Kaigen Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar

Across two visits to Kaigen Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar in Orange, we went from being ready for return visits to disappointed enough not to return – a difference we attribute to getting the wrong sushi chef on our second visit, a factor guests generally can’t control. The major attraction at this sushi bar, flagged by one of our favorite local food writers (Edwin Goei), is a reasonably affordable omakase course: When we visited, $39 per person bought nine individual nigiri pieces and a mini cut roll made with either blue crab or yellowtail, plus edamame, miso soup and salad. (The price is now $42, more expensive than the most deluxe set meal offered by LA/OC omakase king Sugarfish.)

Dollars aside, the quality of the fish and individual pieces on our first visit impressed us. Our omakase included tuna and sublime toro, sea bream and sea bass, amber jack and bonito, cherry salmon, shima aji, and jumbo scallop. Only the blue crab roll was mildly flavored, an underwhelming end to the otherwise impressive rounds of sushi.

Except for the blue crab, every piece of fish was fresh, thick, and optimally seasoned, coursed out while balancing almost perfectly prepared rice (body temperature, nearly melt-in-mouth consistency, sweet vinegar and a little wasabi) with cool rather than cold fish. Some of the pieces came from the specials board, others from the standard sushi list. It was an experience worth dreaming about, and we did until we came back again.

On our second visit, the same omakase was served differently, and less appealingly. We were seated at a table instead of the sushi bar, and received a single plate with all nine nigiri pieces at once – this time, no items from the specials board – plus a mini cut roll made with yellowtail, served with bowls of miso soup and salad. There was no edamame, and as everything was pre-made, the temperatures were all sort of lukewarm.