There’s a snack shop in Plano that's a definite one-of-a-kind: Called Hoshi Japanese Sweets, it serves a whimsical mix of Japanese street food and adorable desserts, at 3304 Coit Rd. #700A, in a small center with a US post office, where it opened in 2024.
Hoshi comes from realtor and YouTuber Steve Feldman, a true character who hosts a popular YouTube channel, Steve’s POV, where he waxes on about his passions including Japanese culture, food, and cars.
He started Hoshi in 2023 as a food pop-up at Mitsuwa Market, the Japanese marketplace in Plano, specializing in obanyaki, a small pancake-like cake filled with cream that is baked in a waffle-iron style metal contraption.
"They [Mitsuwa] happen to be big fans of my channel and they’d help me do pop-ups," Feldman says. "I decided to do obanyaki because it’s a very traditional Japanese food and no one else is really doing those in the area."
The rarity of this snack as well as its decadent appeal made it an instant success and inspired Feldman to open the cafe, where he's winning fans for his unique fare and enthusiastic spirit.
The classic obanyaki is a round disc-shaped stuffed pancake, made from flour, eggs and sugar, and filled with sweet azuki bean paste or custard. The texture is soft and fluffy, but with slightly crisped edges.
And while bean paste is the classic, there's no limit on what kind of flavored custard you want to use for a filling. The varieties at Hoshi include strawberry cheesecake, matcha, taro, and chocolate cream, as well as savory fillings such as Japanese beef curry and "Japanese" ham & cheese, all priced at $3.75.
shaka shaka pandayakiHoshi
Hoshi serves other Japanese snacks and even meals, with ingredients such as rice and seaweed sourced from Japan. The menu includes:
- Yakitori grilled chicken thighs on a skewer
- Okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake made with meat, cabbage, and other vegetables
- "Texas-sized" onigiri - seaweed wrapped rice balls with toppings such as tuna and mayo or sukiyaki beef
There is also shaka shaka pandayaki, a small, golden-brown cake made from a bear-shaped pan mold filled with Nutella at the center that's predictably an Instagram favorite.
There is also a wide variety of colorful coffees and teas, such as the two-toned butterfly tea, strawberry cloud latte, and a coffee blend from Reviva Coffee in McKinney that Feldman says tastes just like Japanese coffee.
Prices range from $3.50 for a savory obanyaki to $16 for an onigiri combo with two onigiri, an obanyaki, and a tea.
Inside, there are several tables for those who want to stay for a bite, a counter, and refrigerated section with Japanese snacks and sodas, like Ramune, and Japanese Black Coffee.
Feldman hopes the space will become more than just a foodie hot spot, but a place for learning about and celebrating Japanese traditions.
"We've done a New Year's rice pounding ceremony, a Japanese spring festival — we're going to continue to do things that will support and share Japanese culture," he says.
