mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging, Kirk is busy with some other project.
Hello again. I met Mr. C for lunch a couple of months ago, and He suggested we try Happy's Sushi. It's on Mira Mesa Boulevard in the mall with Silver Ark, Hollywood Video and Seafood City. It used to be a Pho place. The front looked like this-with the large yellow sign "Buy 2 get 1 free sushi roll every day from 11-2 and 5-6". So, we had to.
This is our selection of three rolls: The Happy Roll: fried shrimp, krab and cucumber inside, with spicy tuna and avocado on the outside ($8.95). Yes, I know, krab…but it tasted very good; the shrimp were sweet and fried so lightly.
We also got the soft shell crab roll ($8.50). Fried soft shell crab, krab, avocado, gobo, sprouts and cucumber. It was wonderful- those are the crab claws sticking out in the photo- they were nicely battered and fried, so tasty and crispy.
The third roll, at the top of the photo there was the Fantasy Roll ($9.50). The inside had spicy krab and cucumber and the outside had seared albacore, seaweed , ponzu and was garnished with sprouts. Here is an upside down photo so you can see a cross section of the other rolls.
I particularly liked the albacore. The cucumber was unusually fresh, crispy and tasty also. A nice, clean, complimentary taste.
The rolls were very good and fresh and quite large. It was a very filling meal. Thanks for a nice lunch, Mr. C!
So, The Mister and I decided to go back the other day( so I could finish this post). The sign from the front facade was missing, but there there was a notice at the front door, indicating that if you bought the buy two get one free roll, the free roll was the one of lesser or equal value. Apparently there were problems.
We decided to try stuff from the regular menu- The large Ahi Poki salad ($8.50), which is served on top of a seaweed salad.
The tuna was very fresh but not very spicy. I kind of wanted more spice. Slightly disappointed. There was quite a bit of tuna.
The seaweed salad was very nice and fresh, seemed to be made with 3 different types of seaweed. It was excellent.
I decided I wanted the vegetable tempura, and so had it as a plate, with salad and rice. I really liked the dressing on the salad, ginger and a little garlic and creamy. The rice is excellent. The vegetables were very nicely fried. The batter was light and airy and crispy. The slice of carrot was only slightly disappointing; the carrot was kind of soft, not crispy, although too many times I have had way too firm a tempura'd carrot. I guess I don't know what I like. There were two pieces of tempura'd asparagus which were unexpected and really nice. The onion slice was particularly nice. The dipping sauce seemed watered down.
The Mister decided to try the shrimp yakisoba ($8.75) and boy was it good!. The stir fried noodles were nicely al dente and flavorful, the veggies (onion, cabbage and carrot) were all nicely crisp-fresh and the shrimp (6) were large, grilled and sweet.
All in all, I liked Happy's. Many people seem to; the sushi bar was full both when I was there for lunch and for dinner on a Friday night.
Both times I seemed overwhelmed by the loud music. The radio station it is tuned to is most likely XM 21, 22, 25, 26, 29 or 30- newer, younger songs and the volume was way high both times. I saw a waitress sit down next to a young Caucasian couple so she could explain some menu items to them; they could not hear her otherwise.
Thanks, Mr. C for telling me and taking me to this restaurant!!! It made me happy!
Happy's Sushi 8973 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 (858) 536-3178
Mon-Thurs 11-9, Fri-sat 11-10, Sun 12-9 Closed every day from 3-5 website
Hi Cathy. While reading your post, I was channeling the psychic energies of Kirk and he wants me to tell you that the sauce was too sweet, the meat was too dry and the dumplings didn’t have enough “soup” in them. Otherwise, the place was great and the Missus enjoyed it a great deal.
Oh Gosh, Steve. I *so* do not have the same writing style as Kirk. At least I try not to. This just happens to be an Asian place…and I know I order (and eat) different stuff than he does…I am *so* Caucasian…I more was making observations of “basics” so that anyone who was wondering about the place would at least know it wasn’t bad.
Oh, you were joking….
And don’t forget….the wrappers were too thick, and the oil content of the broth fell short! LOL! This is funniest thing I’ve read all week… ;o)
Oh, heck, Kirk- Now I will be afraid to take a camera into anyplace with food you can eat with chopsticks.
Oh, joking, too…
“tempura’d asparagus,” sounds yummy.
Hey, Ron- long time no hear! Yes, tempura’d anything is usually good, but the asparagus was especially yummy! Perhaps this can be the new treat at the County Fair this year…I’d buy it over the deep fried Twinkie any day!
I haven’t had yakisoba in such a long time. I think I’ll need to make it now – pic looked so good.
I have yakisoba cravings sometimes, too, SK. It’s so simple to make yet I tend to only order it out. Lazy me! I hope you post yours so I can see how it looks. I really like your blog. Learned a lot of little tricks already.
I was looking for a sushi restaurant that was close to home, had great food, great atmosphere and friendly service. I know that you both eat in the Mira Mesa area from time to time, so I thought I would check to see what you recommended.
I stumbled across this particular review on Happy’s Sushi and the Mr. and I had to try it. Let me say, it was everything we were looking for and more. We arrived in time for the “happy hour” and we had a great time. We sat at the bar and chatted with the owner and the guys behind the sushi counter. They were more then helpful with their suggestions, were friendly and all there were just very nice people. The sushi was amazing ! Everything they recommended was just awesome, very tasty and very fresh. The portions were more then enough and the atmosphere was very relaxing. All around just a great place to go !
How very cool, Annie. You finding out about a place via our little blog is exactly why we do it! I do hope the radio was a bit quieter than it was on our previous visits. Happy hour always helps me learn about a new place without spending as much money. Thanks for taking the time to comment.