Pratana A.'s Profile

Love x 10!  High five again Yelp, another out-of-town success.  I was at Brea mall and wanted to find sushi not too far away and Orange Sushi came up.  Boy was that a wonderful search result.

This lovely little spot is in a strip mall and not all fancy pants, but the food and people are worthy of 5 stars for sure, maybe 6 if that were possible.  First off the lovely servers were super gracious, kind, friendly and helpful.

I had the spicy tuna poke chips appetizer - fantasmic!  Fresh hot homemade wonton crisps in made to order spicy tuna poke with avocado.  The portion was epic and the quality was amazing.

Also had the seared ahi with garlic chips rolls which had a blackened seasoning on top - divine!  The bomba caliente bowl and some avocado rolls for good measure.

What tips this place over the edge aside from the amazing sushi, prices, quality, and service.. is this.. get ready.. Tempura Oreos with ice cream!  Yes... they dared to tempura batter and fry oreos to golden piping hot perfection and serve with cool creamy green tea and vanilla ice cream.  There is no "too full for dessert" when this is on the books.  So deliciously magical I think the only way to understand is to enjoy it yourself and visit Orange Sushi!

Ok I'll start off by saying I'm probably not the most experienced Indian cuisine judge, so this review is based on pure taste enjoyment and the visit.  I get the draw of a 7.99 buffet, times are tough and people are hungry.  The service here also was stellar and everyone was nothing but gracious and kind.

For the food... Everything tasted under spiced or bland for some odd reason and it was sort of strange the at the dessert was co-mingling with the starters.  For a second I couldn't tell which was the raita and which was the rice pudding because they were both next to each other, white and lumpy.  The curries were on the bland side/tasted watered down.

The highlight of the offerings were the tandoori chicken, unfortunately also a bit bland and dry and the garlic naan - which I actually enjoyed quite well.

So Irvine and Pho don't exactly mingle well, but I have to say out of all the pho I've scoured across town this place is the best (although not the best in the grand scheme of other socal cities you can find pho).

First of all.. this place is packed on weekend evenings, probably due to it's formidable location in Diamond Jamboree and their monopoly of serving the only vietnamese food in the plaza as well.  The wait is not too long unless you have a large party as the turnover is pretty quick.. I mean how long do you want to linger in a pho restaurant anyway?

I had the grilled pork pho which was great.  The pork was marinated, tasty, and cooked well and the pho noodles and soup were fresh and not full of overly salty msg.

The lemon grass chicken rice plate is also good but could've used a bit more lemon grass.

This is another high five I owe to Yelp.  I was in the mood for some island food the other day but didn't want to stray too far from home.  Yelped up this joint and was pleasantly surprised!

I was most impressed with how impeccably clean the restaurant was, kind the service was, and loved the food is prepared when you order - not sitting around under a lamp.

The mochiko chicken is a must.  It is juicy chicken thigh tenders coated in a lovely light crispy mochiko rice flour dusting and fried to golden brown perfection.  They are served with your choice of two sides (I chose the macaroni salad, awesome, and rice).

The bbq spicy pork was great too, it was full of spicy marinade and char grilled flavor.  It could've been a little less dry, but I thought it was still good.  We had the jap che long noodles with this.

I would definitely come back here for a hawaiian fix that's a bit more nice of an atmosphere than an L&L type joint.

Located in what seems like a no man's land strip mall way off the strip, this Thai restaurant is a sight for sore eyes.  I won't pass judgement on the buffet because I went a la carte, but I can't say it looked too hot.  On the bright side, the dishes I had were great here.

I'd highly recommend the Nam Prik Ong starter which is a wonderfully savory spiced ground pork that is served with blanched vegetables and pork rinds - sounds odd but trust me on this one.

The chili garlic wings are great too but a can get a bit tacky/too sweet when they start to cool on the table, but the flavor and crispness were great on the first couple pieces.

The spicy basil fried rice was also very good and full of flavor.

They have a huge wine cellar and the service was very good for being so busy.

On the quest for good Hawaiian in Vegas... we landed here honestly because all the higher rated places were closed (it was Thanksgiving day).  This place was A-OK as the rating implies, nothing special/not terribly great but also not anything to complain about.  The biggest draw might be the portion sizes because they were gargantuan.

We had the adobo fried rice omelette and loco moco.  The adobo fried rice was great and had lots of flavor but was a little flat after a while and needed hot sauce.  The loco moco also started off well but became a slight bit overwhelming due to the flood of tomato based gravy.

Love!  I had the most wonderful dinner here.  In Viva Las Vegas style, you can sit next to a floor to ceiling window that overlooks a backlit waterfall and lovely little body of water.  

We shot for the amazing sashimi tasting special along with a handful of yakitori and small bite treats.  The sashimi quality is the best we've ever encountered... and portions were quite generous.  The best small dishes were the wagyu and horseradish creme and the kurobota pork... literally fall apart tender.

My favorite part of the meal was dessert.  They offer a listing of small desserts that are $5 each or 3 for $12 (um.. discount at high end?).  Anyway .. all you need to remember is Green Tea Creme Brulee!  Hands down one of the top desserts I've ever had in my life, as we finished it, I wished I had more.  Alas the deliciousness had to end.

The cocktails here were also delicious treats themselves... I had the mango martini and he had the black rabbit... good enough for 2nd rounds :)

It doesn't get cuter than this for a hole in the wall!  This hidden diamond in the rough (of a random strip mall) is bursting with Okinawan small town charm.  I've now come here several times and have enjoyed the following as my favorite dishes... the Grilled Rafute with Jalapeno (It's pork), the stewed pork rib, and the pork belly ramen.  

The pork belly ramen is simply an umami pleasure!  It's brimming with savory glistening broth and topped with a really generous portion of pork belly.

The service here is stellar and the kind ladies truly care about your experience and will check on you often without getting in your way.  It's definitely a lovely atmosphere/change of pace from your usual OC haunts.

I came here after a late show at the MGM Grand Arena and it definitely hit the light dinner munchies spot!  

Had the garlic glazed wings that were smothered in a sweet and savory sauce and fried to a crisp golden brown along with the mountain of bleu cheese fresh potato chips.  The chips were awesome all around, wonderfully hot crisp and melded seamlessly with the smooth pungent melted and crumbled bleu cheese.  

The star of this meal was dessert in the form of decadent warm chocolate beignets with chocolate dipping sauce!  This blew any beignets I've ever had out of the water because their centers were oozing with molten chocolate.

We also had a sangria (so-so) and a Chimay here, drink selection was vast, too bad the sangria was not wow factor.

Loved my first experience here!  The service was stellar and the fellow who took care of us was so nice and didn't mind explaining or recommending menu items.  I had the:

Spicy Chicken Wings -  Crunchy, delicious, with 3 dips!
Steamed Mandoo - Fresh plush wrappers, jalapenos on top, and a scrumptious sauce.
Dak bol gi - Grilled chicken in a sweet garlic sauce, yum!
Kimchu Fried Rice - Fantastic and hot hot hot
Green salad with house dressing and banchans were perfect too.

Will definitely be returning!