RESTAURANT REVIEW: Shiro's (South Pasadena, CA)

Mad Professah and the other half visited Shiro's Restaurant in South Pasadena, CA on the day before Valentine's Day and took the following pictures:

Asparagus Salad with Pecans, Tomatoes and Tarragon Dressing	Shrimp Tempura
Canadian Sea Scallops with Shiitake & Shimeji Mushrooms	Roasted Pork Tenderloins with Green Peppercorn Sauce
Chocolate Torte Souffle	Japanese Flower Arrangement as table centerpiece

Shiro's is Hideo Yamashiro's restaurant in South Pasadena. It has received a rave review from S. Irene Virbila, the Los Angeles Times food critic.

Mad Professah and Mad Other Half had been wanting to try this restaurant for quite awhile and used the occasion of Valentine's day to make the short trek to the wilds of South Pasadena.
We decided to try the Wednesday night prix fixe menu and then selected some other interesting additional items. The meal started with some excellent and exceedingly light french bread and an amuse bouche of a slice of grilled red pepper wrapped around a soft cheese. We then started with an appetizer special (the shrimp tempura) which was both very light and flavorful, well-matched by the creamy but piquant dipping sauce. We then each had a salad, with the most distinctive being the Asparagus Salad (with Pecans, Tomatoes and Tarragon Dressing) which was surprisingly sweet but with an interesting combination of textures.

Our entrees were the Canadian Sea Scallops with Shiitake & Shimeji Mushrooms and the Roasted Pork Tenderloins with Green Peppercorn Sauce. They were both excellent, with the scallops being gently seasoned with nicely seared, partially caramelized edges. The pork tenderloins were astonishingly tender and the green peppercorn sauce was absolutely delicious. The vegetables on the side consisted of scallopped potatoes, carrots and zucchini.

The scalloped potatoes and carrots were particularly tasty.

The dessert we selected was the chocolate torte souffle, which was very chocolate-y and suprisingly not sweet, but not in a bad way.

Overall, the dining experience was a high quality one, particularly at a price much lower than one would pay at an equivalently fancy restaurant located on the West Side of Los Angeles.

OVERALL GRADE: A/A-.

FOOD: A.
SERVICE: A-.
AMBIANCE: A-.
VALUE. A.