Korean vegetable dishes. Here, a small bowl of kim chee was a complementary part of our meal, the crunchy hot-stuff being the perfect intro to whet the appetites.
As with fish, one of the really great ways to experience quality beef is - totally in the raw! Before you start grossing-out, just know that I don't care for yukkei, or Asian steak tartar, as it is called here in English, at any other place; but here, I somehow find it very good. Not that I can actually down very much of it, however, as wifey goes absolutely bonkers for this place's version of this dish!
It comes with the same, high-quality cuts that make all the difference in the world, and is lightly soaked in a sweet shoyu sauce, reminding me of the turf version of island poke. A single egg is placed on-top, with thin strips of apple or pear, sprouts, and a leafy lettuce alongside. If you love poke, I can almost guarantee you'll appreciate this dish.
But finally, let's get-on to what this place is really known for - yakiniku grilling! Each table comes with a mini-charcoal grill set into the center, where these prized meats, along with other such items like prawns, scallops, squid, and Blackline pork, are grilled to perfection by you, yourself! Strong fans serve to remove most of the smoke, and grills are lubricated with thick cuts of fat and usually changed at least once by attentive, amply-staffed waithelp. I like to meander a while and relax before ordering, soaking-in the waaay cool ambience and atmosphere, as your cuts of raw items often arrive, quite literally, within seconds.
The obvious choices here are the top three on the menu - US Kobe toro kalbi, US Kobe kalbi, and US Kobe bara ($16.50-$20 per order) - all are similiar versions of the same thing, which is to say, thin-sliced cuts of the fattiest, most delectable cuts of beef on the planet! Which, by the way, brings me to the whole getting-around-the-cost-thing I mentioned earlier: Now, listen-up when it comes to ordering Wagyu, Kobe, Matsuzaka, or any other extravagantly-expensive type of beef - you could order any of these as thick-cut, giant steaks of the same size as your own home bbq, but to me, it's completely unnecessary and even detrimental, both in cost and taste. The exorbitant amounts of fat found in these cuts melt into thin-air extremely fast, even on a room-temperature cutting board. The thicker the cut, the longer it stays on the grill (not to mention the more expensive it is!), translating into more of that precious marbling lost. Hey, doesn't that defeat the entire purpose?! In fact, I've even had it cubed, which still allows for faster cooking than a thick steak, but still, to me, a waste of time and money.
Thin cuts are the optimal way of taking advantage of these meats, as they stay on the grill for only a matter of seconds on each side, and retain more fat than any other way of cooking. Now, I know many people out there who are more New York than Rib or Spencer, and actually don't care for all that fat. If this is you, stay away from the top Kobe cuts and go with the several USDA Prime cuts - but then again, do so and you take away from the special-ness of this restaurant, as you'll find comparable stuff elsewhere, as well. And this ain't the tough, gritty, Chuck and 7-Bone fat, either. This is the butter-soft stuff, and is a whole 'nother brand altogether, actually coming much higher in unsaturated, or good fats than when coming from meats of an inferior, or rather, normal cow. Nevertheless, to each his own, and some of those I know seem to devour less-fattier steaks with all the appreciation and gusto I attribute to fattier steaks, although I can't imagine how that's possible! Such a steak snob, ain't I?
Check out this vision of beauty:
Actually, these weren't even on the regular menu. From time-to-time, Hiroshi-san brings in special cuts from other places, as well, in this case, New Zealand. Faced with the choice of any size, even up to the thick, $100-$200 slices spoken of earlier, I, of course, went with the thinnest!
As stated, they sizzled on the grill for only a few seconds on each side, just enough to bring-out and accentuate the flavors, although because of fumbling around with my camera, did hopelessly manage to over-cook this particular one!
