Habuya Okinawan Dining

I’ve been here a few times now. It’s a pretty small restaurant and gets a little busy during lunch but I’ve never had to wait. Try the jumbo scallop carpaccio with truffle oil! That’s prob my fav dish from here by far. They don’t offer some dinner items during lunch from what I’ve noticed. They have a lot of interesting dishes that I haven’t seen anywhere else before. Their menu is quite extensive also ranging from raw fish, cooked, steamed & fried items, ramen, udon just to list a few.

I love this place. The restaurant is small, so sometimes I call ahead for pickup, and they usually have my order ready in about 10 minutes. Staff is always nice and friendly.

This hole in the wall place is DIFFERENT. They have many dishes that you do not normally get at «typical» Japanese restaurants. You will NOT find Spicy Tuna roll there if you know what I mean.

We’ve been here many times and I’m surprised I’ve never written a review before today. I’ve been here for lunch and for dinner, and it is definitely better to come at dinner time because the menu is more extensive. The menu consist of Okinawan dishes which is Japanese food influenced by Chinese and Korean flavors and styles.
We always order one of the tofu dishes. Try the Okinawan trio of tofu, peanut tofu or our favorite, sesame tofu. The crispy pigs ears are fantastic. Bitter melon with kimchi is also delicious.
Try one of the ramen noodles as they are different from the one that you are accustomed to. We love the spicy miso ramen.
If you are adventurous try some of the more traditional Okinawan items such as pork knuckle, sea grapes etc

Habuya translated means best ramen in Orange County. I don’t know this for fact but in my dictionary this is what you would find.
Habuya was suggested by a fellow Unilocaler and since my favorite ramen hot spot had closed I needed a new territory to mark.
Turns out my prior favorite hot spot would fall into slot number two thanks to Habuya.
I am a fan of he soups with spicy miso added to the base and Habuya blew it out of the park.
To top it off the ambience of the restaurant with tightly fit seating and tchotchke all over the walls made it feel super cozy and warm.
Be sure to wash down all that soup with some beer and you will stroll out one happy camper.
Cheers!
CJ

Great food, tiny portions, your typical tapas portion. It’s really a place for drinking and snacking slowly.
Here’s what we got:
— Scallop carpaccio. Loved it, the tiny sliced mini-​tomato adds a burst of freshness.
— Albacore carpaccio. My favorite! Has a peppery spicy rub, very flavorful.
— Monk fish liver. The liver has a very rich flavor, if you like pâté then you’ll like this.
— Pork belly grilled, with spicy mayo sauce on the side. SOO good, each bites is very flavorful.
— Sliced pork belly w daicon. So good! But really hard to share lol.
— Scallop and uni grilled. It’s really one person’s portion. You can still taste the uni, but the consistency has changed.
— Pork belly ramen. Yummy! Nice firm noodle. Good soup.
Don’t get:
— Bitter melon. It came as being stir fried. A bit salty and… well… really bitter, weird combo.
Overall, I’m very impressed with the food, if you are super hungry, try getting the bigger dishes like the ramen.

My friends introduced me to this place about a month ago and Ive been back three times! So tasty and authentic! Ive tried the Spicy Miso Ramen and the Spicy Okinawan Ramen and both were delicious – definitely want to try more of the flavors

