Retail Openings and Closures

I hope they have something like the one in Monterey Park with the AYCE yakitori/Shabu Shabu.  I can spend all day there, I bet we'll see some FCB buffet shenanigans if it is AYCE.
 
IHO - the mags donut is own on barranca/Von karman. Drove by last night said "soft grand opening". It was closed so didnt get a chance to try it.
 
ps9 said:
I hope they have something like the one in Monterey Park with the AYCE yakitori/Shabu Shabu.  I can spend all day there, I bet we'll see some FCB buffet shenanigans if it is AYCE.
Click to expand...

Speaking of AYCE shabu, what's everyone's favorite one in town:

House of Shabu Shabu or Da Da Shabu Shabu
 
Haven't been to HSS in awhile, back then, there was no AYCE.  It was ok, counter height seating kinda killed it for us since we dine out with our little one.  They do have regular seats as I recall, but they get grabbed quick. 

DDSS was decent but at this price point, not worth going back.  We're not heavy eaters, and I don't do well at AYCE since I have to do a lot of moving and that for some reason makes me eat less.  Quality wise, not bad, but the flow of the restaurant is totally off.  If you get seated at the 4 tables that line the only path to the food, good luck.  You'll feel like one of the 300s battling in the hot gates. 
 
iacrenter said:
I must be ordering the wrong things at Shin Sen Gumi. I ate at the Costa Mesa location and wasn't  too impressed. I like Santouka better.
Click to expand...

Me too.  For some reason, I didn't care for the noodle there.  Still like Daikokuya.

On a side note, hopefully Eastwood will bring new retail shops and restaurants to the Zion center.  That plaza is pathetic.
 
lovingit said:
iacrenter said:
I must be ordering the wrong things at Shin Sen Gumi. I ate at the Costa Mesa location and wasn't  too impressed. I like Santouka better.
Click to expand...

Me too.  For some reason, I didn't care for the noodle there.  Still like Daikokuya.

On a side note, hopefully Eastwood will bring new retail shops and restaurants to the Zion center.  That plaza is pathetic.
Click to expand...

Never been to Daikokuya. I had to look it up on yelp. I couldn't believe that the Little Tokyo location has over 6,500 reviews (4/5 stars)! I will one day have to make the pilgrimage up to the LA. If you want something closer, I also like Kitakata Ramen in Costa Mesa.
 
I was going to say that Daikokuya had a little stand in Costa Mesa, but I see that it closed.

The Little Tokyo location was much better tasting anyways.  Santouka is still my go to, because who has 2 hours to wait for ramen?
 
I didn't know there was a Daikokuya stand in Costa Mesa at one point.  Besides the main location in Little Tokyo, there's another one in a food court in Arcadia next to a 99 ranch.  There's never a line at that location.

I agree that Santouka is the best go to ramen place in town, for the quality and at a reasonable price.  Their pork bowl with rice ain't bad either.

Ajisen would be the other option for ramen in Irvine, but I shudder at the thought of going to Diamond Jamboree...
 
Speaking of ramen, was pleasantly surprised at Sagami the other night.  They had a tonkatsu ramen at the bottom of their Yakitori menu, might've been always there but don't recall seeing it prior.  It was a decent broth, came with three thick slices of what tasted like ginger pork instead of charsiu.  Lots of that pink ginger garnish sprinkled into the soup.  The winner is the ramen noodles.  It's thinner than Santoukas, but surprisingly chewy al dente.  Didn't request hard noodles like I usually do, so maybe I lucked out or the chef likes his noodles the way I do.  Try it, not as porky as the Santouka broth, but lighter.  Noodles and the ginger pork was tasty.  I would ask for the pink ginger things on the side and garnish lightly.
 
abosch00 said:
ps9 said:
I hope they have something like the one in Monterey Park with the AYCE yakitori/Shabu Shabu.  I can spend all day there, I bet we'll see some FCB buffet shenanigans if it is AYCE.
Click to expand...

Speaking of AYCE shabu, what's everyone's favorite one in town:

House of Shabu Shabu or Da Da Shabu Shabu
Click to expand...

I prefer Miyabi over House of Shabu Shabu.  That said, when I went to House of Shabu Shabu, the AC was broken so it felt like it was over 90 degrees in there.  I tried to go to Da Da Shabu Shabu a couple of times but the wait was well over an hour.
 
Has anybody tried "Fish District" yet in the Woodbury TC?  Heard the lines were big...was just wondering if it's worth it. 
 
paydawg said:
Has anybody tried "Fish District" yet in the Woodbury TC?  Heard the lines were big...was just wondering if it's worth it. 
Click to expand...

It's ok but I still like CA Fish Grill better.  They have some Yelp reviews and pics you can check.
 
Yeah...saw the Yelp reviews.  Seems like people thought the food was decent (maybe a tad bland) but the service was extremely slow, which is fixable.
 
paydawg said:
Has anybody tried "Fish District" yet in the Woodbury TC?  Heard the lines were big...was just wondering if it's worth it. 
Click to expand...

My new favorite fish taco place.  Go on Tues. and it's $2 all day ($1 off).  Get the Sriracha sauce on there.  Also, their $2 fries are an awesome deal.  I think they are coated with something to make then extra crispy.
 
There's a Veggie Grill at Spectrum.

My beef with vegetarian restaurants is that they sell too many "fake meat" dishes.

When I go to a vegetarian restaurant, I want good vegetable dishes like wine roasted cauliflower, zucchini noodles with almond basil pesto, mushroom and spinach ravioli with chive vegan butter sauce, etc.

I do NOT want to eat tempeh patty on a bun.
 
The one at the Spectrum is the only one that is relatively busy.

The other thing is it's expensive. More than $10 for a non-meat sandwich is not for 99%ers.
 
momopi said:
There's a Veggie Grill at Spectrum.

My beef with vegetarian restaurants is that they sell too many "fake meat" dishes.

When I go to a vegetarian restaurant, I want good vegetable dishes like wine roasted cauliflower, zucchini noodles with almond basil pesto, mushroom and spinach ravioli with chive vegan butter sauce, etc.

I do NOT want to eat tempeh patty on a bun.
Click to expand...
I agree its silly to go to a vegan restaurant to get fake meat.  However, I do like mystery meat (i.e. Arby's roast "beef", Burger King "beef" taco filling, etc.)
 
Veggie grill has the best fake meat though.  Their chicken sandwiches and chicken salads taste pretty good for being fake.
 
I had understood that the closure of the Veggie Grill on Barranca was only temporary due to the failure of their water heater. Is it now permanently closed?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top