Marugame Monzo-Udon House-Los Angeles, CA (Little Tokyo). I’ll admit I’m more of a ramen type of guy but I had to try this fusion udon noodle house. They make their noodles in house and oh does that make an enormous difference. Their noodles are cooked al dente and it gives it more depth of texture throughout the thick udon noodle. You will find a multitude of different types of Udon many which you probably haven’t seen offered at other places. Plus they also have unique tempura including a Jidori egg with runny yolk, baby octopus, crab and shiso leaf among others. The Mentai Squid Butter Udon and Uni Cream Udon are the show stoppers. They have different variations to appease anyone’s craving. Still craving the creaminess of the Mentai Squid butter and I want it now! This is the best udon I have had. Adding this gem to the Foodlist. Love Peace and Mentai Squid Butter grease.
KIKU Japanese Restaurant-Huntington Beach, CA. Have you ever wanted to forgo the high end frills and fluff of a Hollywood style sushi restaurant. You just want to eat good sushi and a lot of it for not that much. Well I have the place for you! KIKU serves giant portions of sushi for reasonably low prices. Their portions are huge and when you take in consideration how big their dishes are its amazing how they make a profit. Their must have dishes are the Spicy Garlic Edamame, Big Daddy roll and Garlic Salmon Bowl. When you get the Garlic Salmon bowl you see a heaping bowl of Salmon Sashimi. You assume that it is over a mound of rice, nope it’s all salmon. The garlic salmon is delicious and you will crave it. This is not a place with nice presentation but just good food. The rolls were actually pretty messy to say the least. But if you want food that tastes good at an awesome price try this place out. Love Peace and Garlic Salmon Grease!
Dai Ho-Temple City, CA. I had a problem, I had never had a good Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup Dish. I was out in the 626 area and a friend recommended this restaurant. After going to this hole in the wall restaurant I can finally say I’ve had a delicious bowl of Taiwanese spicy beef noodle soup as well dan dan mien, spicy cucumbers and mustard greens. Mission accomplished! Love, Peace and Beef Noodle Grease!
Cronuts-Frances Bakery-Los Angeles (Little Tokyo). So Cronuts have been all the rage recently. Cronuts are a Croissant and Donut hybrid claimed to be invented by Dominque Ansel Bakery in New York in 2013. Word quickly spread about these delicious morsels and many copycats of the product were introduced across the country. I decided to try the best known Cronut Patisserie in the Southern California area; Frances Bakery located in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, CA. If I can sum this experience up in 3 words “BELIEVE THE HYPE.” The decadent delicious desserts are amazing…Triple D! Lets get one thing out of the way I am not a dessert person. But this could change me into a dessert person. Frances Bakery does these Cronuts right with a crisp flaky texture and smooth custard or tart jam filling. The Original with Custard and the Blueberry with Jelly are both must tries. The flavor profiles are completely different but both are close to perfection in their own right. The Smooth custard with the icing on the Original is only matched by the Blueberry’s tart Jelly. Add this one as another must try and OCFoodlist approved. Love Peace and Cronut Grease!
Ritter’s Steam Kettle Cooking-Santa Ana, CA. If you like Cajun food you gotta try this restaurant. There is a fabled restaurant in downtown Las Vegas called The Oyster Bar that is famous for their House Pan Roast. I would go out of my way to eat this dish hungover before leaving Vegas if the stars aligned. Low and behold one of the Chefs started a restaurant called the Boiler in Chino Hills. Well he left that restaurant and is bringing it to Santa Ana with a new location opening in Huntington Beach as well called Ritters Steam Kettle Cooking. The Pan Roast is a must try and I have never had anything like it before. It is cooked in stationary steam kettles individually that can be seen behind the bar. It is best described as a tomato red cream based soup or stew which can include mussels, shrimp, crab, Lobster and sausage with a helping of rice inside. It’s is pure Cajun spice heaven. I have watched them prepare it and it has over 20 different spices it seems. Their maple bacon wrapped shrimp is also deliciouso! A must try and new addition to the OCFoodList. Love Peace and Bacon wrapped Shimp Grease!