Okinawan cuisine is not typical to Japanese cuisine, as it incorporates influences from Chinese cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine due to its long history of trade. Even though Okinawa is on an island, a characteristic of their cuisine is its reliance on meat. The main protein sources of Okinawan cuisine are derived from livestock, specifically pigs. It is said that Okinawan cuisine «begins with pig and ends with pig».
I came across Habuya Okinawan Dining while Unilocaling, and decided to give it a try. Located in the back of a Stater Brothers strip mall, hidden behind the Arco gas station is this Okinawan restaurant. It is a tiny restaurant, holding at most 16 tables, and most of the clientele are Japanese speakers.
Upon walking in, my eyes had to adjust to the colorful decorations throughout the restaurant. The most prominent were signs celebrating the restaurant’s 5^th anniversary, and they were giving discounts on drinks. Our server came to us with a Taiko looking drum, and had us pull a ticket. We scored a $ 5.00 off our meal as our anniversary gift.
It took a while to decide what to order. There were too many dishes to choose from. A popular dish served here is the Okinawan soba. Despite the name, these thick wheat noodles have little connection to traditional Japanese soba that’s made of buckwheat. Swimming in a clear broth of pork, bonito fish flakes and konbu (kelp), Okinawa soba noodles are firm and slightly chewy.
Soki (slow-​cooked spare ribs) is one of the most common toppings. The ribs are braised in soy sauce and sugar with awamori, Okinawa’s fiery distilled liquor, until the meat falls off the bone. The dish is garnished with pickled ginger and scallions and can be spiked with a few extra drops of chili-​infused awamori.
Karen and I decided on a spam musubi as a starter. We both got the soba, pork belly for Karen, while I got the braised pig’s feet. For dessert, we shared the Daifuku, a mochi filled with red beans, served chilled. The word Daifuku Mochi (or Fuku) literally means great luck rice cake.
Dinner was very affordable, and we left extremely satisfied. The bowls of noodles were filling, but if you prefer more meat, I would recommend adding extra meat for $ 2 or $ 3 more. You can also add more noodles for $ 1.50 more, but I think the restaurant provided plenty. I plan on coming back for lunch, as they have specials that are under $ 10.
Reservations accepted, and probably suggested for dinner.

Absolutely love this restaurant! We have been coming here since they opened their door a few years back.
We always order the Orion Okinawa beer to go with the food. The Okinawa Lime beer is also great. Their food is unique and delicious! We love the grilled squid, chicken wings, mackerel, fried chicken, albacore carpaccio, and spicy ramen. Stir-​fired bitter melon, Japanese sausage, and shishito peppers are also good dishes. I always wish my stomach could fit more food when I come here. Don’t forget to leave room for their homemade dessert with a cup of hot jasmine tea.
Service is always friendly. The wait staff is very helpful with the menu if you are not familiar with the items. The lady owner is super nice and funny. We like to chat with her and hear her interesting stories in Okinawa.
Tip: They take reservation. So call ahead and you don’t have to wait. Also if you go there often, buy a t-​shirt for $ 20. Wear the t-​shirt when you go, and you get 10% off every time.

Habuya made me feel like I was in Japan again. Though the lunch menu is less diverse (mostly ramen, udon, curry, donburi) it was very authentic in décor, presentation and flavor. The portions are just like we had in Japan, modest and accompanied by mixed pickled radish, small udon and a few pieces of sashimi or smoked fish. Americans can really learn from how the Japanese eat.
We started with a small green salad with this amazing dressing. I think it was like the savory ginger dressing you get at Benihana, mixed with mayo and when you mixed it with the fried onion garnish, I swear it tasted like french onion dip! Gawd, was that good! My beef rib was delicately flavored as a result of being slow braised in mirin, soy and dashi and fell off the bone. There were also three pieces of sashimi: 2– salmon and 1– tuna tataki. Melt in your mouth delightfulness. I tried the mixed grain rice (Zakkoku Mai) for the first time and prefer this far over than plain white. Wish I took more pics, but I was so enamoured with the place I totally forgot.
I was really surprised that I did not see traditional okonomiyaki on the menu. I will have to come back at dinner so I could try the potato gratin, green onion pancake, and kakuni.

My friend introduced me to this little gem in Tustin. I just finished a huge clinical test and this was my reward for myself! My friend and I basically ordered the same thing, we tried:
[1] Aged Takoyaki Balls — LOVED the crunchy fried exterior and fluffy interior and the surprise bits of octopus inside.
[2] $ 15 Bento — udon, salmon and albacore sashimi, uni over rice, and pork rib. The udon was good — very different from the conventional japanese udon, sashimi was solid, uni was good as well. The pork rib was tender and fatty, just the way I like it.
We also got some Orion beer to complement our meal, imported from Okinawa of course. Overall we had a great experience, everything was delicious, and the service was very friendly. I enjoyed the decoration of the interior, definitely a family owned kind of place.

I liked this restaurant, it is small and has a cozy feel to it. The ramen was good, i got the okinawan ramen, the both was very light, but very tasty. The pork is amazing! It’s probably the best pork that i’ve eaten at any ramen shop i went to. I wanted to try their bento box special but its only during certain hours of the day :(
All in all, nice little cozy restaurant, with good ramen at an average price.

