Chef-owner Hideki Harada welcomes his most famous guest to his Kiki restaurant when the Food Network airs Guy Fieri's visit for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18.
Harada, a co-founder and former partner in Over-the-Rhine's Kaze, opened the Japanese pub in August 2019.
Four years later, he's on Triple D.
"DDD nation rolled through the Nati and we were one of the lucky ones — yhe king of Flavortown @GuyFienri came to College Hill!" Hirada posted on his @KikiCincinnati Instagram account.
Kiki is located in a former bank at 5932 Hamilton Avenue, at the corner of Hamilton and Marlowe avenues.
In Friday's "Dumpling-icious" episode, Fieri dives "into dumplings and other righteous recipes from around the world. In Cincinnati, a not-your-everyday Japanese joint is firing up meaty gyozas and a surprising Asian-pasta blend," according to the Diners website.
The show also features Nepalese restaurant in Sisters, Ore., which serves traditional dumplings alongside a pork belly bao, and a Lebanese-Armenian place in Los Angeles "putting out stellar shawarma and a righteous regional dumpling dish," according to the episode description.
The website promises recipes after the show debuts for a pork gyoza, "Bao Wow Sandwich," mante and momo (Tibetan dumpling).
The Kiki show repeats at midnight Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26. Kiki will close early Friday so Harada can enjoy the episode with coworkers, family and friends.
Hideki and his wife, Yuko, met at the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan. Their goal is to "serve what we want to eat. We miss living in Japan and there are so many Japanese dishes that are hard to come by living in the U.S., our goal is to share with you new and comforting flavors from our roots," according to the KikiCincinnati website.
Fieri taped the show April 19 while in town for restaurateur Jeff Ruby's 75th birthday. He also filmed Diners segments at Lucius Q in Pendleton (which premiered July 29) and The Governor modern diner in Milford (Aug. 4).
