Kappo Sui Restaurant, Santa Ana, California Restaurant Details

Food:

I did not like the sushi. The rolls are small and thin. The prices are a not bad but the texture of the sushi was too mushy. The rice wrapped around the sushi roll was overcooked. I left unsatisfied and I could have honestly made this at home as a New B sushi cook.

The only highlight about this dinner was the sake bombs.

Food:

This place is a gem for Japanese people craving authentic "dashi" flavor. The chef, Shirai san, is trained in Japan and brought his expertise, talent, and culinary skill to Orange County. He's not some Japanese dude who flunked out of community college and decided to work at a Japanese restaurant. He is professionally trained and highly skilled.

The things you want to order here are anything that has "dashi" or anything that has to be kneaded. They also serve sushi/sashimi, but it is not their strength. Please do not order teriyaki chicken and California rolls and complain about the food. I would not order those items here either.

I come here with my wife, and we always order:
inaniwa udon (hot)
dashi age mochi
ebi (shrimp) shinjou
kani (crab) shumai
chawan mushi

My personal favorites are:
kani (crab) croquette
karaage (fried chicken)
Actually anything fried is good.

Some of the specials that they occasionally serve that I personally like are:
matsutake dobinmushi
matsutake chawan mushi
maguro zuke don
negi toro maki

Usually, the specials are in Japanese, so grab a wait staff and get them to explain what's on the board if you can't read Japanese. This is very important because they usually post specials made with fresh/seasonal ingredients that they don't always get to keep year-round.

They have a good selection of sake too.

Very highly recommended if you have a hankering for authentic "dashi" and high quality kappo. Again, and I can't stress this enough, if you want teriyaki anything and California rolls, please go somewhere else.