1) Shinsengumi Hakata Ramen & Yakitori Restaurant:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/shin-sen-gumi-hakata-ramen-restaurant-fountain-valley
http://www.yelp.com/biz/shin-sen-gumi-yakitori-restaurant-fountain-valley
In the first picture above, the right side is the Yakitori restaurant, and left side is ramen restaurant. During lunch time, both sides serve ramen.
Shinsengumi is a Hakata style chain restaurant, their style originated from Northern Kyushu. The ramen is served with tonkatsu (pork bone) soup with thin, straight noodles, and the yakitori is served with spicy & sour sauce and some cabbage. Basically you dip the yakitori in the sauce and eat it, then eat some cabbage before the next dish.
Hakata ramen connoisseurs prefer “hard” noodles, but Shinsengumi allows the customers to choose hard/norm/soft. If you’re dining here in late evenings, I’d suggest soft noodles (easier on your stomach). You can also order noodle refills for $1. Not everyone will like their style of noodle, but most people like the soup base. Be warned that this place gets very busy at night with long waits. Much easier to get in at lunch time.
The yakitori is basically meat skewered on a stick and grilled. In old days yakitori was made with whatever birds you can shoot with a sling shot or air rifle. Today it’s used for skewered chicken, or as general reference for food of this type. You’d find a list of “exotic” options such as chicken skin, liver, heart, pork belly, etc. They’re usually served a little salty and goes great with beer.
2. Kappo Honda
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kappo-honda-fountain-valley
This is a branch of the famous Honda-Ya restaurant in Torrance. Like Shinsengumi Yakitori, it’s a Yakitori restaurant at heart, but serves a much wider selection of non-Yakitori items. One interesting item is negiyaki, an Osaka version of okonomiyaki, which is smaller/thinner. They also serve many Japanese entree’s & noodles. I don’t recommend the sushi here or at Honda-ya. Stick with sushi restaurants for sushi, come here for the yakitori and other goodies.
3. Ebisu Mendokoro
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ebisu-ramen-fountain-valley
Some of you might be surprised by this choice, since Ebisu’s noodles aren’t that great. Don’t get the ramen here, order the okonomiyaki instead. Remind the waitress to tell the chef NOT to over-cook it. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese pancake with goodies on top, this is one of very few places that serve it near Irvine, without driving all the way out to Gaja. If you don’t know what it is, you can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okonomiyaki
— Honorable mention:
Tsuruhashi
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tsuruhashi-fountain-valley
This is a Japanese BBQ restaurant. I’d rate it as being above Anju in quality, but below Manpuku. So if you’re looking for Japanese BBQ, go to Manpuku in Costa Mesa first. At Tsuruhashi you’d pay Manpuku prices but not the same quality cuts—still acceptable by Momo standards. I don’t like their flat iron grill, I prefer the round wire mesh grill like this:
I’ve tried most Sushi restaurants in Costa Mesa, but not Fountain Valley. Will try to visit some and write reviews on them.
—Recently I received a few questions regarding Asian BBQ styles and choices other than Japanese. I’ll post the replies here for everyone’s benefit:
Q. What is the difference between Japanese and Korean BBQ?
A. My friend Ed has done a better job at explaining this on his blog, you can read it here:
http://www.xanga.com/wangkon936/621757090/japanese-galbi-korean-sushi-and-the-globalization-of-food-culture.html
Q. Do you dislike fusion dishes?
A. If you want to try Asian-European fusion dishes, I could suggest Cafe Hiro in Cypress. It’s more expensive than “Curry House” but food quality is higher:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-hiro-cypress
http://elmomonster.blogspot.com/2006/03/cafe-hiro-cypress-lunch-and-its-fourth.html
Q. Why are you concentrating on Japanese restaurants in Costa Mesa, and Korean restaurants in Garden Grove & Buena Park? What about Chinese & Vietnamese restaurants?
A. Because there’s a fine selection of Japanese restaurants in Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, and Tustin near here. There’s also some pretty good Korean places in Garden Grove and Buena Park, though not as good as K-Town.
The section of Chinese and Vietnamese near Irvine is pretty limited. For Vietnamese food I’d suggest going directly to Westminster or Garden Grove. For Chinese, Irvine is even worse than Cerritos. If you want Chinese food, go to Rowland Heights, Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Arcadia, etc. I can do a write-up on a few favorite Chinese places there but it’d be a long drive. Most people aren’t motivated enough to drive 1-2 hours for good food. But if there’s sufficient interest, I can take a group (8-12) for a multi-course, banquet style Chinese dinner in Alhambra that’s far superior to anything served around here. Or. a trip to Sea Harbour in Rosemead for Dim Sum:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sea-harbour-seafood-restaurant-rosemead