I love this little hole in the wall. It is always busy but awesome authentic Japanese food, it reminds of my grandmother’s cooking and it’s so close to my house.
I definitely love all the little dishes here. We ordered so many the house made peanut tofu, the uni Mozuku (seaweed), the chicken wings with Okinawa seasoning and the fried ham and cheese we my favorite. My least favorite dishes were the grilled pork belly, it is a little dry and the deep fried pork belly they were a little greasy… Maybe just stay away from the pork belly dishes?
I thought the ramen was just okay, I enjoy there undo more. I want to try the cold soba dishes or the uni pasta next time.
It’s cute and different. I can’t wait to go back for more!

If you decide to dine at Habuya Okinawan Dining, you might also want to consider calling ahead for reservation. This is a tiny mom and pap restaurant. Less than 10 tables. We have dined here multiple time. We felt that we were having authentic Okinawa food here because almost all diners were Japanese. When we were eating there this Saturday night, there was a couple waited for about 45 minutes for a table. Yikes!
These are the must order: spicy miso ramen, egg roll with eel and bitter melon, pork belly with daikon. Get a t shirt for $ 20 and you get 10% discount every time you wear it in the restaurant. If you eat tapas in waves like I do, it’s worth it :)

You ever eat something so amazingly unexpected that it brought tears to your eyes?
This place might not be that special to you, but something about my visit here left a deep impression on me.
I’ve been wanting to come here for over 3 years, and after a day of running errands, we ended up coming here. Reservations were made but we still had to wait 25 minutes, which was fine since this place is small and very popular.
Service was friendly, almost personable.
Seating is cozy with plenty of interesting things to look at.
Menu is izakaya style with ramen.
Desserts are also plentiful.
We ordered A LOT as you can see from my photos, and everything was good. I didn’t particularly like the Goya Champuru (bitter melon with egg) but I definitely enjoyed it and thought it was a great dish to try.
Pork belly was soft as cream and flavorful. Tasted like what mom and dad used to cook when I was a kid.
Pig feet were also very tender and the bones separated without difficulty. All that goodness, the fat, the cartilage, the skin, the meat, it was all there and so clean.
Fried takoyaki seemed like a waste of stomach space but I’m glad I was utterly wrong. Very different than the typical takoyaki you find everywhere else.
Karaage was different in that the pieces were very small, but that’s okay since the batter they use is light and thin. Chicken was tender and juicy.
Special of the day was fresh scallops from Hokkaido. I was 50 – 50 on this dish. Olive oil used as drizzle had great viscosity and taste. Scallops were firm and sweet and had great texture in the light. Problem was that the oil was too heavy for the scallops and I couldn’t taste the sweetness of the shellfish as much as I would have liked. Lemon juice would have been sufficient.
The star of the show in addition to the pork belly was the Yuzu shio ramen. This dish came at the end of our meal, which we thought was odd, but after the first bite, we understood why. The yuzu cleans your palate and refreshes your appetite. You almost want to eat more.
Dessert was vanilla ice cream with mochi and purple yam. I wasn’t expecting much when I took my first bite but I nearly fell out of my chair when the texture of the mashed purple yam blended with the ice cream. It was almost like a warm pie crust. The mochi added around the edge was fun but not necessary.
At the end of the meal, I wasn’t full (yes I eat a lot), but I was very satisfied. I went to bed happy and woke up the next morning thinking about my dinner here.
I don’t know what it was about this place that caused such a profound response. Maybe it was the taste of my childhood in the pork belly. Maybe it was the 3 year wait. Maybe it was the unexpected complexity of the dishes.
Whatever it was, it was very palpable (no pun intended) and I guarantee that it won’t be another 3 years before this place sees me again.

Came by for dinner the other night and it was a mediocre experience. Restaurant is located at the end of a strip mall and is quite cozy.
Started off with the takoyaki which was decent with the filling containing squid.
Moved on the green onion pancake which was crispy without being too oily.
The highly-​anticipated chicken karaage was okay, although the chicken wasn’t super duper fresh and was cut into smaller pieces than my expectation…
The grilled pork belly was a miss as it was too dry.
The sauteed ong choy was a good Japanese rendition of stir-​fried vegetables.
The bento box consisted of great variety, including a mediocre udon, a decent piece of pork rib and a few pieces of sashimi.
Service was friendly, despite some slight communication challenges.
~$ 22 /​person after tax and tip for dinner.

