This udon is from Sanukiseimen

Costa Mesa is OC's ramen country. We know this for a fact. But ramen isn't the only noodle game in town. There's also soba and udon, to name just a few other slurpable options. But so far, if I recall correctly, there's only one notable from-scratch udon maker in town: Sanukiseimen at the Mitsuwa Marketplace.

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Edwin Goei

Gone. Gone. Gone.

The signs were literally there that Myung Dong Kal Guk Su wasn't doing so well at the location it took up from the former Jamillah Garden in Tustin. A few years ago, the Korean knife-cut noodle peddler, which has a successful store in Anaheim, installed a banner advertising a lunch special that played fast and loose on what they actually served.

"Chicken Soup with Pasta for $7.95," it said.

Pasta? Chicken Soup?

Surely they're not serving anything remotely Italian or Campbell's-inspired. It was a transparent (at least to me) effort to bring customers in from a street in a part of Tustin that doesn't see too many cars, let alone Korean customers who know what kal guk su was.

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Here's how I know we've come a long way from teriyaki chicken bowls: A new restaurant inside Mitsuwa Marketplace called Gyutan Tsukasa is a beef tongue specialist. More »

Edwin Goei

I've never tried Mee So Hungry, but I cringed a little every time I passed by it on Belmont Shore's Second Street. I took a picture of it once on the way to another restaurant, never really deciding then whether I thought the 2 Live Crew allusion was stupid or clever, but I never gave it a second thought after that. I wish I did.More »

The Black Trumpet Bistro Facebook

Have you ever craved a shawarma wrap, a plate of pasta, and a crock pot of stinky French onion soup all at the same time? Neither have I. But now, I sort of do.

A new restaurant in Huntington Beach has just opened that gives you the option of eating all of the above from the same menu. The Black Trumpet Bistro's specialty is that it doesn't have one. It describes its offering as "Mediterranean and Spanish Tapas cuisines from the regions of Italy, France, Spain, Greece and Morocco."

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Assi, the Korean market that replaces Stein Mart in the Woodbridge neighborhood in Irvine, is having its grand opening this Thursday, March 28 at 9:00 a.m.

There will a ribbon-cutting by Irvine Mayor Steven Choi, live entertainment and giveaways, including rice cookers and other household appliances. There will also be a chance to win a new Kia (the winner of the car will be announced in August).

But here's the best part: there will be a so-called "Taste of Assi" event which will have 30 vendors offering free samplings of foods and products like shumai dumplings, donburi rice bowls, miso soup, tofu and chips.

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Photo by Annie Nguyen-Habermann

A banh mi turf war is brewing in Fullerton. 
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Eleven46 Facebook Page

A new Vietnamese restaurant isn't news, especially in South County, the new pho frontier. But a Vietnamese restaurant that serves beignets in South County? You don't see that everyday.
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After more than a year delay (and not to mention a fire that nearly destroyed the place), JP23 BBQ & Smokehouse is opening tomorrow (Thursday) in downtown Fullerton at the corner of Commonwealth and Harbor.

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