Zipangu - Costa Mesa

Zipangu
2930 Bristol St # C
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 545-2800
Type: Japanese food / sushi / fusion
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The view from the jungles of Habana


click here to read the first half of our restaurant-hopping journey

So we had our taste of Caribbean food (Cuban to be exact) at Habana. Next door a few steps away was a Japanese sushi/fusion restaurant called Zipangu. Because it's in the same hip shopping area as Habana, it also attracts the hip and cool. Zipangu has a modern design inside. That's all I'm gonna say about that. Ask a girl or a poet to describe the details of the place if you want. Inside isn't as loud as Habana. It's a little more laid back with a loungey feeling.

Over here, we didn't order very much. We ordered one roll and a few pieces of sashimi, but I think we ended up spending more here. One reason was cuz we ordered the Maine Crunch Roll $18. The description stated, "Maine lobster with Cajun tempura, avocado, asparagus, flying fish roe and paprika soy paper topped with tempura flakes and sweet eel sauce. I don't know about you, but that sounded really good. We weren't super hungry anymore, so were hunting for quality. This roll was one of the biggest fucking let-downs in my sushi career. I had to say the F word just to emphasize how disappointed we were. For $18, that better be one damn good roll. To us, it was just weak and you could almost say bland. Maybe our expectations were high and we already ate before, but good lord! Never again.

Maine Crunch Roll. Wack son. That lobster tail is empty-- which is a similar feeling I had after eating this.


In between eating the lobster rolls, we had some sashimi. We got the salmon ($7) and yellowtail ($9). Now these were good. Nice cuts and good color. Great taste. Too bad we wasted our money on the rip-off roll. We coulda got more sashimi.

good sashimi. shoulda got more.


We went to Zipangu another time after this, and it was good-- though pricey. This place is good. I can look past the Maine Crunch Roll cuz I ain't getting it again. The second time we came I forgot what we ate, but we were happy, although sad to spend so much. I don't mind coming back here again.