Here is Part Deux in our Tokyo-SF Bartender Salon Series. Meet Monsieur Tomokazu Kai, bartender at Heuga Bar in Gifu, Japan. Mr. Kai won the 2011 Suntory Cocktail Award, and his prize was a trip to SF and NYC. Gifu is a way’s away from Tokyo, a city just north of Nagoya, but clearly it is […]
Author Archives: Kayoko Akabori
April 25, 2012
Postcard from Tulum: Mixed Cóctel
Hola from Tulum, Mexico! It has been an unforgettable trip: snorkling with turtles, hiking around ruins, biking around town, beach bumming. And eating! This photo of my shrimp, oyster and octopus coctél (cocktail) was taken at a local seafood joint. The avocado was neon green! And can’t forget the saladitas (saltine crackers). It was one […]
April 24, 2012
Great UM Noodletown: Idiyappam
Here’s something I dragged out of my photo archives. It’s from my trip to Kerala, India back in 2007. We spent two days and one night in the backwaters on a houseboat — probably one of the most glorious experiences of my life! One thing I clearly remember was our breakfast on the boat. The […]
April 18, 2012
Packaging Whore: The Intelligentsia Coffee Pour Over Set
Now, Umamimart has never really been “in” on the “scene”. We don’t really get invited to hip opening events or get star attention from restaurants when dining. We have never paid too much attention to those kind of things — we just like to talk about food and drinks — whether it be gross, pretty, […]
April 17, 2012
Great UM Noodletown: Ikura Spaghetti
Remember when Yoko posted that pornlicious article about how to make ikura-don (salmon roe over rice), topped with a raw egg? Well, one night, she invited me over for dinner and she made ikura spaghetti!!! What a gluttonous noodle feast in a bowl. The al dente pasta had been lightly sauteed with garlic and tossed with […]
April 12, 2012
Upcoming Event: Umamimart Pop-Up: Magasin Général (SF)
The Umamimart Shop has been invited to be a part of Magasin Général, where Bay Area independent designers, hand-crafters, shop-keepers, jewelers, and artisans will come together for a two-day shopping event popping up at Fort Mason in San Francisco. It was so kind of Anaise (shop-keeper) and Lotfi (textile designer) to invite us to join […]
April 10, 2012
Ramen Night @ Sutton Cellars (SF)
It’s been a while since Umamimart has put on a big event. Honestly, our Gift of Food benefit last April for Japan set the bar so high that I haven’t had the chutzpah to do anything since. So Umamimart took a long hiatus from events. Too long. But that all changed a week ago, when […]
March 27, 2012
Great UM Noodletown: Tsukemen @ Ramen Halu (San Jose)
I should confess that I have never really been a fan of tsukemen (ramen with dipping sauce). Shouldn’t ramen be in a piping hot broth, brimming with scallions and chashu (pork) and menma (bamboo shoots)? Tsukemen just always seemed so WRONG to me, despite the fact that I love zaru soba (cold soba with dipping […]
March 23, 2012
Upcoming Event: OPENharvest at the Headlands (Sausalito)
Remember when Yoko and I went to Japan last year with the OPEN crew? God, it seems like forever ago. We had so many rad, eye-opening opportunities, like rice harvesting in Niigata, visiting farms in Nagano and organizing a line of pop-ups on a busy street in Shibuya. Wow! Yoko and I will be reuniting […]