Yubuya

Inari – a sweet fried tofu pocket stuffed with vinegared rice and a protein – has been a sushi staple for centuries, and became particularly popular back in the 1990s with Koreans, who renamed it yubuchobap. Today, Orange County restaurants such as CHD Korean Dumplings, Karai, and ROL serve them as either “yubu” or “inari” appetizers depending on their Korean or Japanese influences, while Costa Mesa’s Yubuya turns them into the star attraction of its small but mighty menu.

Over 20 protein-based yubus range in price from $4.50 to $6.50 each, with at least 14 versions going for $4.95, and several vegetarian yubu selling for $2.95 to $4.50. Fresh and seared tuna, five versions of salmon, shrimp and soy shrimp, scallops, eel, fish roe, and snow crab are joined by spam, avocado/imitation crab, yellowtail, and albacore; spicy versions of several fish can be ordered at one of three levels of heat. Yubuya also offers salmon, tuna, yellowtail, or albacore sashimi options for $15, donburi rice bowls with one of seven proteins for $16, and nine individual pieces of nigiri sushi for $2.50 to $2.75.

Unsurprisingly, the yubu are individually delicious, balancing small portions of clean and generally fresh-tasting seafood flavors with savory sauces, sweetened rice, and even sweeter soft tofu pockets. Many pieces come with green onion garnishes by default, but can be ordered without them, and we enjoyed all the flavors we tried, from thick-glazed soy shrimp, eel, and level three spicy tuna – Korean-style spicy but not too spicy – to snow crab. If it wasn’t for the menu’s inclusion of spam, many guests would find it hard to discern Yubuya’s Korean options from Japanese inari, especially given the absence of other yubu staples such as spicy pork and bulgogi beef. Whether any one piece is really worth $5 may be debatable, but the flavors are all on point, and Yubuya includes a free cup of (watery) miso soup at no charge with every three yuba ordered.