Capital Seafood Irvine

[umami]

There is a new Asian shopping center opening next week at Alton and Jamboree and the OC Register reports that Capital Seafood will be one of the tenants. Can anyone confirm that this is part of the SGV chain? Thoughts on the food?

[exilekiss]

Hi umami,

Yah, someone posted about this a few months ago. It's nice that Irvine is getting (another) new plaza, but most of the tenants so far seem... not so good.

Capital Seafood (Jing Du) in Rowland Heights was possibly one of the worst authentic Chinese restaurants I've been to in a while. I haven't tried their other branches (and I realize that each branch has their own Cooks / Kitchen, so like Sam Woo, the quality could vary greatly). I hope it turns out OK, but if it's anything like the Rowland Heights branch, I'd skip it.

Tokyo Table: Trendy, Mainstream-friendly food that was made for the Sushi Roku crowd, IMHO. There's too many good Japanese restaurants in Orange County to make this matter.

Originally Ajisen Ramen was supposed to open up in here as well (shudder), which would've been bad news.

I'm curious about BBQ Chicken, though. I wonder how it compares to Kyochon and Bonchon?

Don't mean to sound so negative, but those 3 chains have the potential to bring more mediocre food to another area; it's something to watch out for.

[Lau]

there is a BBQ Chicken in NY (its a big chain from Korea), but unfortunately if its anything like the one in NY then its a dud b/c Kyochon and Bonchon are much better

im kind of curious about the 85 degrees celsius b/c the one in the SGV looked good

[exilekiss]

Thanks for the info about BBQ Chicken Lau. If it turns out like the branch in NY, then that could make this new plaza 0/4 in terms of good eats. :(

[Lau]

this whole thing looks promising for Irvine...ill be home in a few weeks, def will try one or two of the places

[Jigsaw]

I really want to try Tokyo Table in the same center. Anyone familiar with the LA location and able to provide some 'hype'? =)

[kingkong5]

I went to Tokyo Table at lunch today, invited for the "mock" trial before their grand opening on Wednesday 9/17. I'll have a write-up on it later, the service and presentation were excellent but the food was kind of meh. OTOH, it might just be a result of the mock experience, so I'll reserve my harsh words after I can check it out during normal operation.

We had a LOT of food for the 8 of us. They gave us 4 chosen meals (bento's and specials) and then we each picked an item off the menu. Include the free soft drinks, our "mock" bill came out to $222 without tax/tip. That would have been a really expensive lunch. We had 2 bentos (beef sukiyaki and salmon teriyaki), a stir fried noodles dish, and the black angus steak. We supplemented with rainbow rolls, sashimi platters, the appetizer platter, garlic shrimp rice in a stone pot, and sushi pizza.

You can preview some of my pictures here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cnguyen0...

And in line with this thread, I did see the sign for Capital Seafood. It's in the other corner of the plaza from Tokyo Table. This plaza is kind of hard to drive into, since there is no entrance on Jamboree at all!

[elmomonster]

Yep. Same as Capital Seafood (not New Capital).

Here's a post about Diamond Jamboree on OC Weekly's new food blog:
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforki...

[Chandavkl]

Hmm. Does this make the 85°C Tea House in San Gabriel an imposter?

http://fastfood.freedomblogging.com/2...

[nancyluna]

I'm looking into this. All the online/press materials list ONLY Irvine as the newest location ..so not sure about this one in San Gabriel. The name is slightly different. Still, stay tuned to my original post for any clarifications.
Nancy aka fast food maven

[Chandavkl]

Thanks. Would not be unprecedented. The Little Sheep branches in the SGV were unmasked as imposters, but only after a couple of years of operation, as were the Hui Lan Shan dessert locations in San Gabriel, SF and New York. Then there's the fake Din Tai Fung in Toronto. I'm sure there have been other examples too.

[ipsedixit]

"Imposter" might be the wrong word, but the one in SGV is definitely not related to the Taiwanese chain.

Names are different:

San Gabriel: 85 Degree Celsius Tea House
Taiwan (and soon in Irvine): 85 Degrees Celsius Bakery Cafe

A distinction without a difference? Maybe ... I'll leave that up the trademark lawyers to sort out ...

[Lau]

how is capital seafood in SGV?

[raytamsgv]

It's decent and affordable. I haven't had any problems with dim sum or dinner except for the sad state of their restrooms, which I hope they have since addressed.

[janetms383]

It is part of the same chain.

The new Diamond Jamboree shopping center is primarily Asian with some exciting food offerings.

My question.... I had heard some of the stores were opening in May/June..... did that happen?