Kamameshi at Kappo Hana (Orange County, CA)

In Southern Orange County (south of Irvine), authentic izakaya-esque Japanese restaurants are a rare find with authentic Japanese flavors.  After trying many restaurants in this area, many were decent but still tended to favor Americanized flavors.  Discovering Kappo Hana (http://www.kappohana.com/ ) in Laguna Hills, a sort of "hole in the wall restaurant" in a small plaza was like finding a gem for a foodie like myself.

Kappo Hana is a restaurant that specializes in Kamameshi.  What is kamameshi?  It is a rice dish served in an individual sized pot over a stand where a small "fire" cooks the mixed rice with various meats or proteins (chicken, seafood, mixed/combination, clams, eel/unagi).

Kamameshi pot

I found this picture below that demonstrates the specialized preparation process:

I have tried both the unagi (eel) kamameshi and the mixed (chicken/seafood) kamameshi on two different occasions and both were delicious.  The first time, I was too hungry and intrigued to capture the picture but took more efforts the second time to take the pictures below.  

Mixed (seafood / chicken) Kamameshi

You can order it ala carte which contains the individual rice dish with miso soup, which is already plenty for one person.  It can also be upgraded to the dinner course which includes the egg custard, sashimi, appetizers and dessert.

Be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes for the kamameshi to cook.  Don't worry, there are plenty of other appetizers and menu options available to help fill up some hunger cravings while waiting. Again, I was too hungry to capture pictures of the appetizers (clams and yellowtail collar).  I did snap a picture of the nabeyaki udon though.  Next time, I will be more prepared!

Nabeyaki Udon

Kappo Hana also offers a special Japanese menu course (6-8 dishes) called Hana Keisi with 3 different options: A $45, B$60 and C$75.  This must require reservations are required at least 3 days in advance.  I was intrigued by the Hana Keisi menu and will definitely write a post if and when this occurs!

Have you tried kamameshi or hana keisi?  Let me know!