Tsuruhashi, Fountain Valley, CA

So my friend Akina was saying she wanted to eat Yakiniku, and being an idiot, I suggested she go eat Yakitori. So, the conversation lead to me asking her to show me what real Yakiniku is all about. Wow, totally different from your typical bbq places and definitely different from Yakitori. So we went to this small place near my dentist's office called Tsuruhashi.

Beef Liver Sashimi



Prepared Liver Sashimi with Ginger, Scallions and Lemon

Judgment: For the liver lovers, this is an ideal dish for you. The taste is definitely something that the average person may not enjoy and it does not cater to them at all. However, I fancy the dish and I felt that for a starter it is quite decadent. 8 / 10

Salted Fresh Prime Tongue



Beef Tongue with Salt and Pepper, Cube of Fat for grill prep

Prior to cooking on the grill, we used the cube of fat to "oil" things up on the grill and to give that little extra flavor that you can only get from a cube of fat.



Judgment: The fat rendering with all the meat that we cook on it makes it taste amazing. The tongue is fresh and it doesn't have the consistency as typical beef tongue you would find at a deli restaurant or in a tongue sandwich. The seasoning is a little on the salt heavy side but they provide some dipping sauces to even it out. 8 / 10

Short Rib



Top Quality Beef Boneless Short Rib

Judgment: The beef here is so well marbled that it gives a soft consistency to it. The meat will become chewy if it is overcooked but the ingredient is definitely exquisite. The beef flavor is definitely there. 9 / 10

Kobe Beef Ribeye



Prepared sliced top quality beef ribeye

Judgment: The ribeye is amazing. It is definitely something to order when you have a chance and you have never had it before. Although there are even higher qualities of beef out there for beef connoisseurs, for the average joe, this will be amazing. The flavor, the aroma, and the quality of the beef is unmistakable and top notch. 9 / 10

Shochu Break



Japanese Barley Wine -- The interesting part of this restaurant is that we can purchase the entire bottle, and then return anytime within the following 2 months to finish it off. It's like a private collection at your restaurant!

Berkshire Pork Belly



Pork Belly with Scallions, seasoned with salt and pepper

Judgment: The pork belly is just exactly how one would imagine it -- soft, tender, and flavorful. The seasoning is there to accent it and the restaurant also provides lettuce and miso to wrap it so you don't have to be overwhelmed with the oily meat all at once. The miso will take the edge off while the lettuce eases the taste into the mouth. 9 / 10

Family Set



Marinated Beef Kalbi, Short Rib, Rib Eye and Marinated Chicken

Judgment: We ordered the family platter pretty late into the game when we started to get full and this definitely put us in the position of "OK, we definitely ate too much tonight". Granted the meat was delicious and the quantity was a decent amount to feed 2 people easily. 3 People was a bit of a stretch to order just 1 platter, but over all the meat was again of good quality, and everything was delicious. 8 / 10

Orange Wedge



Peeled Orange Wedge, Maraschino Cherry

The orange was just there to act as a pallet cleanser along with the after-dinner tea.

Conclusion: The restaurant is definitely a little gem in Fountain Valley. The meat is fresh, the waitstaff is very attentive, although one of my friends was saying that it was weird that the waitstaff would talk to us in English despite the fact that he pretty much ordered everything for us in Japanese. The parking lot is a bit of a nightmare in the sense that on the way to the storefront from the entry point there is a massive pot hole that I have to avoid for sure. Low cars will have a fun time maneuvering around.

The Restaurant gets an A-Rank

Bonus Material!



The lovely Akina with our bottle of Shochu. Thanks for hanging out with us!

Shin Sen Gumi Hakata, Fountain Valley, CA

Got a phone call on Friday night to meet up with Pei for dinner. Haven't met up with her in a while so of course I agreed to it. That and I was hungry myself. We went to Shin Sen Gumi Hakata, not to be confused with Robata because this one strictly sells Ramen instead of bbq.

Chikuwa with Cheese



Deep fried fish cake stuffed with cheese

Judgment: Basically it's a rolled fish cake stuffed with cheese, then battered and deep fried. The cake almost feels like it was slightly over cooked because it had this rubbery texture to it that I found a little odd. The cheese was really mild in the dish so it didn't stand out too much. I wish they had used a stronger cheese so I might have enjoyed it more. 6 / 10

Takoyaki



Octopus in batter

Judgment: I have not eaten Takoyaki in quite a while. The takoyaki here at Shin Sen Gumi was a little under cooked. The ball itself kind of collapsed on itself when you pick it up with your chopsticks. As a whole though, it was still tasty. The sauce and the mayonnaise comes together nicely when you eat it. The ginger I did not care for but everything else was good. If the Takoyaki was cooked a bit longer it might not have collapsed on itself. 8 / 10

Ramen in Pork Broth



Ramen with BBQ Pork, Egg, Corn and Spicy Miso

Judgment: I don't think they added the Spicy Miso into my noodles because I couldn't even taste it. The noodles were cooked to perfection, corn was sweet, bbq pork was well seasoned and the egg was good. As a whole the ingredients compliment each other well but I am still wondering if they had forgotten about the miso that was supposed to be in there. I think that was the missing ingredient of the night. 8 / 10

Conclusion: As a whole the restaurant is tiny, and there is typically a wait for meals there. Neighboring the Yakitori place makes me yearn for that instead of noodles. Personally I would've chosen the Yakitori over the Ramen. However, Ramen is always a good change of pace from the usual zoo of animals that I eat.

