The return of chef Susumu Ii (that’s two i’s) of once existing Kasen Sushi in Fountain Valley finds himself on the second story corner location on Pacific Coast Hwy in Newport Beach. Having just found out Ii’s landing spot, I thought I would give it a whirl, even though only for take out.
There take out menu is very intriguing with a focus on chirashi, pressed sushi and maki sushi with a bento option well. With this being my first impression, I decidedly went for the straight forward chirashi sushi; the other item that piqued my interest was the mackerel rod shaped sushi, aka saba-zushi.
Deluxe chirashi
A beautiful assortment of ingredients and some of the most refined sushi-meshi in SoCal. I loved the rice, seasoned with the perfect balance and temperature to highlight the neta. The tamago stood above the rest as it was rich yet with a bit of sweetness. The texture was light and fluffy and served and optimal temperature for maximum satisfaction. I do think there could be some improvement with the ika and unagi, however I’ll chalk it up to opening amidst this odd time for restaurants.
Named on the menu, rod shaped mackerel sushi, bo-zushi utilizes the entire saba filet and formed with a makisu. Beautifully presented and packed for take out, this massive dish is pretty fuckin hefty. The saba was so damn smooth and the balanced sushi rice accentuated the oily flavor of the fish. Temperature was perfect, making the flavor of the fish and rice shine through. And just look at how the rice glistens in the sun kissed driver side seat parking structure dining room. If you find the right spot, which is not hard these days, you can enjoy your car dining with a view of Newport Harbor. If you look hard, you can see @J_L and @ipsedixit racing yachts against Donald Bren. It doesn’t reach the heights of Hayato, but still really damn good and readily available.
Here is the menu they provided in the bag. Looks like it was $35, although I am kicking myself for ordering the chirashi instead of the sea bream hako zushi.
Saba (from Japan) is actually out of season now.
Although with the right curing method it can still be quite a pleasure. A little searing might elevate it some more too.
I loved Kasen’s sushi under the original chef. They set a high standard for me well before SF started having Michelin star omakase. Chef is very old school and I recall his hikarimono and shellfish were first rate.
Thanks for the menu. So are you saying that you enjoyed the Bozushi so much that you’d rather forego the Chirashi you had to get a Hako Zushi instead? Just curious.
The chirashi was great and I loved the sushi meshi with the seasoning and added ingredients, yet I kept going back to the bo-zushi and wondered how the hako-zushi could have been. It is a nice option but I don’t think it is a representation of chefs previous omakase at this time.
They were doing quite well with many customers picking up, granted it was Mother’s Day. Hoping to do the full experience as the space he chose and interior was well done.
