A seafood lover's lunch at Hiura in Fort Lee

At Hiura, a family owned Japanese restaurant in Fort Lee, I was served a welcoming cup of hot green tea after I sat down to wait for a friend, who arrived a few minutes late for lunch. The restaurant has 26 seats at tables and a sushi bar.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

I've become a big fan of the bento-box lunches at Hiura, a small Japanese restaurant in Fort Lee.

And the lunch I always seem to order is the Hiura Box ($16), which is beautifully composed and served with soup, rice, a tempura dipping sauce and unlimited hot green tea.

The lunch has both raw and cooked fish contributed by Sushi Chef Noboru Hiura and son Shoji Hiura, respectively. Chef Shoji works out of sight in the small kitchen.

 

The Hiura Box is perfect for seafood lovers: Grilled mackerel or salmon (mackerel shown), pristine slices of raw fish and shrimp tempura. It comes with bowls of miso soup and steamed white rice, and a dipping sauce for the tempura.

In addition to grilled, skin-on  mackerel and four slices of melt-the mouth sashimi, accented by a small sesame leaf, the Hiura Box includes beautifully fried tempura of shrimp and vegetables.
 
A friend who met me for lunch on Tuesday also ordered the Hiura Box, but he paid a $2 supplement for Cilean sea bass, which he loved.

Shoji Hiura says he marinates the sea bass or black cod in a sweet miso paste before grilling.


Hiura, 400B Main St., near Anderson Avenue, Fort Lee; 201-346-0110. BYO, closed Wednesdays. Reservations are recommended.

Lunch is served Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 2 p.m. Dinner is served from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (except Wednesdays), and to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.