The Restaurant gets a B-Rank.

Shin Sen Gumi Robata, Fountain Valley, CA

After a long day at work, with Yogurtland being called "lunch" I decided to hit up Shin Sen Gumi for their $1.50 Happy Hour. Every Monday & Tuesday at the Fountain Valley Shin Sen Gumi Robata (the non-ramen side) they do the happy hour from 6 PM to 10 PM now.

Flap Meat



Flank Steak (typically Carne Asada meat)

Judgment: Steak came out to a juicy Medium Rare. The restaurant will grill it this way unless you ask them for a different temperature. It was seasoned lightly with salt and delicious. 8 / 10

Pork Belly



Pork Belly

Judgment: Seasoned with salt and usually one of my favorites. Today's was actually a little tougher than I remembered so it wasn't to my expectation. 6 / 10

Lamb



Lamb Chop Cubes

Judgment: This was pretty good. It was lightly seasoned with salt with a generous helping of pepper. The meat was soft and tender and I would definitely order this again. 9 /10

Meat Ball



Asian style Meat balls

Judgment: Not your typical meatball that you would enjoy with pasta but much softer in structure. The meat falls apart in your mouth and oozes out deliciousness from the fats being cooked inside 7 / 10

Yakitori



Chicken Thigh with Green Onion, Salt (top), Yakitori Sauce (Bottom)

Judgment: The staple of the Yakitori restaurant, Chicken Thigh with Green Onion. They prepare it 2 different ways here at Shin Sen Gumi, and depending on your mood, you might have a preference of one over the other. The salt one is generously seasoned with salt and brings out the richness of the chicken to life. The yakitori sauced one has a mild and sweet flavor to it that you would expect in Teriyaki Chicken, but it wasn't as messy. 9 / 10

Garlic



Fire Roasted Garlic with Miso Paste

Judgment: I'm a garlic lover, I'll admit it. This was one of my favorites at Shin Sen Gumi after I discovered they had it, I always order it now. There's something about Garlic that I just really enjoy, the flavor, the oils, the deliciousness. Although I don't know if my friends who are dining with me will enjoy it but I like it. When the garlic is roasted, it becomes soft and almost butter like. 9 /10

Chicken Skin



Yes, you read that right, Chicken Skin

Judgment: The best part of the chicken on a stick. I love this stuff too! They fire roast it and the skin just melts in your mouth. It is lightly sauced with Yakitori sauce as well. 10 / 10

Pork Belly with Shiso Basil



Basil wrapped with a thin slice of pork belly

Judgment: The fragrant flavor of the basil is not overpowered by the pork belly but rather enhanced with it. The 2 flavors come together very well. 9 / 10

Pork Belly wrapped Enoki Mushrooms



Bundles of Enoki Mushroom wrapped with pork belly

Judgment: A spin on Beef Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms and quite tasty. Although I enjoy the basil more, this was pretty good. The pork belly oozes itself in between all the mushroom so it bursts with flavor in your mouth. 8 / 10

Conclusion: Yakitori is a great way to end a long day at work. Especially if it's paired with some alcohol or just simply whatever you like to drink. The restaurant serves a small collection of sake, umeshu (plum wine), shochu, beers and the typical sodas and teas. I really enjoy my time there, just it does get on the expensive side if you're really hungry. $1.50 does add up really quickly when you order a lot!

This restaurant gets an A-Rank

California Shabu Shabu, Fountain Valley, CA

It was a rainy Saturday evening and I got a text from Kchan inviting me to check out California Shabu Shabu in Fountain Valley, CA.



Shabu Shabu





Judgment: The vegetables were fresh and portions were pretty good. I wished they had Sukiyaki as an option because I actually enjoy that more than Shabu Shabu. The beef was very lean, but cut almost paper thin. Cooking time in semi-rolling boiling water was literally seconds. As a whole, I think the pricing is just a steep but then again, I have not been to a Shabu Shabu/Sukiyaki place in a while. The restaurant also serves Brown Rice in addition to White Rice which is a nice change of pace. 8 / 10

Conclusion: The restaurant is placed in a small Japanese plaza in Fountain Valley which shares the location with Ebisu, Elvis Karaoke Box and other various places. The parking lot is definitely not low-car friendly (I had a bit of trouble getting over the bumps and the drive way is a little steep).

The Restaurant gets a B-Rank