My friend and I came here for dinner cause I was hoping to add to my Uni Pasta list, but sadly for us they were out of Uni on the day we came. Instead we ordered a selection of small bites to have a Tapas-​style dinner.
JIMAMI ($ 3.75) — Whoaaaa! Yummy! I was a bit skeptical about a peanut flavored tofu but I heard so many things about this item I decided to give it a chance. This tofu was definitely on the softer side and it was both delicate in its’ physical attributes as well as its’ flavors. The peanut taste was definitely consistent in every bite without overpowering the tofu. Our meal definitely started on a high note.
WAYGU CARPACCIO ($ 12.50) — Their daily special that is not a part of their daily menu. We felt so lucky since we both love waygu and we both love carpaccio, however we didn’t love this dish… The salad in the center of the dish was the only thing we cared to finish.
EGG OMELET W EEL & GOYA ($ 5.50) — The egg omelet had an exterior of thin egg and an interior of eel and bittermelon. I’m not a fan of bittermelon but the sweetness of the eel sauce on the side of the dish really masked the bitterness well. Nevertheless I’m not sure I would order this again.
THIN SLICED PORK BELLY W/​DAIKON ($ 5.50) — Located under the stew section, we both thought it would be more soup-​like. I actually liked the daikon in this dish cause it was very soft and flavorful, but on the other hand the pork belly was tough and less appetizing. Considering how much I love pork, this was a disappointment.
DEEP FRIED BANANA FISH ($ 6,50) — This was my friend’s favorite dish. We were given special Okinawan salt on the side, which was powdery on the side to dip with the dish. I personally liked the fish better without the salt. The fish was crispy and it helped our meal end on a decent note, however not enough to redeem the overall experience.
I almost felt bad cause our waitress gave us a coupon to come back next time and I thought to myself… no thanks! Even though they were nice, I don’t think I can give a higher rating to a place I don’t want to come back to.

I had a fairly good lunch here today with a coworker at Habuya. Came around 12:45pm — very packed! The location is very small inside. We were lucky to even get seated. I suggest not coming at lunch time unless you have time to wait.
I ordered…
–Spicy Miso Ramen — yummy but very salty. Good sized portion. Served in a big bowl. Enough to get you full for sure! Only a couple pieces of meat though =/​
–Spam misubi — Delish, as always. Can’t go wrong with spam
–Salmon Skin Salad — small, not big enough to share and not enough salmon skin pieces. The dressing was bitter and not very tasty.
If you like spicy, then I’d recommend asking for two servings of the spicy paste they give on the side. Or maybe even order the Habanero ramen. Other reviews I read said that they give you green tea when you first arrive, not true. They gave us water. And the minimum charge for credit card is $ 15, so I recommend taking cash if you want to split the bill and your order is below $ 15.
My coworker and I came back to work and talked to our Japanese-​native fellow coworker about the restaurant. She claims that Okinawan food is not considered Japanese. That it’s very Americanized and most mainland Japanese people aren’t even familiar with the food from this region. (Way to kill it for us right –_​– haha) And that some vegetables served in dishes in Okinawa aren’t even grown in the mainland. That was her opinion, perhaps it’s true. But being an American, I thought my soup was decent and of course, I couldn’t tell the difference.

My first visit a few years ago was for ramen. Perhaps I ordered the wrong item, or it was an off night, as it didn’t compel me to visit again until last night as we looked for a place that was open late.
Walking in, you’ll notice immediately that you’ll feel like you’re in Japan with the décor and coziness of the place. Lots of Pocky decorations, shirts, knick-​knacks and kitschy items piled high on the shelves utilizing every inch of wall space.
Even though it was fairly late on a weekday, most of the tables were filled with local Japanese people kicking back and enjoying beers and snacks. Table demographics ranged from business men to young adults.
Our waitress seemed to be the owner of the spot, a sweet older woman. :)
We got:
– Pork Belly Soba — this is served hot. Broth was deep and pork belly had the rich taste. I also like the thicker soba noodles.
– Benino (Fried Purple Yam) — this is a good filler. The purple yam is cut into thick sticks and fried. Then lightly salted.
– Takowasa — I tend to get takowasa (raw octopus marinated with wasabi) at izakaya joints. This packed a punch and I loved it.
– Takoyaki — This will be slightly different from usual takoyaki. The flavor is a bit deeper, and has a very slight outer crunch. The tako inside is also generous since the 5 balls are bigger than normal size. Yum!
We saw another table get grilled marinated squid that looked awesome. Will have to come back for more dishes!

