52 Week Project : Week 12
Billards
Canon 5D MkII / 85mm f/1.8
Took up billiards as another new hobby, so I picked up a set of Aramith Billiard Balls.
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Archive for March, 2011
Shimura
Shimura is literally a hidden gem in Fountain Valley. You wouldn’t be able to tell that it was a Japanese sushi restaurant from the outside, but once inside, it apparent that Shimura didn’t have a hard time attracting customers. There was a unique vibe inside of Shimura, where it felt as if everyone seems to know each other, which made us believe that most of them were locals who regularly dine there.
We were lucky to get a seat at the sushi bar after a short wait and as always, we ordered our usual, masago and uni, before asking the chef for omakase. To our delight, nearly half the dishes they brought out were new to us. Most memorable was the deep fried lotus root and octopus. Everything was amazingly fresh. Even the sweet shrimp was still alive and moving before it was prepared for us.
Unfortunately, they were out of Sculpin, which was one of the main reasons we went there. From what they told us, it was a seasonal fish and summer was a better time to come back and try it. Overall, everything else was fresh and delightful but at the same time it was quite affordable. However, I didn’t get to try the Sculpin or any other their other live dishes, so it wouldn’t be fair to give Shimura a final verdict until revisiting them again in the summer.
52 Week Project : Week 11
Birthday Cake
Canon 5D MkII / 50mm f/1.4
52 Week Project : Week 10
Big Ass Fan @ Bear Flag
Canon 5D MkII / 50mm f/1.4
Bear Flag Fish Company
One of my friends took me out to Bear Flag Fish Company the other night. From what I was told, they were known for having the freshest fish tacos in Orange County. Upon arrival, it seems like everyone had heard about the buzz, because they were packed. As soon as we found parking, we joined the fray of people and worked our way up the line. Their menu was simple; you could pretty much have tacos and burritos with whatever was their catch of the day. There was a of course a few other items on the menu such as soup and salad, but the “Thresher Burrito” was already calling my name as soon as I saw on their special menu. I never even heard of thresher before, but I knew I wanted it.
When we finally reached the counter, I asked what Thresher was exactly and the cashier informed me that it was a type of shark. SHARK BURRITO! Sure why not! It’s not every day that you’re offered a shark burrito. So after ordering the burrito, we also picked up a few panko fish tacos and the cioppino soup.
The panko fish tacos were refreshing. It wasn’t over deep fried like most other places, so we were actually able to appreciate the fish instead of the batter. Also, the sweet hot sauce that they had went perfectly with the tacos. At this point, the tacos were already hitting the spot, but then the Thresher burrito took it to the next level. Shark meat had a unique texture to it, that might surprise a lot of people when they try it for the first time. Sharks are a lot leaner than other fishes, so the meat was a lot firmer and not as fatty. But by no means did that take away from the amazing taste of the burrito. If anything, it was a lot more satisfying to bite into firmer chucks of meat.
Bear Flag Fish Company was quite spectacular. Most of their fish appears to be caught earlier in the day which would explain their level of freshness. Even with all of the hype, Bear Flag Fish Company won’t disappoint you.
Zipangu
Zipangu is by far one of the most interesting places I dine at, but it also left me with a lot of mix feelings about the overall experience there. Upon walking in, the décor gave off a vibe that made us feel like we were at a fancy lounge instead of a Japanese restaurant. The sushi bar was in the corner of the restaurant and seems to be smaller than their drink bar. But behind the sushi bar was a familiar face of a sushi chef from Kitayama. We had a pleasure of dining with him before, a few months ago, while he was still at Kitayama. Since then, he informed us that he left his old post seeking growth but pointed out that the majority of the patrons at Zipangu only orders maki, or cut rolls, that is offended handle by his assistants in the back.
Our sushi chef was quite eager when we started to order nigiri. While the Toro and Amberjack that they had was good, we were disappointed to find out that they were out of Uni and only had enough sweet shrimp for one order. One of the shortcoming of specialized in cut rolls, is that they don’t stock up on other items that aren’t commonly ordered. So to compensate, we ordered a few tapas items and a few items off their robata grill menu. The chef was even nice enough to bring out a few off menu items such as his special baked crab cake and it was delicious. The baked crab cake was the best thing we had all night. If we known about it sooner, we would just skipped all of the other fillers and gone straight for the crab cake. It was just that good. To end the night, he suggested the Green Tea Panna Cotta, which was the perfect follow up to the crab cake.
The overall experience was a positive one. Although, it did feel a bit strange to be only ones sitting at the sushi bar while everyone else flocked to the tables and lounge chairs. The tapas and grilled items were passing at best, but a bit overpriced. However, anything the sushi chef brought out was great, especially the baked crab cake. Zipangu definitely has a lot of potential, but just hasn’t realized it yet. It might be worthwhile to revisit them in six months.
52 Week Project : Week 9
Mail Call @ The Aspens
Canon 5D MkII / 50mm f/1.4
FiRE+iCE
After hearing a few friends rave about FiRE+iCE, I figure it was time to try them out. But upon arriving, we found that there was a 40 minute wait for a table for two. A quick look around and you can spot all of the open tables, which made us believe that they were understaffed. Even after we were seated, it took another 10 minutes before someone came by to take out drink order. But when no one returned after 15 minutes, we were fed up with waiting and made out way over to the grill.
Behind the grill was a buffet of raw meat and assorted vegetables. It seemed pretty self explanatory at the time, so we just piled our bowl with food and found a spot at the counter where everyone else was waiting for their food to be cooked. However, no one told us that we needed to line up behind wherever the blinking beacon was (more wasted time). So after finding the end of the line, we realized that there were about 30 people waiting around the grill, all of them waiting for their food to be cooked, but we could only see a few people working the grill. We turned to each other and sighed as we prepare ourselves for another long wait, but this time we get to stand.
Despite the wonderful service that we were not having, the food was quite edible. Although, it seems like most of the flavors came from their overwhelming sauces, and not from the ingredients themselves. When we finished, we were hesitant on going back for seconds. The whole process of getting our food was so un-enjoyable, that it didn’t seem to be worth the effort. At least their drinks were stiff.
The concept of an AYCE Mongolian style BBQ is nice, but FiRE+iCE executed it horribly. It would have been a better experience if they had more staff on hand. It would have been nice if we were able to try all of the different combinations and sauces, but at the moment, FiRE+iCE is nothing more than a cheap buffet with little to no service.
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