By CLAIRE LOWE
Staff Writer
EGG HARBOR CITY – Business partners Boris Lin and Josh Wang opened HiMe (pronounced HE-may) on the White Horse Pike in Egg Harbor City July 22.
It is the only restaurant in the city offering Chinese and Japanese cuisine, and Lin said the response has been positive.
Lin and Wang’s desire is to change the tone of the Chinese restaurant from takeout to eat-in, and to and add an element of style to the experience.
“The Chinese restaurant these days is either takeout or buffet,” Lin said.
He said that anymore, there is a lack of association between Chinese food and a nice dining experience.
“We feel very sad about it,” he said. “We want to bring this back.”
The partners said that opening up HiMe was a real estate opportunity that presented itself. Lin, who worked at a real estate office in Egg Harbor City, said his office had the listing for the property in 2009. He was looking for another project, so the timing was perfect.
The name, which means princess or beautiful female in Japanese, was suggested by the architect. Lin said he also feels it gets people to look, because of the word “hi.”
The dining room seats 50 and is decorated in a clean, modern style. Purples, blues and bright white embellishments on the walls set off the warm, dark hardwood floors. Guests can sit at a table, a booth or the sushi bar. Sleek black chopsticks are part of the table’s regular setup for those who prefer the challenge.
“We want to get out of the traditional Chinese restaurant,” Lin said. “We really want this to be a modern, contemporary look.”
Both Lin and Wang have experience with Asian cuisine. Lin said he was in the restaurant business for several years in his hometown of Taiwan, and his mother has always been in the hospitality industry.
“My family, we used to run a place called Magic Wok in Hamilton Mall,” Lin said.
The family owned Magic Wok for 20 years until selling it in 2008. They also opened Osaka in the mall food court, but sold that too.
“In the past 10 or 15 years, most Chinese restaurants, they changed their cooking way,” Wang said. “We still follow the traditional cooking way.”
For example, the fried rice (starts at $6.50) is made in the traditional method with soy sauce and a longer cooking time instead of simply adding food coloring to rice that has been cooked in less time.
“It’s more work because you have to pan fry it much longer,” Lin said.
Wang, who is the sushi chef, said even the General Tso’s Chicken ($14 for the dinner) takes eight or nine steps to prepare, whereas some takeout restaurants prepare it using only three steps.
“You can tell the taste is much different,” he said.
HiMe serves sushi, Japanese-style teriyaki and Chinese dishes.
Lin said one of his favorite dishes is the HiMe Popcorn Chicken appetizer ($5.50), which is small pieces of thigh meat battered and deep fried.
“It’s our specialty,” Lin said. “That’s from my hometown, Taiwan.”
The popular Taiwanese dish is made with garlic, scallions, ginger, five spice and sweet potato flour. The ginger and sweet potato flour add a unique flavor to the batter, and each piece finishes with a kick of spice. Lin serves the dish with spicy mayonnaise for dipping.
The lettuce wraps ($5.95) offer a clean and crunchy taste.
“Our version is with celery, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, onions and customer’s choice of shrimp or chicken,” Lin said.
Another popular appetizer is the Kani salad ($4.95), which features the contrasting flavors of sweet crabmeat and crunchy cucumber in a spicy mayonnaise.
The menu offers sashimi, traditional sushi rolls and specialty rolls such as the crunchy roll ($11.95). Inside the roll is a mixture of spicy tuna and crunchy crabmeat, and each piece is topped with lobster salad, spicy mayonnaise and crunchy bits. The plate is garnished with a dollop of wasabi.
Lin also enjoys the steak teriyaki ($12) made with an 8-ounce New York strip steak, and the shrimp with walnuts ($13) served in a sweet creamy sauce.
All dinners include white or brown steamed rice and the restaurant’s salad bar.
HiMe offers two lunch specials for $5.99: one main dish with white or brown steamed rice and the salad bar, or miso soup with one regular sushi roll and the salad bar.
HiMe does not currently have a liquor license, but Lin said he hopes to acquire one.
For information see www.facebook.com/pages/Hime-restaurant/116979488379324.
If You Go
HiMe
103 Washington Ave.
Egg Harbor City
(609) 965-8789
Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-9 p.m. Sunday
Major credit cards accepted
Take out and delivery available
