A Haiku About Tsuruhashi Japanese BBQ

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Oh Tsuruhashi,

Your waits are unbearable,

But oh, the rewards.

We came on Thursday,

For the “Family Combo”:

A sampler of meats.

Each piece was tender,

And juicy beyond belief,

For forty three bucks.

Not meant for gorging.

But to savor and enjoy

Steak as it should be.

Tsuruhashi

18798 Brookhurst St

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Reviewing All The Indonesian Restaurants In OC

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My latest for TimesOC covers ALL the Indonesian restaurants in Orange County. 

That’s right. 

All THREE of them!

 CLICK THIS LINK TO READ IT!

When a New Dish Appears at Cafe Hiro - Cypress

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One of the sweetest things a Cafe Hiro server can say to you is, “We have a new dish tonight!” because it’s not often that Chef Ohiwa adds something to his repertoire of the tried-and-true. 

The truth is he’s retired more dishes over the years than he’s added. The poached wild salmon; the daily soups; the green tea blanc manger—all have disappeared, seemingly for good. 

So when he does introduce a new creation, you jump, no matter what it is. Tonight, it was octopus carpaccio, with onion, mango, yellow bell pepper, greens and a citrus vinaigrette. 

With a refreshing summery flavor profile and a satisfyingly meaty chew on the octopus, you hope it joins his scallop carpaccio in becoming a member of the permanent specials. It, too, started as a one-off experiment one night.

Cafe Hiro 

10509 Valley View St 

Cypress, CA 90630 

(714) 527-6090