Zipping Down to Zip Fusion - CLOSED

Zip Fusion

2560 Tuscany St. Ste 102

Corona, CA 92881

In the last year, I have become more accustomed to having sushi. It has been a tough lesson, but I have learned that quality will always trump quantity. So it was with some trepidation that I went to Zip Fusion to try their all-you-can-eat sushi deal. I was prepared for a Hometown Buffet-like experience, where everything is subpar. However, my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins are really into this place, so I was hoping for the best.

Zip Fusion comes to us from Jason Ha. This young Korean went by the name Zip because it means home in Korean. Many people think of this place as home because there are now three other Zip Fusion Restaurants, not including this one. The others are in San Diego, Mira Loma, and Downtown LA.

We arrived at Zip Fusion at 6 on a Saturday, and I was surprised that we did not have to wait for a table. The restaurant is more significant than it appears from the outside and is all spread out. When they say fusion, they really mean it.  In the back, they have teppan tables (think Benihana-style eating), the sushi bar is located near the front of the restaurant, and there are plenty of booths and a large patio for when the weather gets a little warmer.

At Zip Fusion, you can order items singularly off of the menu, or they also have an all-you-can-eat menu that is not publicized on their website. Not sure if they are trying to keep this a secret, but I am here to let the cat out of the bag. This was the option that the four of us in our party took.

Here is a quick shot of the AYCE menu. I really liked the variety offered here. 23 different rolls, 12 kinds of sushi, and 15 appetizers. Some of the restrictions they speak of are; no sharing, no to-go containers, and you must eat what you order.

We each ordered one item from each menu section to start. Some of the standouts for me in this round were the Las Vegas Roll (avocado, crab meat, three kinds of fish, and cream cheese), the Spicy Tuna Roll, and the Pork Gyoza. I ordered the Oyster Shooter because of its novelty of it. It was not bad, but I limited myself to one of these. The Spicy Edamame was basic but good.

The next four appetizers for round two were all pretty solid. The best of the bunch by a long shot was the Baked Mussels. Jenny and I ordered this numerous times throughout our stay at Zip Fusion. They had multiple layers of flavor in each bite. The Fried Calamari was lightly battered and served with a delicate sauce, but the calamari kind of got lost here. The Teriyaki Chicken with Rice was a pretty generous portion for an appetizer. The Crab Cream Cheese Wonton was okay, but I am not too much of a cream cheese fan, and the cheese really overwhelmed the crab taste.

When I saw a limit of one Baked Lobster on the menu, I had to take advantage of it. This plate was vibrant and had a great lobster taste. Unfortunately, the night's worst two things were the Rainbow Roll and the Crab Sushi. The crab was stringy and not very good. It almost tasted like imitation crab. The rainbow roll sounded good with assorted fish and avocado placed on top of a California roll, but this roll could not deliver a great taste.

Chris and Jerry are not into sushi, so they ordered off of the traditional menu at Zip Fusion. Chris started with the Miso Soup, which he called "good." Very descriptive, Chris! The Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura was his choice for dinner. There were no complaints from him with this straightforward plate.

As you can see from this picture, Jerry's dinner, the Bulgoki Special Bowl, came out steaming hot. This bowl consisted of marinated beef and assorted veggies. This is the meal that Jerry gets almost every time he comes here. His old standby. He really enjoys the "hot air" that comes with this. Sorry, inside joke there.

The food at Zip Fusion was not all hits. There were some misses on the menu here. I will not tell you this is the best, freshest sushi you will ever have, but it was still above average in my limited sushi opinion. For the money, I felt this was a great value. The all-you-can-eat dinner is $23.95, and I can guarantee you will not leave hungry. Our waitress was really on top of things during our visit. Glasses were full, and our orders were taken promptly. She seemed genuinely upset when we announced that we were all done with the all-you-can-eat meal. We told her we would be back, though.

Out of five pieces of mail (because all pieces of mail include a Zip code), five being best to zero being worst, Zip Fusion gets 3 pieces of mail.

For more information about Zip Fusion, click here: http://www.zipfusion.com/index.html