I’m not even sure how I found this place, but I wanted to go somewhere new and this totally fit the bill. I wasn’t very familiar with Okinawan cuisine, but this visit to Habuya showed me a taste of what to expect. The cuisine incorporates ingredients that were introduced by surrounding countries through years of trade, such as distillation of awamori from Thailand, goya (bittermelon) from Southeast Asia and other influences from China.
My friend and I decided to meet for dinner on Monday night after a long day at work. I missed the entire plaza the first time I drove by and barely missed it once I entered the plaza. It was a bit tough finding this place since it was literally tucked behind a gas station in the far corner of the plaza, but we both found our way in eventually. At first glance, the interior was overwhelming with origami cranes strung across the ceiling and pictures covering every inch of the walls. However, as I allowed myself some time to just soak it all in, it was very homey and the illustrated pictures of menu items were endearing.
For starters, we got the natto egg and tuna yamakake umibudou.
I have never had natto before, so this was a new experience for me. Natto is aged up to a week in a refrigerator once the soybeans have been cooked, mixed with a bacterium (known as natto-​kin), and fermented for up to 24 hours at 40 °C (104 °F). Its earthy flavor, pungent odor and slimy texture is definitely not for the weak and is an acquired taste for sure. I’m sort on the fence with natto. I thought it tasted like dirt, but the mixture of a poached egg, shibazuke (mix of pickled cucumber and eggplant with red shiso) and green onions softened the strong flavor it had. It wasn’t bad, but maybe not something I would order again.
I really enjoy tuna yamakake and I wanted to see what the hype was about these Okinawan sea grapes, so I was happy to see the pairing. The seaweed variant looks like clusters of grapes, hence the name. They are consumed raw and texturally, reminded me of popping boba, but on a much smaller scale. To contrast the sea grapes, the grated yamakake lends a light and refreshing taste to the dish, but also adds a smooth and creamy element to the dish.
Moving on to the meats of our meal — we ordered a bit of everything to share.
Pork feet stew, an influence from China. The trotters have been braised and then stewed, which makes everything melt off the bone. Served with a side of mustard, the trotters have very little meat, but the skin and cartilage makes it great to snack on. Plus, trotters are rich in collagen, which is supposedly good for a more youthful looking skin.
More pork, but this time, it’s fried pig ear tempura (mimiga). It’s total finger food, but great to snack on. These still retained some of its chewiness, but also had a nice crunchy exterior from the tempura coating. Served with ponzu sauce to dip.
I love Japanese sausage for yakitori, so this is just comfort food to me with blistered shishito peppers on the side. Another comfort snack is tako-​wasa. Yummy!
Homemade sukiyaki croquette. Sukiyaki is a hot pot with meat simmered in a broth alongside veggies and other ingredients. I imagined the clear glass noodles to somehow be involved in this, but it wasn’t and in terms of flavor, it didn’t feel like the it was encapsulated in this deep fried ball. It was just a textural mush with a crisp exterior. Maybe I’ll have to give it another try next time.
When I saw this on the menu, we had to have this. I LOVE SEA URCHIN (UNI). This was so yums! I usually find uni pasta really salty, but it was creamy without being heavy with a light touch of uni. The noodles were perfect — al dente with a bit of chew. THAT CREAM SAUCE tho.
For dessert, Bernice went with the retro Tokyo parfait. Green tea ice cream, red bean paste, sweet syrup and rice cake. The rice cake was a nice touch and red bean anything is so yums!
I really wanted to try the goya/​unagi omelet, but they had run out for the night. So, I stuck to my guns of having bittermelon and went for the black bean and goya ice cream. It was a lot more bitter than I had expected, even though I enjoy goya. It comes with a vanilla wafer, which we crushed and mixed with the ice cream and it actually helped balance with a touch of sweetness.
Oh, I almost forgot. You also get a box of Pocky whenever you order dessert. What a lasting impression it left.
I loved everything about this establishment. Total mom & pop feel, very hospitable and just amazingly captured that home cooked meal feel. You feel me? There’s a lot of feels for this place right now haha. I’ll be returning for the goya, awamori, pork trotters and to try the rest of the menu — especially all goya options. Looks like this craving needs to be satiated! Let’s go!