Sunday, April 28, 2013

Hironoya (Gardena, CA)

I got an email from Utopia, a South Bay-based Japanese-focused gift certificate store offering discounted certificates for South Bay and Japanese local businesses like Gaja (the okonomiyaki place), Robataya on Sawtelle, and Izakaya Bincho. They asked if I wanted to try using one of their certificates to visit a restaurant, and I do love Japanese food so why not! I was tempted to go back to Bincho but I figured I should use it to visit a restaurant I've never been to before so I opted for Hironoya in Gardena.

Hironoya sits in Tozai Plaza and seems to be visited by mostly Japanese. When I was there there was a reunion for some university in Japan and they proceeded to sing their alma mater song. Hironoya serves sashimi, sushi rolls, tempura, udon and various other dishes, but no nigiri sushi.

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They did have some fresh fish, though so I tried their blue fin tuna toro sashimi ($18 for 4 pieces). Not as fatty as some other toro I've had but definitely fresh.
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Also tried sea bream sashimi ($9) and a salmon roll, which were both pretty good. I haven't had sushi rolls in a while but enjoyed this one.
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You can get almost everything tempura'd here it seems, from broccoli and eggplant ($1.95, 2pcs each) to sea urchin ($12.95) and oyster ($4.95, 2pcs)

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Good tempura batter here, light and crispy. Why didn't I order the uni tempura, whyyyy? I have to go back.

A staple order for me: Agedashi tofu ($4.95) and it didn't disappoint.
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The nabeyaki udon ($13.95) is huge. I don't know if you can get the size comparison with the cup and bowl in this picture, but it was one big bowl.
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The nabeyaki udon comes with 2 shrimp tempura, a generous helping of chicken and clams at the bottom of the bowl, and vegetables. Enough to share with 2-3 people, and it was very satisfying.
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As with most Japanese restaurants, the dessert menu tends to be small, but I had a silky sweet tofu topped with brown sugar.
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All in all, Hironoya was a great place. Authentic comfort food with something for everyone on their vast menu with rotating specials. Don't forget to check http://www.us-utopia.com/store/en and see if they have any discounted certificates left before you go. You can also check out Hironoya's Menu:
burumun's Hironoya album on Photobucket


IMG_5195Hironoya
1745 W. Redondo Beach Blvd(in Tozai Plaza)
Gardena CA 90247
 310-323-4077
Restaurant Hironoya on Urbanspoon

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