East Meets West Comfortably at Costa Mesa’s Yaohan

If you didn’t know going in that Yaohan is an unusual market, then the yam stand at the entryway should tip you off.

Here, at this wooden stand topped with a red Chinese lantern, a man sells Ninja Sweet Potatoes. A fierce-looking warrior painted on one side of the stand assures the buyer of quality.

Yaohan is a 4-year-old collection of shops--mostly Japanese--in one Costa Mesa building. It was built by the same company that opened Yaohan markets in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo and Torrance.

Entering Yaohan, you may feel as though you are a visitor in another country. Part of the reason is that, if you are an English speaker, you will be unable to read many of the signs.

Persist. There are treasures to be discovered here.

Noon to 12:30: One thing I missed on my first few visits to Yaohan is that you can park underneath the building and shade your car from the sun.

The market’s shops are arranged in what looks like a large circle from inside. Head to your right and you’ll see the Kinokuniya Book Store.

Most of the books and magazines here are in Asian languages. However, there is one section of books in English. It contains, among other things, what looks like a very good collection of cookbooks: from “The Book of Sushi” to “Chinese Cooking for Two” to instructions for Thai and Korean meals.

You will want to visit this section of the store if you’re planning a trip to Japan, or if you’re just learning the language. Among the books are a guide to Japanese hot springs and one on things to do in Tokyo if you’re traveling with children.

It’s interesting to note, in other sections of Kinokuniya, exactly which English-language items have made it into translation. I found three: “Rising Sun,” Seventeen magazine and a “Where’s Waldo?” book.

12:30 to 1:15: If you keep walking counterclockwise, you’ll pass Daikichi-Sushi, which makes very good sushi to order. Or you can pick up sushi, sashimi and Japanese lunch boxes from the refrigerated case.

I chose, on this visit, to eat at Miyabi-Tei, a Japanese noodle restaurant. The tempura bowl was good and very filling, accompanied by miso soup for $5.93.

There are other restaurants that ring a central dining area--Tampopo, which, as you might expect, sells Japanese noodles; Dragon’s Cafe Chinese Cuisine, and Pasco Bakery, which serves sandwiches.

1:15 to 1:30: Pasco Bakery’s Cafeterrace is good for a very entertaining cup of coffee. Pasco serves siphon coffee, which is as much fun to watch being prepared as it is to drink.

At the center of the counter, Pasco keeps six to eight small glass spheres of water near boiling, each atop a tiny flame. To make coffee, the server places a beaker of grounds on top of the sphere, turns up the flame, and lets the water bubble up into the beaker.

The water drains back into its sphere, and the grounds are captured by a filter. Coffee drinkers are served the sphere, which is trapped in a vise that one uses as a handle to pour the coffee into a cup. But watch out. This coffee is hot.

1:30 to 2: Continuing counterclockwise, Yaohan Supermarket is easy to spot as the largest shop in the marketplace.

The supermarket is a study in East meets West. In the deli, a potato salad rests beside seasoned seaweed, and the meatballs are inches from the fried squid. The signs above the supermarket aisles are in Japanese and English.

Obviously, the lure of this supermarket is the stuff you can’t find at Ralphs. There is a corner specializing in green tea and another that sells pickled vegetables.

The frozen-food section carries pot stickers, egg rolls, noodles, rice cakes and boiled pumpkin pieces. In produce, there are eight kinds of mushrooms and Japanese cucumber and eggplant.

2 to 3: There are three other shops you might want to look into before you leave Yaohan.

Yaohan Gift is in the center of this circular market, selling tableware and teapots. There are some bargains, such as the set of 10 cups and a teapot for $30. But this shop runs more to the ornate: a boxed goblet set, for example, for $70.

Super Health has two easy chairs with massage rollers built in. Lots of fun. Also, if you’re at all curious about foot massage and living longer, Super Health sells books and pills and potions.

Alpha Variety shop is aptly named. It carries a mix of stationery supplies, clocks, ceramics and toys.