Author Archives: Sarah Han


August 22, 2016

Conbini Creations: Japanese-style Corn on the Cob

by Sarah Han

Some say if corn is perfectly ripe, you don’t really need to add anything – even butter – to it. But who are we kidding? I will rarely pass on butter when it comes to corn on the cob. Unless we’re talking elote. The Mexican-style corn, a street food favorite, is made by slathering mayonnaise or crema (a Mexican version of creme fraiche) onto freshly cooked […]

August 11, 2016

Read This Before You Go to Uji Time

by Sarah Han

If you love Japanese sweets and desserts, and live anywhere close to Berkeley, you should have Uji Time on your radar. Uji Time is a new Japanese dessert shop that opened in June in South Berkeley on Telegraph Avenue. Earlier this week, I decided to check it out. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite understand what I was getting […]

August 2, 2016

A Tokyo Travel Guide for Rock’n’Roll Junkies

by Sarah Han

Lily Chou and Chris Anderson are Berkeley-based photographers, major food enthusiasts, world travelers, and music junkies. They’ve been fixtures in the Bay Area and Chicago punk and garage scene for years, which means they’ve got tons of musician friends, not only locally, but all over the world. Recently, the couple decided to combine all their passions into one project – […]

July 26, 2016

Conbini Creations: Quick-Marinade Bulgogi

by Sarah Han

Going to a restaurant for Korean tabletop BBQ is a culinary experience everyone should have. Not only is Korean BBQ really accessible for most any non-vegetarian/vegan person, but there are all kinds of fun things happening right at your table: cook-it-yourself meat on a scary-hot grill mere inches away from you! The endless banchan (side dishes)! Those orange-handled craft scissors […]

June 20, 2016

Conbini Creations: Super Easy Matcha Ice Cream

by Sarah Han

Matcha ice cream brings back memories of eating sushi with my family. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley (Northridge, represent!), but my dad drove us all around Los Angeles in search of the best restaurants he could find before the internet existed. Japanese food, especially sushi, was one of his – and my […]

May 23, 2016

Conbini Creations: Snow Crab Jeon

by Sarah Han

Jeon is a savory Korean pancake. More like a flat, eggy omelet than a fluffy pancake you’d eat for breakfast, jeon can be eaten any time of day. As a Korean American, I grew up eating lots of jeon filled with all sorts of ingredients, from green onions to fish and oysters, and sometimes, ground-beef stuffed chili peppers. One of the most popular […]

April 29, 2016

Event Recap: Kayoko’s Cherry Blossom Cobbler Birthday Festival 3000

by Sarah Han

Last Thursday, we celebrated a momentous occasion – Kayoko’s 36th birthday! Collaborating with our friends at Holy Mountain, we threw a party that we dubbed Kayoko’s Cherry Blossom Cobbler Birthday Festival 3000. If you’ve never been to Holy Mountain, you’re missing out. Perched above Hawker Fare’s San Francisco location on Valencia Street, it’s exactly the kind of watering hole […]

April 5, 2016

Conbini Creations: The Ultimate Umami Grilled Cheese

by Sarah Han

Mayonnaise. It’s such a divisive condiment. People loooove it or haaaate it passionately. Working at Umami Mart, I overhear a lot of conversations between people when they see we carry Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise in our conbini (Japanese for convenience store) food section. I’ve heard customers proclaim, “THIS is the BEST mayo in the world!” and others groan or say, “Ugh! Gross!” about […]