14775 Jeffrey Road #K
Irvine, CA 92618-0403
(949) 559-7190
Every time we passed by Taiko, we see tons of people waiting for tables. It doesn't matter if it was day, night, weekday, or weekend, this place is always full. Taiko must be the most popular Japanese restaurant in Irvine. We wonder why, and assumed the food must be good then. We just have to try it for ourselves. Dr. P worked form http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com on Monday. Perfect day to try an early dinner at Taiko to avoid the crowd.
The restaurant opens at 5pm for dinner service. We got there at 4:50pm, and there were always people waiting in line to get in.
There is a sushi bar near the entrance. The back of the restaurant is the dining room.
Sunomono
Our waitress brought us two plates of sunomono and a pot of hot green tea as soon as we sat down. The sunomono was crunchy and fresh. We ordered two combos and wanted to order a sushi roll as well. The waitress told us that the combos have big portion, and she thinks it should be enough food for us. She suggested us to try the combos first, then if we still want the sushi roll, we can always order later. I thought that was very nice and honest of her. Most restaurant waitstaff probably would like the customers to order more than enough so they can make more tips. But not this nice waitress at Taiko. I like her.
Miso Soup
Our combo came with miso soup. Instead of the norm soft tofu, Taiko's miso soup had fried tofu in the soup. It was pretty good.
Sushi with Beef Teriyaki and Sesame Chicken ($17.25)
Dr. P ordered Sushi combo with beef teriyaki and sesame chicken. The waitress was right. Portion is really big at Taiko.
Teriyaki Beef
Broiled beef seasoned with teriyaki sauce
Teriyaki beef looked really good, but it was a bit too chewy though. It was cooked medium like we asked. Maybe it was the cut of the beef? It wasn't as tender as we'd like.
Sesame Chicken
Bite size chicken fried with special sweet sake sauce
All of Taiko's combo comes with sesame chicken. This lead us to believe that sesame chicken must be their specialty. We took a bite of the chicken, and immediately went "Mmmmmmm that's really good!" I think it was made with chicken thigh. The bite size chicken was juicy and seasoned just right. This was our favorite item of the night.
Sushi
Sushi plate had salmon, surf clam, salmon, halibut, shrimp, and 6 pieces of tuna roll. They were very generous with the sashimi portion. Everything tasted really fresh.
Tuna Steak Teriyaki, Sashimi and Sesame Chicken Combi ($16.50)
The combo I ordered had tuna steak teriyaki, sashimi, and sesame chicken.
Tuna Steak Teriyaki
Choice cut of tuna broiled with teriyaki sauce
Most Japanese restaurants offer salmon teriyaki, but Taiko only has tuna steak teriyaki. The tuna steak was thick. I thought they would cook it like ahi tuna steak, cooked outside and raw inside. But nope, they cooked the tuna all the way. It was still pretty soft. But personally I think I prefer salmon over tuna. Salmon is fattier, and tastier in my opinion.
Sashimi
Sashimi was 5 big pieces of tuna. It was fresh and soft. But why can't they offer more variety? I mean, I already had tuna teriyaki, do they still have to give me more tuna for sashimi? I was a little bit "tuna out" by the end of dinner.
So after trying Taiko for ourselves, we thought, well, this place is definitely overrated. Yes, the portion is big. And people probably like that for the value. But the food, honestly, was just alright. The sesame chicken was good. Everything else didn't really stand out. I would still come back if I'm in the mood for those combo Japanese food. But if there's a wait, I wouldn't think it's worth it and would leave right away. One thing I really like about Taiko is that they are right next door to Yogurtland! haha.... I am so glad the Lychee Tart is back at Yogurtland. Yum yum!!
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There is something bizarrrrrro about the perfectly painted-on-look of white stripes of that salmon...
ReplyDeleteI didn't even notice it before.
But now you mentioned it, the white strips did look like it was painted on.
did u eat that so delicious food by youself?
ReplyDeletei never mind be your partner to do that``lol``because i in la too```
anyway```u article and picture is beautiful``i was hungry```
No, I couldn't eat all that by myself.
