Hibachi Daruma

I don’t work down town so eating at some food trucks seemed like a novel idea. I almost stopped at an earlier truck, boy was I glad I kept walking. I got the combo chicken and shrimp. Now as far as hibachi goes it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. But it was cooked well and was certainly tasty! For the price, I would definitely eat here again of given the chance.

I discovered Hibachi Daruma when I was craving hibachi and had a day off of work. They were on 7^th & Marquette, a quick walk from my apartment. I tried the shrimp and it was fantastic. The shrimp were lightly seasoned and plump with shrimps goodness. The rice & veggies were perfect too. And the shrimp sauce, omg. Usually I’m the kid who will steal everyone’s ginger sauce at hibachi places, but this shrimp sauce is crack. I could eat it on everything. And since everything was so yummy I told the bf and we went to check it out at the brewery it was chilling at two days later. It was just as awesome, plus we had beer to go with the food. I got the shrimp again, and we got gyoza and the bf got beef & shrimp. The gyoza are yummy, but the sauce & cabbage they come with are amazing. The beef is delicious too, I almost like it more than shrimp… almost. I’ll definitely get my hibachi fix anytime it’s within walking distance… and keep tabs on the breweries too.

Hibachi Daruma offers fresh Gyoza (potstickers), Lo Mein and Teriyaki-​style Hibachi meals. It doesn’t have the ‘sexiest’ food truck offerings, but the truck is well staffed and the food is well prepared. Anyone who likes Hibachi cooking is likely to be satisfied. I ordered the Hibachi steak and Gyoza and was pleased that the steak wasn’t oversauced. Extra sauce is required for those who want it, but its not required.
The creamy shrimp sauce served with meals ads an extra dimension of flavor to what is typically a pretty subtly-​flavored offering. When combined with meat and rice, the hibachi steak became a flavorful steak and rice salad… a good lunch choice.
«A good lunch choice» might be the best way to characterize Hibachi Daruma. Many food truck fans may criticize the tame offerings of the truck — but I treasure it precisely for this reason. It pairs well with trucks offering spicy, fried, and wildly-​creative entrees.
I like to dine with my wife and daughters… and they’d love Hibachi Daruma. This provides me with the opportunity to explore the crazier and more creative options that some other food trucks provide.
Habachi Daruma is a good addition to the food truck mix. I hope they’ll be active participants in St Paul’s Wednesday Food Truck Court.

I’ve tried the beef hibachi so far…
Pros:
Fair portion/​dollar value
Tasted fresh
Good amount of meat
Didn’t feel like passing out after eating it
Cons:
Too bland
Not enough veg

Had the Gyoza which I call potstickers and the veggie lo-​mein. I enjoyed both items and ate every last bite. I think the price for the portion is a little on the higher end of the scale. It got the job done and took away my Hangriness (being angry because I’m hungry!) Nothing to complain about with the food or flavor — just nothing that was off the charts…

I tried the hibachi chicken, and thought that it was very good, especially for the price. Could be a few more vegetables served with the rice, but it was nice that it was brown rice and not just plain old white rice. The chicken was good and the shrimp sauce came on the side for you to put on as much or as little as you want. I will be back here hopefully soon.

Tried the Hibachi Shrimp and it was very tasty. Good portion of shrimp and very flavorful. $ 10.50 for the meal including a soda. Would definitely go back.

Visited their truck for the first time today on Marquette Avenue in Minneapolis. Ordered the Beef Teriyaki. It was tasty — a bit oily for me and the fried rice was good –but there was hardly any veggies mixed in — it was about 98% onion. Not sure I’d go back based on this initial visit and the abundance of onions.

Hibachi Daruma is a new food truck on the scene this year and can usually be found around the usual hot spots for mobile eats in St. Paul (Mears Park, Rice Park, etc.). Their menu is fairly succinct, composed of gyoza, teriyaki, fried rice and lo mein with your choice of protein (beef, chicken or shrimp).
Most dishes are accompanied by their special shrimp sauce, which is reminiscent of a zesty ranch type sauce. Portion sizes are fairly generous and I have no complaints about the shrimp fried rice or beef lo mein I have tried thus far. That said, there’s not a whole lot that differentiates Daruma from it’s skyway peers, other than Daruma makes everything to order and is typically far less greasy than some of their paint-​by-​numbers skyway competition.
Overall, not a bad new addition to the food truck scene, but not really a novel dining option for worker bees downtown.

After seeing a tweet that HD was going to be at Steel Toe (which is just a hop skip and jump from the homestead) on a Friday night I knew what was going to be for dinner.
After savoring a pint at Steel Toe I stopped off at the truck to pick up some food to take home. I got two combo hibachi meals, one with steak and shrimp and another with shrimp and chicken.
My partner does not like teriyaki flavored things but since HD’s teriyaki treatment is not typical American (Americanized teriyaki translation: lots of high fructose corn syrup, pineapple that cracks your teeth, tons of soy sauce to cover up the mistakes) he really enjoyed the light sweetness on the chicken and beef and the shrimp were cooked to perfection. I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment. This teriyaki was light on the sugar and high on flavor. All the proteins were cooked to perfection, the steak and chicken were tender and juicy and the shrimp was full of flavor but not rubbery or chewy.
I loved that the meal included some veggies and the fried rice was almost as good as fried rice gets. I have had some bad fried rice (too greasy, too much soy sauce, burned) and this was none of that. The rice was light, seasoned and extremely tasty.
I am predicting that I will return to Hibachi Daruma, without a doubt.
What a great addition to the food truck selection we have these days!

Yum!!! Super great fried rice, plenty of teriyaki chicken and loved all the veggies! Definitely a good amount of food for the price (compared to other food trucks)
It was ready very quickly, lots of flavor, everything tasted fresh. Can’t wait to get it again! :)

Tried Hibachi Maruma food truck when they were at Mears Park on Monday. I ordered the teriyaki chicken. Chicken was chopped into in big, tough chunks that had an icky raw chicken flavor about them (though they were cooked through as far as I could tell). The sauce was meh. The rice was strangely greasy. I wouldn’t go back unless in a pinch.