The Gossiping Gourmet: Worth the wait for house-made Japanese creations
I used to frequent a deli in a tiny strip mall across the freeway from the Irvine Spectrum Center and noticed that the place next door was always crowded. I was on my lunch hour and never had the time to wait.
I recently returned with my dining companion one Saturday evening and the place — Fukada — was, as expected, quite busy. The casual modern Japanese restaurant does not take reservations, so visitors put their names on a list and wait. We spent the time perusing the menu and after about 20 minutes were seated.
Fukada’s menu is quite extensive, and the featured dishes are house-made udon and soba noodles, which can be hot or cold and served with a number of different toppings. Since these are the most popular items, I thought I would like to focus on the other good things that the restaurant serves.
We began our meal with some excellent gyoza, six very crunchy, deep-fried pork dumplings that were as good as any we have tasted. Less tasty was the chawanmushi, which is an egg custard with tiny bits of shrimp. We found this to be very bland. I usually love this dish, but Fukada’s version was really lacking in seasoning and flavor.
Our main courses were both top notch. I had the sea bass. The moist, perfectly cooked fish had a deliciously seared and crispy skin. It was served with a side of delicately fried tempura green beans in a slightly sweet, slightly spicy sauce.
My dining companion had the chicken teriyaki with shrimp and vegetable tempura. The shrimp were very large and cooked in the same light batter as the host of vegetables, which included tomatoes, asparagus, eggplant and squash.
The entrees include pork loin cutlet, giant shrimp tempura and prime beef steak. They come with a small appetizer, a bowl of excellent miso soup and green beans dotted with sesame seeds, accompanied by a sweet soy sauce for dipping.
Fukada also offers salads such as crab and avocado, sea vegetables with sesame and citrus dressing, and salmon skin salad. Its 26 appetizers include Japanese-style fried chicken, grilled duck with natural salt, sea eel and vegetable tempura, grilled shiitaki mushrooms, and lightly fried Japanese eggplant with sweet miso paste.
Guest can also choose from a long list of individual tempura vegetables, from mountain potato to lotus root, pumpkin and avocado.
Fukada serves cage-free chicken, organic miso soup, brown rice as well as white, organic tofu, organic salads, wild salmon and all-natural prime beef.
We were intrigued with a dessert selection called tempura ice cream. It featured a scoop of green tea ice cream that had been battered and quickly deep fried, then topped with lots of whipped cream. We were surprised that the ice cream didn’t melt much and was quite delicious with the battered coating.
The restaurant has a patio out front and for dining indoors a long, wide communal table with benches, seats facing the open kitchen and regular tables. The high ceiling and wall of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the patio make the space feel open. Floors are cement, and the general feeling is what might be called industrial chic.
Good food at reasonable prices seems to keep the diners coming year after year.
TERRY MARKOWITZ was in the gourmet food and catering business for 20 years. She can be reached for comments or questions at [email protected].
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FUKADA
LOCATION: 8683 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine
HOURS: 11: 30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Closed Mondays.
PRICES:
Salads: $1.50 to $11
Entrees: $5.75 to $19.95
Desserts: $2 to $4.50
WINE:
Bottles: $40
By the glass: $5.50
Saki: $5.50 to $13
INFORMATION: fukadarestaurant.com or 949 341 0111