On the way back to San Diego on a recent shopping trip in Orange County, we decided to drop by Mitsuwa Marketplace for a late lunch. Winding away through the cramped and snaking parking lot with very small stalls, we thought that we’d be okay since it was nearly 2 pm, and figured that most people would be shopping and not eating. Boy were we wrong, the food court was a madhouse, and every seat was taken, with people in the aisles waiting to pounce on any open table!
The picture above was taken as we were leaving……
We had thought about doing an "about face" and marching directly back to the car, and fight our way out of the parking lot, but we gave in to hunger. Especially after checking out what everyone else was eating…..and all of the plastic food.
We first thought of Santouka, but the lines were outrageous. So we settled on the place that had the best looking plastic food in the house; Miyabi Tei, which had a line of it’s own.
I know there’s something witty to say about the girl with the snow cone red hair and plastic food….but I’m really not able to think of anything right now.
While I waited for our food, the Missus started circling looking for an open table. She was still circling when I picked up our food. I felt very uncomfortable circling around and standing between tables, our tray of food in hand. Hovering over a couple having lunch provokes a strong feeling of guilt. I couldn’t help but feel like a vulture….circling for my prey. And a very unlucky vulture at that. I noticed three basic ways that people reacted when they see someone waiting for a table they are occupying. The first, "the wolfers" always makes me really feel guilty, they start wolfing their food down like there’s no tomorrow, and I feel really bad about disrupting their lunch. Another set, the "zen masters" are able to block everything out, and act if you are not there…such concentration! The third set, which I have a name for, but am not able to write about without a massive use of profanity, will purposely s-l-o-w down, and look up at you, and move as if eating underwater, and perhaps start a conversation among themselves about Einstein’s theory of relativity….
After all of that, we finally found some room at one of the large communal counters. By this time we were ravenous. The Missus had ordered the Zaru Soba and Una Don(Eel Rice Bowl) combination($6.75):
She managed to suck this down in an instant. Between bites, she gave me Her critique. Good Unagi(fresh water eel), no muddy flavor, the sauce was good, not overly salty, and rice….you can’t go wrong with rice. The Zaru Soba was not so good, the noodles overcooked and the sauce tasted watered down. In Her mind this was worth $6.75!
The sample of the special of the day, the Chicken Katsu Curry($5.75) totally sucked me in.
This was a very generous amount of food for the price. I liked the curry, it wasn’t overly sweet, and had a very nice flavor, if a bit on the "thin" side. Great on rice! The chicken katsu had not been cooked properly, the breading was on the oily side, and the (dark meat) chicken really tough.
Don’t ask me about that boiled egg, it belonged to the Missus. I’ll definitely be back for the Curry!
We managed to finish everything in less than 15 minutes. In fact, it took us longer to find seats than to eat! I still wonder what the people sharing the counter with us thought; the two of us eating like Longshoremen, describing the taste of the food between bites…..we must’ve appeared quite odd.
The prices at Miyabi Tei are very reasonable, and we thought we got our money’s worth. Though I think we’ll try to eat at either a very early, or very late time in the future. On our way back to the freeway we passed a McDonalds, and the Missus said, "you know, a lunch at McDonalds equivalent in size to what we had would cost about the same…"(leave it to the mathematician) Which would you rather have?
Miyabi Tei(in the Mitsuwa Marketplace Food Court)
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Engrish Lesson for the Day….
"What kind of name is that for a place is that?"
"Huh?"
"Roach-chi Bo-Bo’s"
I almost drove off the road!!!!
Love that place for the curry. That’s like the next best curry place I will indulge. You missed the desert selection and also the St Homes or is it Thomas bakery which is hidden in the corner of the supermarket.
The misses is right about McDonalds. By the time you get enough food to fill you up, you could have gone to a real restaurant and eaten a much better and healthier meal.
But I am still in love with their sausage mcmuffins =)
man, how do you always find such good deals?! The Missus’ soba and unagi don for less that $7 – I’ve had to pay more for a milkshake in the past :(. Alas, even though you are not blogging from the islands, you have this way of making me reallly miss local food! π
Aha–nice to know of another decent food stop on the SD-to-LA run.
But I have to say: is it some rule that Mitsuwas have to have insane parking lots? The one here in San Diego has reduced me to strings of expletives that would make a sailor blush. π
Roche Bobois – That’s the one in Irvine, isn’t it? They have $10,000 bed frame… CRAZY. There’s one in La Jolla too!
