Best of O.C. - Hungerguide Edition

I just read the 15th Annual Best of Orange County - Eating & Drinking on OCregister.com.

http://www.ocregister.com/best/eating_drinking/

I didn't agree with many of the selections and I thought I offer my two cents to the list. Here it goes:

Best Brunch

1. Omelette Parlor in Costa Mesa
2. Sabatino's in Newport Beach
3. Las Brisas

Best Chinese Food
Just to give you an idea how bad the O.C. Register's list was, here was their top 3:

1. PF Chang's
2. Pick up Stix
3. Panda Express

Here is Hungerguide's top picks (not in order):

• Best Chinese in Irvine - AJ
• Best Chinese Seafood - Newport Seafood
• Best Chinese egg noodle soup - Sam Woo in Irvine

Best Coffeehouse

1. Kean Coffee in Newport Beach
2. Gypsy Den in Costa Mesa
3. 85 C (more for their bakery side)
4. Veronese Cafe Gallery in Fullerton

Best Deli/Sub Sandwich shop

1. De Simone Bakery & Deli in Huntington Beach
2. Bahn Mi Cali Bakery in Westminster

Best Hamburger (probably in the planet) - In N Out Burger!!!!

Best Italian Food

1. Mama D's Italian Kitchen in Newport Beach
2. Spaghetti Bender in Newport Beach

Best Japanese Food

1. Sushi Kappo Suzumaru in Tustin
2. Fukada in Lake Forest
3. Cafe Hiro in Cypress
4. Maestros in Costa mesa

Best Japapnese Ramen/Yakitori

1. Shin-Sen-Gumi in Fountain Valley
2. Hondaya in Tustin
3. Daikokuya in Costa Mesa

Best Mexican Food

1. Salmeron's El Tapatio in Santa Ana
2. Costa Azul in Santa Ana

Best Pizza

1. Laventina's PIzza in Newport Beach
2. Gina's Pizza in Newport Beach

Best Thai Food

1. Thai Nakorn in Stanton
2. You & I Thai Cusine in Anaheim

Best Vietnamese Food

• Tay Ho in Westminster
• Boiling Crab in Westminster
• Brodard in Westminster

Kokoro Sushi Revisited

There were times where Kokoro Sushi ran out of their rice and not enough helping hands to accommodate large number of guests. Those days are in the past and Kokoro Sushi quickly rises up for the occasion. The owner and chef of Kokoro Sushi has pride in his restaurant for slowly establishing its reputation in serving great sushi without emptying out your wallet.

Our night started out with the sashimi platter. We work ourselves into salmon skin salad then to shrimp boat. Then I realized that I forgot to take pictures. Below photos are shrimp boat, spicy lobster roll (oops, I missed this one, too), baked muscles, jalepeno poppers, pineapple sake, halibut tempura, salmon collar, and finally amaebi sweet shrimp sashimi and tempura. All those dishes result in four happy eaters that night.

More good news. Word is around that this place is preparing to serve Japanese style tapas with draft beer soon. It also extends its business hour to midnight. Once everything is set and done, Kokoro Sushi will be one cool place to hang out in Orange County.

Kobawoo House, LA

I am proud to introduce more authentic side of Korean food. The dish is called "bo-sam", which means wrap. Main ingredient is pork, my favorite type of meat, and it is prepared in rather unique way. Bo-sam often uses pork belly and boils along with miso and ginger. The meat is so tender and subtle in taste that is completely different than ever popular Korean bacon, or sam-gyup-sal.

Tender pork is served with heavily marinated daikon and fermented shrimp sauce. Then wrapped with chinese cabbage that is prepared in a similar way as how kimchee has been made. All that flavors and textures combined result in my happy tummy. It is the ultimate food pairing session.

Other picture is "jeng ban gook soo", marinated cold noodle on round serving plate. Enjoy the pictures:











698 S. Vermont Ave. #109 Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 389-7300

Nine Course Meal

First Course

Trio of Shrimp - Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Dim Sum, Shrimp Bisque

Second Course

French Onion Soup with Drizzle of Truffle Oil

Third Course

Blueberry Glazed Pan Seared U-10 Scallop with Blueberry Vinegar Salad

Fourth Course

Kim-Chee Chicken Cordon Bleu

Fifth Course

Cajun Pan Seared Shrimp with Rissotto

Sixth Course

Pan Seared Curry Orange Roughy with Sweet Chili Salsa

Seventh Course

Sashimi Rice with Korean Chili Paste

Eighth Course

Tofu Special Soup

Ninth Course

Mint Lime Sorbet

Saigon Cafe, Westminster