Blue Ocean / Harumama — Restaurant in San Diego

A little confused by the experience we had here tonight. Short and sweet version: Do not get the duck bao bao buns. Do get the sushi. Do get the garden party ramen. Expect slow service if you’re a small table.

Everything started well: We were seated quickly on arrival by the excellent hostesses. That’s when things went a little off the rails. After we were seated, we waited for about 10–15 minutes to order drinks. We also ordered a round of the bao bao buns. I can’t speak to the other types of bao bao buns they have available but I ordered duck and it was, unfortunately, very bad. The duck was very tough, almost like a jerky, and the tender layer of fat that normally surrounds the duck meat had become rubbery. This was very sad and it was the state of both of my bao bao buns.

While the bao bao buns were not good, the sushi roll we ordered was fantastic. Fresh, light, perfectly balanced. It was everything sushi should be. We had the Marine Boy roll and I would recommend it to anyone. Their sushi chef is clearly very skilled.

I also ordered the garden party vegan ramen. The broth on this ramen was stellar. It reminded me of my favorite paitan broth from home. It was very creamy and flavorful. The vegetables served with the ramen complemented the broth and the spinach noodles were very good. The only thing I was not happy with was the tofu. It was very bland. It surprised me because the broth was so flavorful and every other element was so delicious that the phoned-in tofu situation was unexpected. It tasted like they basically took the tofu directly out of the package, sliced it, and let the broth warm it without giving the tofu any love.

The kitchen was very fast and overall their flavors were on point, so the primary sticking point was the service. Our table was often ignored for larger tables and at one point we did need to get up and request additional service. It seems like speed of service is based on your...

On vacation with the wife and 2 daughters (ages 4 & 5) so we were looking for something not exclusively "adult." The wait wasn't too long at 4pm. The food was really good, we couldn't decide what to get so we got a few things: Edamame - 4☆ - it was good but I feel it could've been better Crab wonton - 5☆ - really good and crispy. nice flavor overall Kurobuta steam bun - 5☆ - really good sausage-type flavor pork belly steam bun - 5☆ - good flavor, not too much fat and the sauce went well with it. Flying pig Ramen - 4☆ ‐ It had a good flavor but not what I was looking for.. it seems many Ramen spots are making their Ramen like this now - the broth wasn't as smooth and creamy as I would've liked. Popcorn Shrimp - 4☆ - similar to honey walnut shrimp with a lighter flavor and a slight kick. Rainbow Spider roll - 5☆ ‐ very good mix of flavors and though I'm not a huge fan of the soft shell Crab it was still delightful. The tobiko gave it a slight pop which resulted in an interesting bite.

For dessert we had the Chocolate Marquise and the girls had the Bunny character steam buns (nutella)

There wasn't too much wait for the food and we ordered in sequence of how we wanted to eat which gave us plenty of time to digest in between servings.

Overall the staff was very nice and though the girls did get a little loud here and there it wasn't a terrible outing for us. The ambience is nice and the ocean view is enough to keep almost anyone calm.

I would definitely recommend this place for a family outing or even a date with a special someone.

We didn't take too many pictures because we were enjoying the food but the dessert was too cute to not snap a...

Overall: Disclosure: We got take out! Although looking at the pictures, I would love to come and actually dine in for that view and ambience! Food never disappoints, and one of the reasons that I like getting their take out is that their containers are EXTREMELY reusable. We washed them afterwards and now use them to carry out meals we dont want to lug around dirty dishes :) +1 stars

Quality of Food: The character buns are obviously the cutest! Flavor wise...some were a hit and miss for me. But still worth two starts because more bad than good. +2 stars

Cow: Meat was dry but the bulgogi marinade was good Chicken: My favorite one! Pig: Also delicious for shredded meat Panda: Spicy! I was surprised but I liked it. I couldn't tell what meat it was at first haha Koala: I don't like strawberry filling in my buns. Much preferred nutella or custard BUNS: We got 5 different types of buns, LOVED all of them. Very flavorful and the complement of the pickled cucumber was perfect! Not too much sauce either (which can sometimes ruin a dish) Fish Tower: It was good! I never had it before, so worth all the bits and pieces of fish. We got some seaweed and made little fish bites Glass Noodle salad: Most glass noodle salads have a smooth texture..this texture was al dente which was actually pretty good. Surprisingly.

Price: It was pricy. It lasted us three meals so not bad and it does taste really good. Go there in person and treat yo self! (When your paycheck comes in...and maybe not as...