Returning to San Diego from Market World, I noticed that the traffic was unusually light, so I decided to take a chance, and head on over to Marukai Costa Mesa. This was done in typical SoCal fashion, that is, via multiple freeways. So it was the 60 East to the 57 South, to the 5 South, to the 55 West, to the 405 North…..that was easy, wasn’t it!
I found Marukai Costa Mesa on busy Harbor Blvd, in a building that was obviously some other Supermarket in a previous life. The parking lot was busy, and so was the market. I just took a short trip around the perimeter, and the "Hawaiian" section caught my eye:
All of the usual suspects where in display; the Hawaii Miso, Portuguese Sausage, Zippy’s Chili, etc. The one thing that really caught my eye was the Park’s Brand Chili Pepper water, a real rarity here on the mainland.
Over in the fish department, there was very fresh Maguro and of course, Ogo!
Since the Costa Mesa location of Marukai is a little closer I may end up shopping here instead of driving to Gardena. The selection is good, and I was surprised at all of the "Local Kine" people everywhere.
After doing a bit of shopping I stored all my "Stuff" and took a walk around the Food Court. Suddenly I was caught totally off guard and surprised:
Not by that sign, but by this:
Yes, that is Meat Jun that you see on the "menu board". I’ve never seen Meat Jun on the Mainland! I was fairly surprised, after all I had always been pretty sure that Meat Jun was more or less a Hawaii thing. Meat Jun is marinated rib eye beef, coated with an egg and flour coating and fried. It is usually served with a sweet-salty dipping sauce. Reid on his site Ono Kine Grindz has a great photo of what Meat Jun should look like.
So, overcome with nostalgia, I had to order it ($5.95). And what I ended up with was this:
As you can tell the Meat Jun is totally burnt! Can you imagine how egg batter tastes burnt? Bitter, and totally gross. The Jap Chae had no flavor. The only thing edible on this plate was the egg and rice. "The Boyz" ended up with the meat; I had to scrape all the batter off before they’d eat it though! I guess they really DON’T make Meat Jun on the Mainland…..
A funny note; if you’ve ever "read" any of my other posts, you’ll notice that I try to include a picture of the store-front of all the places I visit. I tried to do this as I was leaving; but a very persistent Security Guard kept following me around. He kept looking at me and talking on his "radio". I’d stop, and he’d stop, and start talking on his radio. Never said a word, but he really creeped me out! I felt like I was at Fuddruckers again!!! So I just decided it was probably best to leave without photographing any "state secrets", geeez!
Marukai Costa Mesa
2975 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Korean Kitchen
Marukai Market Food Court
2975 Harbor Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92626