Little Hiro : Hawaiian - Japanese BBQ & Grill in Bukit Timah

The day when Aloha meets Konichiwa. 


Last Sunday, the NKids went out again for another food adventure and this time, our tummies brought us to the Bukit Timah area. The fastest way to get here is to take the MRT to Botanic Garden and as you go up from the station you'll see a number of interesting-looking restaurants perfect for a nice Sunday brunch. So far, we've tried to restaurants in this area and both were good and worth the trip. For this particular food trip, we went to try Little Hiro which is a relatively new burger restaurant owned by the same group who runs Island Creamery -- a local ice cream parlor serving Singaporean flavors.

Condiment Party!

Little Hiro has been on my list since the start of the year so I was just so happy when C suggested that we have lunch there. I love the very chic, beach-happy look of the restaurant's exterior. For some reason, I was reminded of the movie 50 First Dates. Mahalo!

I have to say that the menu was extensive and a bit confusing. C had to guide us on how to best understand the menu. Basically, there are four main categories -- Deluxe Hawaiian Grill, Teppanyaki Rice Plates, Ramen Burgers and Big Island Burgers. In addition to that, they also have awesome entrees, super sides and drinks. After going through the menu and staring at it for more than 10 minutes, I went for the Sanzoku Double Hamburg Steak (S$8.50) which comes with butter rice. Very interesting! I only have butter rice with a kebab so it's a first for me to have it with some hamburger steak. Actually, this dish is more a mix of Japanese and Persian for me. :P 

Let me start by talking about the butter rice, I love that they used something like a Japanese rice so the consistency was slightly glutinous but the grains were well polished. I loved it! It was creamy and tasty! Moving on to the burger steak, sadly I wasn't as pleased with it as I was with the rice. The beef patties were quite thin and it was dry. I somehow concluded that the chef pressed way too hard on the burgers while grilling that all the juices have dried up. Nothing spectacular about this, sadly.



Meanwhile, Paul tried the BBQ Bacon Bleu Deluxe (S$8.50) which he said was okay, but again the patty was a bit too dry and hard to be enjoyed. It's so sad though because the flavor was there but if the meat fails terribly, then the entire burger becomes quite ho-hum too. Thicker, juicier patty please!

To share, we tried the Fried Calamari (S$7.90) which was very very good! I love the crunchy coating and the delicious tartare sauce that came with it.

We also had the Chicken Wings (S$3.70 / S$ 7.20) to go with our orders. The chicken was good, crispy on the outside and well cooked inside. Yummy!

Take a peek at I's order, she went for the 12-hour BBQ Beef Brisket (S$11.90) which I have to say was the best dish on the table. The meat was fork tender and it was just bursting with full flavors. It was delicious. Served with Grilled Cuban Corn and a mountain of fries, I will make sure to get this on my next visit. Paul's getting the corn, of course.

Meanwhile, O had the BBQ Bacon Bleu Ramen Burger (S$11.90) which was similar to Paul's burger only it's sandwiched in between two ramen "buns".

Over-all, Little Hiro's concept was interesting, but they have to greatly improve the burger patties considering that they are marketing themselves as a burger place. Here I go again in search for the best burger in Singapore. Any recommendations? Post them below!

Little Hiro is located at King Arcade (#01-01), 559 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore. Call them at 6466-3477.