Uoko Japanese Cuisine - Lake Forest

Twice in the last week I've been to Uoko Japanese Cuisine in Lake Forest.  All the credit for discovering this place goes to my parents.  This is the REAL DEAL people!  This is TRADITIONAL sushi.  You won't find any "bullshit rolls" (what I call trendy rolls invented here in the US) here on the menu (although they'll make you whatever you want if you tell them what is in it)  They do have signature rolls, but not nearly as trendy as a lot of other Southern California sushi bars.  If I get a roll I prefer the roll I've been ordering since I was a small child, Futomaki.  Theirs was excellent by the way, next time I'll take a picture.  Family owned and operated for 26 years at this location, I don't know how it's remained a secret to me.  There are 3 locations, Lake Forest, Tustin, and Tokyo.  The Lake Forest location is owned by one of the sushi chefs, Masa and managed by his son Chris.  The Tustin location is run by his wife, and the Tokyo location by his older brother.  I really like the fact that it's a family business that has been going strong for over 3 decades with Masa's father in Tokyo.  I've been here two times in the last week, so here is a summary.

Let's start off with the maguro (tuna) sashimi.  This is usually the first thing I order at a new sushi bar.  In my experience it gives you a good feel for the quality of the food served at the restaurant.  The redder and the more tender the better.  If I order maguro sashimi and it comes out pink, I AM OUT!  Uoko did not disappoint.  The maguro was both very red and very tender.  Not to mention delicious!  It was so tender in fact that you barely had to chew it.

One of the unique things about Uoko that not many sushi bars have is their live tank.  The tank sits behind the sushi bar on display and holds live abalone, oysters, and live Spot Prawns (sweet shrimp).  When you order one of these the sushi chef fishes them out of the tank with a net.  VERY cool to watch!

It doesn't get fresher than this people!  Live in front of us and back in a few minutes prepared to eat!

One of my favorite sushi dishes is sweet shrimp.  It's one of the dishes I order at every sushi bar I try.  Uoko has both live (seasonal) and frozen sweet shrimp.  I'll always go with live when given the option.  The live sweet shrimp at Uoko is hands down the BEST sweet shrimp I have EVER HAD!  I won't talk anymore about its freshness for obvious reasons ;)  The tails come out raw sushi style and are VERY tender and flavorful.  They have just a hint of sweet flavor (hence the name), but I would not call the dish sweet at all.  The best part of the dish is the tempura fried shrimp heads.  These are AMAZING!!!  They are lightly breaded in tempura batter and quickly fried.  Too many sushi bars over-fry the shrimp heads, but Uoko has it down to a science!  If you've never tried these you need to!  They taste like crunchy fried chicken, but better than fried chicken!  The shell of the head is pried up before being fried and is like a Japanese potato chip.  Crunchy but not overly crunchy, and very easy to bite through.  This is a MUST to try here!

 Next up we have the live abalone.  This was a first for me, so naturally I was excited to try it!  It is served sashimi style over a bed of ice to keep it chilled.  As you can see above, the presentation of this dish is excellent!  I really enjoyed this dish.  I would describe abalone sashimi as a semi-crunchy clam on the half shell.  The flavor is very light.  It's a very cooling and refreshing dish.

Uoko has now officially become my favorite sushi bar.  There are a lot of good sushi bars out there, but in my opinion, Uoko is the BEST!  Not only is the food great, but so is the service.  The staff is very accommodating and customer service driven.  Both times I was here this week was on week nights for dinner.  I am told that it gets crowded for lunch on weekdays and for dinner on Friday/Saturday night.  FYI, like many "mom & pop" restaurants, Uoko is not open every day.  They are closed for lunch on Saturday and are closed all day Sunday.  I cannot recommend this place enough.  If you like sushi you need to try this place.  You won't regret it!

Have YOU been here before?  Know of any other AWESOME sushi bars in OC that I should try???