Author Archives: Moto Yamamoto


October 23, 2007

Pucchin Purin – Japanese Flan

by Moto Yamamoto

Sometimes I crave for certain food I had growing up, and pucchin purin is definitely one of them. In this day and age, almost all the good stuff from Japan are available in New York, but for some reason certain items such as pucchin purin isn’t one of them. Many people say they like dense […]

October 9, 2007

Summer in October

by Moto Yamamoto

WTF! This weekend was so hot! This earth is totally coming to an end soon! I respect Al Gore’s campaign, but I am pretty pessimistic. I am starting “Mother Earth has dissed us, so let’s eat everything we want till we can’t move” campaign… Anyhow, my point being I felt like cooking something summery. A […]

October 5, 2007

Authentic Indonesian Food

by Moto Yamamoto

I was taken to Queens last night. I haven’t left the island since I moved back, so it was quite an excursion. Subway ride to Elmhurst, and Minangasli restaurant was right there. I went there with my friend Tonny, who is from Bali, and he insisted we had to go there to experience true Indonesian […]

October 4, 2007

Un-Boring Salad

by Moto Yamamoto

I don’t make vegetable dish often. I am a very vegetarian unfriendly guy. I hate cooking for vegetarians. When looking at Japanese recipes, it’s so hard not to use either fish or meat. Even when the title say “vegetarian stir fry”, it somehow uses ground meat of some sort. I like using meat for my […]

September 19, 2007

Naka Naka – A Hidden Treasure

by Moto Yamamoto

Behind all the star chef restaurants such as Morimoto, Del Posto, and Craft Steak, lies a hidden treasure in deep west side of Chelsea, or I should call it Starchitect Row (if you know all the new condos and buildings in the neighborhood designed by Jean Nouvel, Shigeru Ban, Annabelle Selldorf, Frank Gehry to name […]

September 17, 2007

Castella – Heavenly Japanese Egg Cake

by Moto Yamamoto

Wikipedia entry of Castella – During the 16th century, a Portuguese ship came into Nagasaki, which used to be the port of Japanese commerce. The Portuguese brought the Japanese many then-unusual things such as guns, tobacco, and pumpkins. Castella was also one of the things they brought. Castella was able to be preserved for a […]

September 11, 2007

American Cake

by Moto Yamamoto

One of my friends became an American recently. I haven’t even gotten my green card yet, but becoming a proud American is a big question. When I become old, and need to collect $2 from my social security, maybe I will. Anyway, he hosted a party at Virgil’s in Times Square. An “I became an […]

September 4, 2007

Sometimes Gadgets are the Key for Best Tasting Meals

by Moto Yamamoto

I used to have a LOT of kitchen gadgets. Well, I still do, but I managed to sell food processor, and other various items. Pasta maker is something I am looking into for next purchase. My Kitchen Aid stand mixer is an item from heaven if you cook or bake. It makes my life so […]

August 28, 2007

Temaki Maki Maki

by Moto Yamamoto

Temaki (hand-rolled sushi) is an easy way to entertain a crowd. There aren’t much prep work involved, but the spread is quite luxurious looking and it’s surely a crowd pleaser. You just make whatever you like to be inside, spread it nicely and voila, party starts. Instead of going to Japanese grocery store, and buy […]

August 22, 2007

Importance of Following Rules

by Moto Yamamoto

WARNING! If you don’t like bloody stories, or don’t want to see the reality of cooking disasters, do not read this post. Many people don’t follow rules. Sometimes they end up going to a jail, sometimes pastries don’t get as fluffy as hoped, or this time, it ended up pretty bloody and painful. A mandoline […]