Two of us couldn't even finish all that food.
TAIKO is famous for SUSHI BAR... =) But I do agree with you TAIKO is way overrated!
ReplyDeleteReally? I didn't know that.
Maybe we'll try the restaurant again for their sushi bar.
I had been Taiko many times, the people waiting outside before the business hours, because for the sushi bar, that's totally different then eating in the room, you should try next time, you will love it guaranty especially served by chef Ono. Ask him for the sushi bar’s special items of day.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea! We gotta go back again to try now!!
My wife and I went to the yogurt place next door. We noticed a line forming outside the door at Taiko, a few people with chairs! I went up to the couple with chairs and asked them what the deal was. They said it was a line to sit at the sushi bar inside, and with a straight face and dead-pan seriousness, told us that Taiko is the best sushi in orange county, and likely the state!
ReplyDeleteMy wife is japanese and has had sushi all over the state, and this couple we were talking to were white (white as me). So it was pretty funny. We did try it, and Taiko is alright. Best in state? No. Best in Orange county? No. Best in Irvine? Maybe, it's certainly much better than Von's. Not that it's Taiko's fault, but that couple was full of it.
But who am I to judge, it's all mushy-ricey-mayonaisish-raw meat to me.
haha you're fuuny... with the mushy ricey amyonaisish comment.
I think people like it because they give you big and thick pieces of fish?
We'll go try it and see how we feel about it.
That salmon looks so pretty. You probably got a belly portion! So fat :)
ReplyDeleteI have always visited this plaza but never tried it. My companion likes this place, but we rarely visit since we are never sure if there will be a wait. Last time we went to the China Garden instead- I would call it so-so but SGV (or even Arcadia) serves up better dim sum.
Yeah I don't know about dim sum in Irvine.
For the few places we tried, I thought the dim sum was just so-so and way over-priced.
SGV has much better dim sum with more reasonable price.
I LOVE Lunasia!!
Love that salmon on your plate:-) Taiko's combos are OK, but their sushi bar is better. Also try to do early dinner sushi bar, because a few times when I got seated later (like 7:30 or 8 pm), the sushi chef tends to feed me fish that still have some "frozen" centers, not completely thawed out, and that ruins sushi, doesn't it? It's because by then they've run out and started the second round of fish, and you might get some pieces with a semi frozen center.
ReplyDeletePeople like Taiko because 20 years ago there weren't many Japanese restaurants in Irvine and the fish is fresh and the combos are large. (yes I've lived in Irvine for over 20 years).
So they serve previously frozen sashimi?
Hmmmm.... I don't know if that's considered "fresh" sashimi though.
The taste and texture are different once the fish is frozen.
Now I don't know if I would like to try their sushi bar.
From what I understand, almost all sushi bars import frozen fish. Salmon must be frozen to kill the bacteria inside the fish. In Japan, salmon is not served in sushi bars because it cannot be held in stasis because of the bacteria/germs/whatever you want to call it that's naturally occuring. Remember salmon have to return to the fresh water stream where they were spawned. Tuna (even in Tsukiji Market in Japan) comes in frozen from the boat. Almost all fish have to be frozen to maintain freshness. I'm sure you agree that sushi HAVE to be fresh.
ReplyDeleteA few sushi bars imports fish that have been held in stasis by huge acupuncture needles to insure freshness upon delivery. I know this as fact because Yoshi-san had shown me different types of whole fish and where they put the acupuncture needle (on the head), there's a visible hole. But sushi made from these fish usually runs $10 to $20 for 2 nigiris. So it's really really expensive, and the sushi chef has to be uber careful about the quantity ordered or they will be out of business very quickly.
Taiko sushi bar is not bad, but it's not sushi Ikko or Shibucho or Maki-Zushi.
I didn't know that. Thanks for the inof, tenjo.
Yeah now I think about it, sushi bar usually charges more for fish imported from Japan.
But they have to freeze the fish to ship it here from Japan, right?
Duh.... why didn't I think of that before?!