RESTAURANT REVIEW:

The buzz I heard about Hashigo was minimal, and I really didn’t know what to expect when my friend Andre and I visited the sushi place just before the end of the year.

The restaurant has been open for a couple of years but gets a bit lost in the Five Points Plaza.

When we walked in, Andre recognized one of the chefs who used to work at Wasa in Newport Beach, one of Andre’s favorite sushi places. That was definitely a good sign.

Another good omen was the $2.95 hand roll specials for lunch, Monday through Saturday.

There are 14 specials that are also available from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

We ordered a salmon skin roll, crunchy roll and spicy yellowtail roll, all of which were excellent.

The salmon skin roll was packed with cucumber, gobo, rice and salmon. It was both crunchy and soft and probably my favorite of the three rolls.

The rest of the sushi and sashimi is just as good. The usual staples like albacore, snapper and tuna are there, but some more unique entrees caught my eye.

The bluefin tuna and snow crab looked appealing, as did the freshwater eel and sea urchin.

The signature sushi and sashimi, as well as the specialty rolls, show the same amount of creativity.

The albacore sushi with jalapeno sauce is a good choice, as is the seared yellowtail sashimi with garlic ponzu and jalapeno sauce.

Hashigo makes all their sauces daily, and the quality is really evident. The eel sauce I had was spritzed with teriyaki. The garlic ponzu sauce is like none I have ever tasted and very impressive.

Andre likes to order hamachi wherever he goes, and after eating the young yellowtail, or amberjack, I totally see why. The fish is so soft and tender it almost doesn’t require any chewing.

Hashigo’s was no different. It was extremely fresh, and Andre couldn’t stop raving about it.

It is one of the three criteria he uses to judge the overall quality of a sushi restaurant.

The hamachi passed the first standard. The other two conditions are how cold the beer is and how well prepared the edamame is.

Though they are simple criteria, they are important. If these are overlooked, how much chance do you have with an intricate roll?

Not surprisingly, Hashigo passed on the other two categories. The beer was extremely cold, and the edamame was warm and seasoned with a bit of sea salt.

The rest of the lunch was just as enjoyable. Our waitress, Bobbie, was extremely helpful with suggesting main dishes.

Andre ordered the lunch combination with sesame chicken and assorted tempura, both of which were very good.

I had one of the bento lunch bowls. There are six to choose from with a variety of meats, like chicken, spicy tuna and beef steak.

I went with the crunchy shrimp bowl and was blown away at the price of $9. The tempura shrimp and marinated imitation crab was served over a bed of steamed rice and avocado as well as strands of seaweed and was packed with taste.

One of the areas we didn’t even get to was the appetizers. They are intriguing and extremely inventive. The rib-eye asparagus roll topped with caramelized onions or the scallops marinated in Jerez vinegar topped with melon, red onion, cucumber, habanero oil and microgreens are two dishes that will be on my bill the next visit.

This is a place that has both quality and affordability, a rare combination for a sushi restaurant.

HASHIGO SUSHI

ADDRESS: 18685 Main St., Huntington Beach

PHONE: (714) 848-1111

WEBSITE: www.hashigorestaurants.com

CUISINE: Japanese

SPECIALTY DISH: lunch or dinner combination

ALCOHOL SERVED: beer, wine and sake

ENTREE PRICE RANGE: $8 to $22

FAMILY FRIENDLY: yes, has children’s menu

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: American Express, MasterCard and Visa

RATING: *** 1/2 out of 4

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants and may be contacted at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.