You can get $10 chirashi bowls at this new Japanese izakaya

A $10 chirashi bowl sounds too good to be true, but this deal at recently opened Tororo in Mōʻiliʻili has a catch — it’s limited to 10 orders per day.

The new izakaya, named after the Japanese mountain yam, opened in the space of Eastern Paradise Restaurant, which had been open for nearly 50 years before closing last December.

The eatery is still in its soft opening, but I still recommend making reservations, especially if you plan to order one of those chirashi bowls ($9.95) right at restaurant opening. Bowls include your choice of white or sushi rice topped with negitoro, green onions, shrimp, takuan, nori and ikura, with a bowl of miso soup on the side. There’s definitely more rice than seafood, but for the price, it’s a deal — especially since the chirashi is negitoro.

Tororo also offers a daily happy hour from 6 to 9 p.m. that features discounts on signature dishes. The eight-piece crunchy volcano roll ($9.50 happy hour, $12.50 regular) is a shrimp California roll topped with spicy ‘ahi, spicy mayo, unagi sauce and green onions. The bite-sized pieces make this easy to share.

The ‘ahi tataki with negishiodare ($12.95 happy hour, $16.95 regular) is another must-have dish from the happy hour selection. The thinly sliced, lightly seared tuna is served with a dipping sauce made with salt and chopped green onions. 

Tororo’s ‘ahi tatsuta-age ($7 happy hour, $11.95 regular) is the eatery’s twist on a chicken karaage. While the fried ‘ahi isn’t as crispy as I’d prefer, the dish is still enjoyable because every morsel is thick and tender — especially when dipped in the accompanying kewpie mayo.

Our server recommended the Jyaga butter potato ($1.50 happy hour, $2.95 regular), which is worth ordering if you’ve never tried it before. The potatoes are marinated in-house for three days, then fried to perfection in a butter-soy mix, resulting in a crispy exterior with a slightly sweet aftertaste. The flavor reminded me of a caramelized sweet potato.

The izakaya also features a variety of handrolls, ranging from ‘ahi ($5.25) and shrimp tempura ($4.75) to ikura ($6.95) and torotaku ($5.75). You can further customize the handrolls by adding masago ($1.50), avocado ($1.25) and other fillings. The handrolls may initially seem pricy, but they contain a proportionate filling-to-rice ratio. 

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CONTACT
Tororo
1405 S. King St., Honolulu
808-810-2166
Instagram: @tororo_24_hawaii
Open Tuesdays-Sundays 6 p.m.-2 a.m., closed Mondays

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.