22641 Lake Forest Dr
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 855-8330
Dr. P was looking for a good sushi place around Irvine, and came across Sushi Wazen on Yelp. This Japanese restaurant has a 4.5 stars rating. A lot of people also commented on the affordable price. Cheap and good sushi? Yes, we are there for sure! This was actually our second visit to Sushi Wazen. I forgot to bring my camera the first time. Dr. P took pictures with his cell phone. I will post our first visit once he emails me those pictures. We love the food, and return again the following week.
Sushi Wazen doesn't look anything special from the outside. It's a small restaurant with about 5 tables and a 10 seats sushi bar.
We sat at a table on our first visit. This time we sat at the sushi bar. The chef Nobu san was very friendly. He remembered us from last time. He even remembered where we sat. He asked us for our names. For the rest of the night, he remembered our name. I like that.
Last time we were here, we noticed the pretty placemat they used. This time the drawing on the placemat was different. It's from those little details that you can tell they really put a lot of thought into their restaurant.
Edamame
The meal started with complimentary edamame. It was lightly salted.
Sapporo Black Label (22 oz) ($5.25)
Gotta have some alcohol to go with sushi. We got a large bottle of Sapporo.
Miso Soup ($2.75)
Dr. P ordered a bowl of Miso Soup. I like how they used a lot of seaweed in their soup.
Oysters ($3.00)
Really fresh oysters. It was drizzled with a soy ponzu sauce. Very good.
Albacore Sushi ($3.00)
Albacore Sushi was very tasty.
Sea Urchin Sushi ($5.50)
Lemon juice & sea salt
Sea Urchin Sushi was prepared the special "Wazen" way with lemon juice and sea salt. It didn't need wasabi nor soy sauce. Just eat the sushi like that, you can really taste the sweetness of the uni. Delicious!
Salmon Sushi ($3.50)
Shiraita konbu (white kelp) on top
Salmon Sushi was prepared with shiraita konbu on top. As Dr. P said, "it was damn good!"
Red Snapper Sushi ($3.00) / Amberjack Sushi ($4.50)
Red Snapper Sushi and Amberjack Sushi were both recommended by Nobu san. He said those were the best fish of the night. He was right. Both fish tasted melt in your mouth kinda fresh.
Spicy Tuna Roll ($5.00)
Spicy Tuna Roll was made with a big piece of tuna in the middle. Most of the spicy tuna roll I've had was made with chopped tuna, and there was no vegetables in the roll.
Wazen's version had avocado, cucumber and carrot in it. We love it! I love the mix texture of creamy and crunchiness.
Yellowtail Jalapeno Roll ($8.00)
If you come to Sushi Wazen, and only want to get one dish, GET THIS ONE: Yellowtail Jalapeno Roll. It came with a special sesame sauce that was the best dipping sauce ever!
California roll topped with yellowtail, roe, and jalapeno. It seemed simple, but it was just so good. This is officially my favorite roll now!
Foie Gras ($14.50)
There's a white board near the door with their daily specials written on it. We saw Foie Gras. Foie Gras? In a Japanese sushi restaurant? Well, let's try it. It came on a pretty blue glass plate with very nice presentation of duck breast, okra, tomato, and foie gras. We tried the duck breast first. It was cooked medium, super tender, too good!
The foie gras was sitting on top of honeyed tomatoes. It was cooked perfectly. Rich, and creamy. When it got too heavy, we paired it with the sweet tomato, perfect balance. Who would've thought you could get such a perfect elegant dish in a small sushi restaurant?
Grape Sorbet
Nobu san treated us to his http://www.eileenlikestoeat.commade dessert, Grape Sorbet. It was made with red grape juice, and topped with fresh green grapes. Light and delicious.
Nobu san chatted with us. I asked him if he was married with kids. He answered with Japanese accent, "No, I am shingo. No money, no honey." All the customers turned, looked at him, quiet, then burst into laughter. Nobu san's face turned red, and said, "solli solli sumimasen solli...." He is just too funny!
Sushi Wazen is now our favorite sushi restaurant in Orange County. This place has becoming our "Hide Sushi" of OC. haha.... We love the food, and their price is very very reasonable. Chef Nobu san is not only talented, but he's also funny and friendly. I highly recommend this restaurant to all of my OC friends!
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Super super good restaurant. Loved the food and service. Just be careful if it's full since service can be pretty slow in that case (when we went, it was very fast). Only nobu-san as the sushi chef, 1 hot foods cook, and 1 waitress, so nearly a one man operation. Prices are so reasonable and food was great! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for finding this restaurant.
Wow, looks fantastic! The Foie Gras surprises me too :), as well as the grape sorbet. Have never seen both of these dishes ever before at a sushi restaurant. Looks like a good deal too with the high quality ingredients.
ReplyDeleteYes, really high quality ingredients with very reasonable price.
Eileen I think you should lead a eating tour for all your blog followers from Taiwan.
ReplyDeletehaha you think? That would be kinda fun.
Using Jalapeno pepper on sushi is pretty unique. I think I would love it!
ReplyDeleteA lot of sushi restaurants in Los Angeles do it that way.
I don't think sushi restaurant in Japan would do anything like that though.