I know I asked for it, but I guess there is such a thing as too-thin, even in regards to Kobe beef, as this one was as amazing and flavorful as ever, but I've found, just tonight, that I think a little thicker is better to preserve more of that fat inside and provide a little more substance. Our next order, which was the US Kobe choice at the top of the menu, provided that perfect level of thickness we've come to know and appreciate so much while dining here:
Isn't that amazing? In fact, it looks a little fattier than the special, more expensive New Zealand cuts! Like buttah, lemme tell ya. It's a taste I can only compare in richness, in quality, in speciality and exquisiteness, to foie gras, a dish Kobe beef is often liked to.
Here's a couple of cuts getting juiced-up on the grill:
While the first round of marbled cuts from New Zealand came, though our own choice, lightly drenched in a sweetened soy sauce, this one came with a light sprinkling of natural sea salt. Either way, there's always an added dip of tare, or ponzu/soy-based dipping sauce, provided. In the past, I've seen three different sauces on a tri-compartmentalized tray, but tonight there were two individual sauces, the first one shown being for the NZ cuts, and next, the US.
At yakiniku houses of lesser quality, these sauce begin to play a more and more important role, but here I sometimes use these dips, and sometimes not. The meats are just that good...
Outside of yukkei, we actually only had two orders of meats, each arriving at around $20. You may think that's not nearly enough, as a single rib steak from Costco could probably generate as much beef as 6-8 orders of this prized Kobe beef, at least! However, because these decadent slices are so amazingly rich, you don't have to eat nearly as much without being complety satisfied. In fact, like a triple chocolate fudge cake, ice cream, or a buffet at the Prince Court or the Orchids, over-do it, and you'll pay a different kind of price later, and a hefty one, at that! Again, see how you get around the cost issues? It's all about control, so don't get carried away, is all, and you'll be in for one magical, highly-memorable dining experience, before, during, and after the meal, for sure!
However, we're not quite through just yet... Like a hot cup of tea to wash the oils down, wifey and I love to end with yet another dish this restaurant does exceptionally well. Their egg soup, which is basically a Chinese-style egg-flower soup, is without a doubt, the best version I've ever had. The taste is simply incredible, and a single order is big enough for two or three to share. On this particularly wonderful evening, however, we went with a seaweed, or wakame, soup, which was, no joke, also the best wakame soup I've ever had! What the heck is it with this place?!!! How can everything be so amazing?!!!
Who know's what it is... I just can't say enough about this place, is all! I love the vibe, the food, the service, and just all-around, the cool look and feel of everything here. Even if super-fatty Kobe is not your thing, you'll surely appreciate everything else, besides. Just be mindful of what you're ordering and don't go crazy, as you can easily spend much more than a typical evening at Alan Wong's or Mavro's if you don't watch yourself. I guess it's kinda like a sushi bar in this respect - go light and you can spend $25-$40 per person, make it special and pay $60 - $80, go top-shelf and border-line crazy at a finer place, and you can even exceed $200 a pop, not including drinks!
Whatever the case, I've been begging and pleading with so many of my friends just to try this place out, mostly to no avail. I tell you, all these local guy's - they just don't wanna come into Waikiki, is all! It's really not that difficult! Parking is validated at the Waikiki Trade Center (entrance one street Diamond Head from Royal Hawaiian Ave., on Seaside Ave.), or you can park for $5 or $6 at the Waikiki Business Plaza or the old Waikiki Theatres 1 and 2, both also right-hand turns on one-way Seaside Ave. before the Trade Center.
I have no idea how this place hasn't gotten more attention from the major press here. I guess Hiroshi-san isn't one to play the circuit, and in actuality, he really doesn't have to! Word-of-mouth will suffice when you have quality and game like he does. Even so, it still often gets really crowded at times, despite the very large, double-decker facility, so reservations are probably a good bet. See Yakiniku Hiroshi's in the main pages under Yakiniku to find-out about hours and other such details.
Take care, eat well, work diligently, play hard, make friends, and be a force for good in this world, and you'll have more happiness and satisfaction than you'll know what to do with.
Aloja's till next time!
Aku
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