Located in a business center oddly sits Sushi Murasaki at the corner. By looking from the outside you would never guess there was a fine dining sushi restaurant here. The restaurant itself has very simple decor with a lot of local Japanese diners, as well as business clients from Japan. You can make reservations which I would suggest, they offer two to three types of omakases a day, which is a menu created by the head chef. I haven’t been back to Sushi Murasaki in quite some time so I decided to order everything a la cart and the food did not disappoint at all.
We started off ordering their fried octopus, however they had already sold out so we opted for the calamari. Crispy, tender, dipped with a nice ponzu dressing which is a lemony soy which they had little chilies they added in. Scallop Cut Roll, this was probably one of the best scallop rolls I’ve had. The scallop was fresh and tender, the mayonnaise was not overwhelming and complimented the dish, the cucumbers gave a refreshing crisp bite. I think to throw things off they added thin slices of peas inside, really enjoyed this dish, better with ponzu.
Foie Gras with Beef Tenderloin, the beef was cooked perfect medium rare, placed on top was the seared foie gras, on top of a glazed sauce. This is a must order as the meat is so tender, the foie gras is rich but the sauce helps cut it with a little sweetness. I personally love foie gras and always order it where ever it’s offered. Sushi Nigiri pieces, here they are sold by 1 piece, not 2, so make sure you order more if you enjoy it. My favorite of the night was the blue fin tuna as the flavor was so rich and velvety. The salmon belly was fatty and delicious with a smooth finish. Hamachi yellowtail you can never go wrong with, it has a neutral flavor and is always rich and not fishy.
Uni is something I always order, very sweet and creamy but also according to palette, this dish does not please everyone, especially visually but I would highly suggest trying it at least. The tamago here was a bit bland than I had expected it to be, I always eat this as my dessert sushi, it has butter, soy, sugar, and sake, and everything goes well with sake =). Chawanmushi is a steamed custard, they offered a few variations but I went with the sea urchin one as I love Uni. The flavor was light, fluffy, very aromatic, and just delicious, just imagine a flan custard but savory.
Also at the bottom were two pieces of shrimp perfectly cooked inside. I would highly suggest any of their chawanmushi as this is not a typical dish offered everywhere. The duck with mustard sauce, this is a typical Japanese bar food dish, I asked the host if this was served hot as I prefer my duck hot and she said yes, however when it arrived it was room temperature so I didn’t care for this dish. Although the meat may be cooked right, with it not being hot the meat is just not as tender and juicy.
We finished out meal with their Green tea ice cream, scoop of red beans, and fresh mochi. Not your typical dessert but it’s always nice trying a different cultures take on dessert. The green tea was sweet but with a hint of bitterness from the matcha which helped balance out the flavors of the red beans as it was sweet. The Mochi gave a nice boba like texture which was chewy, overall I enjoyed this dish and my time at Murasaki. Food was amazing and the service was great, make sure to give this place a try, you will not be disappointed.
Restaurant – Sushi Murasaki
Address – 2901 West MacArthur Blvd #108, Santa Ana, CA 92704
Contact – 714.241.1000
Cuisine – Japanese Sushi