Mizuki Restaurant in Irvine

We came to this Japanese restaurant to celebrate end of exam for my wife. Not a busy place on a Saturday evening. We ordered a sushi set, caterpillar roll (eels with avocado, please see picture), Kobe beef sushi and New York steak with miso sauce. The caterpillar roll was nice but Kobe beef sushi was a bit tough. The sushi set came with black cod which was tasty. However, service was slow and dinner was pricey, 2 people for a little over $80. We had better sushi with cheaper price elsewhere, so I doubt we will return to this restaurant.

Ikko Japanese Restaurant in Costa Mesa

They labelled themselves as sushi & freestyle Japanese cuisine, and they don't serve American style rolls. We had shrimp with strawberry mousse, grill yellow tail cheek with ginger sauce, salt squid tempura, beef togue etc. Food is very good, but they are at a pricey end. Personally I don't prefer their dim environment. The restaurant is not too visible from the main road. Overall it is a good eat out place for special occasion.

Gyu-Kaku (牛角) Japanese BBQ in Tustin

This restaurant has some good reviews in Yelp, so we came here to try out. We ordered a few of their signature dishes, e.g. Harami miso, prime ribeye ribs, shrimp garlic and chicken garlic noodle. My wife liked the spicy cold tofu and harami skirt steak miso. Garlic mushroom and garlic chicken noodle were both a bit too salty.

They do happy hour all day on Monday, and 11:30-6:30 & 8:30-Closing everyday, food are almost half price. This restaurant has 9 other branches across LA and Orange County.

Overall food was not bad and service was pretty good, but this place was rather noisy, kind of a mood killer, maybe other branches are different. $46 for two people.

Nana San Restaurant in Newport Beach

Trying this sushi restaurant for the first time. It is located at Newport Beach off Jamboree. This place is not big, only has a capacity of 40+. It has a sushi bar as well. We turned up at 8:40-ish on Wednesday evening, still needed to wait for a table. I guess it is quite popular with some good reviews in Yelp. We ordered some sushi, oyster shooters, soft shell crab, etc. The oyster shooters were very spicy, so-so taste-wise. Soft shell crab roll was delicious though. Waitress recommended lotus roots with tuna, that was the best dish. 2 people for just less than $70, a bit on the pricey front.

Angotei (安吾亭) in Costa Mesa

A small sushi restaurant behind Mitsuwa marketplace in Costa Mesa. Limited seating, so expect to queue. We ordered rainbow roll, sushi set in regular size, soft shell crab and black cod. Food was good, service was efficient, and reasonable pricing. I would recommend this sushi place to anyone.

Anjin (燒肉) Japanese Restaurant in Costa Mesa

A Japanese BBQ restaurant in Costa Mesa that opens till 1am. The marinated beef was very nice. That also came with corn as side dish. We also ordered seafood dishes, which served inside tin foil, included salmon, scallop, prawn, enoki and onion. We enjoyed our food here. The only problem was a bit smoky inside.

Ayame Shabu Shabu Hot Pot in Irvine

Located at the northern part of Irvine. It is not a big restaurant. Service is good. Everyone has his/her own hot pot set for Shabu Shabu, which is kind of cute. I had Thai Tom Yum soup base and my wife had spicy miso soup base. They also had sushi on the menu. We ordered the 'Oh my god' roll, it's really yummy! As tasty as the title said. Desert was delicious too, she enjoyed it very much. We were happy that we found this place. $60 in total for 2 people. They have a sister restuarant called Zipangu at 2930 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.

Benihana Restaurant in Anaheim

We tried Benihana in London before and this is the first time we tried it in LA. Seatings in this Benihana were cramped, but packed with customers. Chefs and waiter/ess were all very entertaining, and they sang 'Happy Birthday' in Japanese to almost every table. Teppanyaki is always tasty, this one is no exception. Each set is around $30, much cheaper than the London ones.

Honda-Ya Japanese Restaurant in Tustin

We tried out this popular Japanese restaurant at Tustin this evening - as recommended by my brother. There's usually queuing at this restaurant but not today though, maybe because it's a Monday. We had yakitori, salmon avocado, grilled Shishamo (Willow Leaf Fish), chawanmushi and more. We were most impressed with a dish called Avocado Volcano... it's not only delicious, but it also look the part (see photo). Service was good. Two people for just less than $70. We would come back for more at this cozy looking place.

Curry House Irvine

We tried out the Curry House for the first time tonight. It is located at Culver Drive, off Freeway 5. Many choices on the menu and not just curry on offer. Three drinks and three dishes for 3 people cost $50, reasonably priced. I had Pork Katsu, as seen on the photo, and tasted good. But the portion is relatively smaller than those in other restaurants in the US. Nonetheless, this Curry House reminded us of the family restaurants in Japan. We filled out a customer survey form at the end of the dinner as well. Curry House has other branches in SoCal - Little Tokyo, Torrance, Cypress, Gardena, Puente Hills, Cupertino and Monterey Park.