Au Lac-Fountain Valley, CA. I have heard of this place for years but never really went out of my way to try it since I am of carnivorous nature. But I was with a friend who is pescatarian so thought this would be the perfect time to try a Vegan/Raw foods restaurant. Service is great, staff is very knowledgable and the restaurant is nice with a calming interior and mood. But let’s get to important part, the food. We had the BBQ Pork Spring rolls (nem noung), Risotto, Pho Noodle soup and Coconut Water. Nem Noung was good but I still prefer Brodards. Risotto was on the raw foods menu side so the wild rice was soaked with mushrooms, coconut and topped with avocados nothing being cooked. It was very hearty and very interesting in flavor and texture. I had coconut water because I was slightly hungover. What blew my mind was the Pho. Now I have had Pho many times and it is usually after a long night of drinking. Pho is considered a hangover cure by many. This Pho with a Coconut water is my new ultimate hangover cure. The anise broth was so flavorful yet so clean and wasn’t overpowered with sodium like a lot of Pho broths. The soy chicken and soy beef were both pretty good. What was very interesting was they had a vegetable that emulated the tripe/tendon in pho and it was uncanny and I actually preferred it over real tripe. It was the same color and had a slight soft crunch when biting into it. This was one of those enlightening moments you have very rarely. When eating pho I have never been to a place that really stood out. I have only had pho that was good or bad, never extraordinary. I thought it was funny that the best pho I might have ever had could be Vegan pho. Am I going to become vegan…hell no! But I will keep trying out some vegan foods every now and then for sure. Love, Peace and Soy protein Grease.
Torihei Yakitori-Torrance, CA. Who doesn’t like Grilled meat on skewers and that is what Torihei is all about, Japanese style. This rivals any Japanese Yakitori/Robata restaurant based on their grilled meats; they also carry small plates as well. Their best dishes include Chicken Meat Balls, Special Hearts, Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, Beef Tongue and Boiled Eggs with Salmon Roe. Love, Peace and Chicken Meat Ball Grease!
Santouka Ramen-Costa Mesa, CA. Santouka is located inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace. It has been serving delicious ramen since opening it’s first 9 seat restaurant in 1988 in Hokkaido, Japan. Their restaurant opened serving only one dish their Shio (Salt) Ramen which became famous in Japan. They still serve this dish today Shio Ramen with Toroniku Char-Siu Pork. This is a must try. I also tried their Cold Ramen which was delicious on a hot summer day. It was very refreshing and great new flavor. Love, Peace and Toroniku Char-Siu Pork Grease!
Kappo Honda-Fountain Valley, CA. A Japanese Izakaya restaurant serving small plates, sushi and yakitori style grilled dishes. This is an oldie but goodie for me. I have been going here for years and they have multiple locations going under the name Honda Ya. It is a great place to grab dinner with friends and family with a wide selection of dishes for everyone. They have serve beer and sake. I will let the pictures do the talking. Love, Peace and Yakitori Grease.
Pickled Cucumbers
Blue Crab Avocado Salad
Eggplant
Maguro Sashimi
Pork Belly
Butter Enoki Mushrooms
Kalbi
Beef Tongue Stew
Snow Crab Tempura
Chawanmushi (Egg Custard) with Eel, Shrimp and Gingko nuts
Kaju Tofu Restaurant-Garden Grove, CA. I have been going to this restaurant for years. It has gone through a couple of management changes but overall it still is my favorite Soon Doo Boo place. Soon Doo Boo/Sundubu is Korean Soft Tofu Soup. It is a spicy piping hot boiling broth that can be served with Beef, Pork, Octopus, Seafood, Kimchee and even Ham and Cheese. This is my favorite Soon Doo Boo place even though the quality might not be as top notch as it was back in the day. It still serves very high quality Tofu Soup, it has great ban chan (appetizers), their spicy cucumbers are to die for, they have a free Icee machine with two flavors and they have wooden statues of men with penis heads! Need I say more. Love, Peace and Soon Doo Boo grease.
The best food and restaurants to eat at in Orange County – #1 Orange County Food List