Roachi Bobo’s π
I’d gone by there a few times, and I always end up going somewhere else because of the crowd. I guess I’m crowd-phobic.
By the way, my favorite sushi place in OC is right next door (Ango Tei).
The food court crowd looks insane. It reminds me of eating at Grand Central Station in NYC at lunch time. I had to master the no table style of eating with my drink set on top of a covered trash can.
Kirk, lol I didn’t mention it. It’s Howie’s fault π
I haven’t eaten at Mitsuwa’s food court in 2 years! I’ve been wanting to go back ever since, but every time I’m in the area I forget to go or something comes up.
Wow, that’s really crowded! Was this on a weekend? Surprisingly, during the times I have eaten there it wasn’t busy at all. But to be fair, i was there on weekdays during the late morning.
Hi Billy – I thought the curry was pretty good, and I guess someone had to mention Ango Tei! ;o) Don’t worry, we’ll get there!
Hi Ted – We just rather use up our calories in a better way….not necessarily healthier, mind you!
Hi Kathy – Well, anything with rice can trigger memories of home!
Hi mizducky – Let me just say…the parking lot at San Diego’s Mitsuwa is a cakewalk compared to Costa Mesa’s and Torrance’s parking lots.
Hi Janell – Talk about expensive….you’d really have to love your bed to buy that.
Hi Howie – I hope you realize that you just made Billy’s day! :o)
Hi CJ – By the time I took the photos the place was emptying out! It was even worse when we first arrived!
Hi Christine – Yep, a Saturday afternoon…we thought we’d be free and clear because it was almost 2 pm…..but we were so very wrong!
kirk, a bit off topic.. what did you think about Tampopo before it went away?
Was always curious why it was always quite a bit cheaper than the other stalls.
I’m at this place for lunch once a month. Why not more? Because of that crowd. Of course, once I pass the first hurdle of finding parking, I can’t retreat even if I can’t find a seat. I usually stand next to someone who’s almost finished and then slip in right as leave…the seat’s usually still warm!
Hi Elmo – Yeah, those crowds….makes a coward out of me!
Hi Andy – sorry to say, I never had a chance to eat at Tampopo.
Cat always gets the soba and oyako don combo there. Like you, I’m a katsu curry man. We haven’t been for a while because of the wretched wretched lack of table space.
I was there on a Friday at 11 am in late February, and the food court was crowded beyond belief. I figured the weekday crowd, even on Friday, would be better, but I was wrong! We went shopping after lunch and were astounded by the crowds in the store, too. That store does have very narrow aisles, and the parking lot is so small, excepting the garage, which smells horrible. I’d rather wait twenty minutes for a space outside. Still, between the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa and the Marukai nearby, the selection is worth the hassle. We just pack a cooler!
Hi Cp – Hey, hope you’re feeling better! There is a severe lack of eating space…
Hi Amy – Funny you should mention a cooler…we don’t leave home without one! The parking lot is horrendous, though I can say I’ve seen much worse.
hahaha
Roche Bobois is a French Furniture shop !
Bois is wood , beau is beautiful (pronounce BO)
i just discovered your blog and i love it. im French , living in the UK, but goin to San Diego next week to visit relatives.
and i’m going to follow your advice on restaurant, esp japanese and korean, family already cooks great lao food π
Hi Phetmany – I’m afraid the Missus’s pronunciations of French may get us into big trouble someday! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Couldn’t find a new place for this, so hope you’ll get it. There are 3 new restaurants at the Mitsuwa food court in Costa Mesa.
There is now a Sanuki Seimen MugiMaru that sells handmade udon noodles, each bowl running about $4.00 – $6.00.
Next to it is the new Don Don Tei, selling katsudons, and other dons.
On the other side is The Loft Hawaiian Grill. I tried their kalua pork plate, came with 2 balls of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad that’s mixed with potatoes, and cabbage salad for ~$7.00 The kalua pork was soft and tasty, not too salty, I added about a tbsp of soy sauce, and it was just right salty for me. I like the food. They said their Korean BBQ plate is the most popular, but I didn’t try it yet. I’m interested in hearing how you like it, since you lived in Hawaii heck of a lot longer. I only visited once for a week’s holiday.
Anyway, if you come up this way, check it out.
Hi Bara – Thanks for all the info! I haven’t been in the area for a bit, but will make sure to check it out when I am. Thanks again!