Dr. LT's Food Adventure: Yori Modern Japanese Cuisine

1617 E Imperial Hwy
Brea, CA 92821
(714) 256-2700

General:

I have been here twice. My first visit was when they just opened for a week. My second visit was for a private event. In my first visit, the food and service were less impressive. However, the owner Sean took time to listen to my critics. He is a cool guy and will listen to your critics and concerns. Thus, my second visit was much better with excellent quality dishes and a great service.

I have sampled the range of their food, from fresh & light to heavy dishes. I preferred their lighter offerings,but it might not be the norm for their customers. You'll be your own judge.

Details:
Unless noted, notes are from the second visit.

Mango Ceviche:a colorful presentation. Fruits de Mar were salmon,tuna,red snapper,& baby shrimps. Dressing had a nice citrus acidity fortified by a touch of sesame dressing & Japanese mustard. Raw onion & mango gave a nice natural sweetness while avocado added creaminess. Fried onion gave texture.Together with masago, it also gave undertone richness. There was also neutral-tasting shredded radish that put all the flavors together while also giving more texture. Very fresh tasting & a nice interpretation of ceviche meets poke. However, I thought it would have been great to have crunch from a type of chips for texture to contrast the raw fish and fresh fruits. Recommended for a hot summer day like this. 4.5 stars.

Shrimp Dumpling with Cream Sauce:fried wonton in crab rangoon style with lightly sweet & salty cream cheese and shrimp fillings. Cream on cream as it was topped with pineapple cream that was sweet and slightly sour with a hint of chili kick. Green onion garnish. The complexity of the flavor came from the application of three different mushrooms:oyster,shitake,& inoki. The cream elevated the earthiness of the shitake to the max, creating a unique yet pleasant shitake-cream-pineapple aroma. It was delicious & not too heavy. The skin could have been crispier, though, which would have given a better texture. A great appetizer for a colder day. 4.5 stars.

Grilled Asparagus:the asparagus itself was perfectly seasoned & grilled. Lightly salted & also marinaded with sweet sesame dressing. It had a green onion garnish that went well with it. The sunny side up egg had a yolk that tied the elements together while gave a great creaminess. However,it also had fried garlic that,although delicious & added crunchiness,was overpowering the whole dish. Garlic is such a strong ingredient. Maybe a little less liberal application? There was also a slice of grilled tomato that didn't integrate to the flavor although it gave a nice color. From the written description, the dish was supposed to have Parmesan cheese but I don't think it was present. 3.5 stars with a note:take out the tomato & use less fried garlic then it might be a 4/4+ stars dish. Simpler is sometimes better.

Heart Attack: it was a rice-less roll with crab and tuna tied up with jalapeno cream cheese inside and outside. Shredded cabbage inside added a nice texture. There was also langoustine on the outside. Served on a bed of mixed spring greens & garnished with soft tiny noodles on the top. I could see why this was a lot of people's favorite tonight although it wasn't for me. IMHO, it had a couple of execution issues needed to be addressed. The fried roll needed to be crisped up as it was lacking of that crunch texture. The langoustine,while it elevated the nose beautifully, it was overcooked & was dry. The biggest problem, however, was that the flavor was heavy and monotonous. It was mayo and sriracha that dominated the palate. 3+ stars.

Udon Salad:udon, bitter spring mix,sour tomato,fresh cucumber,crunchy cabbage,creamy avocado,& salty preserved red radish. So far a good flavor party. However, the mayo sesame based dressing, although had a good acidity, was also extremely heavy. For me, it muscled out all other flavors and textures I mentioned earlier & killed the party. My least favorite dish tonight. I'm also questioning the target market for this dish. A light eater would want a light salad while a heavy eater would want protein fest & fried food. Who's this dish for? Sorry Sean,I really didn't like this. 2.5 stars.

Tofu Burger: edamame garnish scattered on the plate. Caramelized onion sauteed together with button mushroom was lightly creamy and fragrant. A bit of alfalfa sprouts gave more texture and helped to elevate the nose further. Avocado added natural creaminess that bound everything together. Served between 2 slaps of fried tofu. Simple, elegant, &delicious. 4+ stars.

Seafoodyaki Roll:a Cali roll with sauteed onions, sprouts and seafood toppings: mussels,baby octopus,& baby shrimps. Flavor was predominantly & monotonously sweet. The seafood were also very dry. A good concept hat needed a better execution and flavor profile. 3 stars.

Black Cod Misoyaki with Spicy Risotto:medium spicy al dente risotto with mild sweetness & saltiness. Green,fried onion,parmesan added flavor complexity. Sean said they improved the texture by mixing arborio with Italian rice. However, what I tasted as evident was barley that added texture. Perfectly seasoned sweet miso grilled cod: sweet with a fragrant miso fermentation overtone. If being picky,I'd suggest to add more sear on the cod. Finally, excellent. 5- stars.

Soft Shell Crab with Chinese Bun (1st visit): 86ed by kitchen.

Avocado Bomb (1st visit): salmon, tuna, white fish, scallop, and crab chopped, baked, and bundled together wrapped with sliced avocado. Fish roe garnish and unagi sauce derivative. Flavor profile was dominated by the one-tone sauce. Avocado added creamy texture. However, the seafood was severely overcooked to the point that it was very dry. I was honestly unhappy to spend $8 for this quality of food [later, manager admitted that they had got complaints about the seafood being too dry for this dish] 2 stars.

Beef Ribs Stew with Miso Risotto (1st visit): muscular miso over and under tone on the risotto. Green onion, fried onion, parmesan garnishes added flavor complexity. Flavor profile was mainly sweet with a hint of saltiness. Texture was quite mushy, not good. Ribs were Teriyaki marinated with mainly sweet flavor profile. However, it was unevenly grilled: overcooked here, undercooked there. The overall flavor profile was sweet on sweet such that it became somewhat monotonous. Needed some flavor complexity to elevate the dish. 3 stars

Black Cod Misoyaki with Spicy Risotto (1st visit): risotto was served medium spicy with mild sweetness and saltiness flavor profile. The same green onion, fried onion, parmesan garnishes added flavor complexity. Again, the risotto was too soft thus lacking of texture backbone. Having said that, the sweet miso grilled cod was perfectly seasoned and cooked: sweet with a fragrant miso fermentation overtone. If they have got the risotto better, this could have been at least a 4.5 stars dish in my book. For now, only 4+ stars.