Article
July 26, 2013
The Many Faces of Nuoc Mia (Sugarcane Juice)
It’s been three months since I went to Vietnam. For an entire week, Johnny and I scootered around Saigon, and then a few days down the Mekong Delta. It was an unforgettable trip, that I have yet to recount here. Once I get all the photographs organized, I’ll write a big post about all our […]
July 25, 2013
Event Recap: Shochu Tasting @ 18 Reasons (SF)
From the refreshing mugi (barley) varieties to musty imo (sweet potato) that demand your full attention, shochus are always the choice of drink for me. I fell in love with shochu while I lived in Tokyo. From oolong-hai‘s to oyuwari imo (sweet potato shochu with hot water), there are many ways to enjoy shochu. Kayoko and I […]
July 23, 2013
MOTOism: Food in France
I went to France for the first time. As I packed for the trip, all I could think about was the scene from The Devil Wears Prada where Anne throws her cellphone into a fountain. Everyone looks so stylish in that scene, or in any other film set in Paris –Â going around the Eiffel Tower […]
July 16, 2013
Carrot Shochu Pickles
By Steven Sharafian I spend a fair amount of time making tsukemono (pickles). I focus mostly on quick-pickles that only take a couple of minutes to prep and have a short curing period. This seemed to flow into the idea of pairing carrots with carrot shochu. It’s a pretty simple quick-pickle: peel and section the […]
June 28, 2013
Happy Summer: Umami Mart Closed July 1-4
Yup, that’s right, we’ll be closed for most of July 4 week. We’re heading down to LA to give a sake tasting at Bar + Garden in Culver City! The Oakland shop will be closed from Monday 7/1 Â through Thursday 7/4 and will reopen Friday 7/5. Our online shop is open though! We will ship […]
June 17, 2013
Upcoming Event: U-MART Opens 6/25 (Party of the Year!)
Conbini is a shortened word for “convenience” which is referred to when talking about convenience stores in Japan. Littered around on any street corner in most cities, conbinis are like a typical corner store, or bodega — but from the future. They are well-lit, sparkling clean havens stocked with freshly prepared foods to-go, nail clippers, […]
June 6, 2013
U-Mart Conbini @ Umami Mart
It all started out so innocently, like any of Yoko’s casual ideas: “Why don’t we add a konbini to the back of the store???” A konbini inside Umami Mart?!?!?! This will go onto the wall of Genius Yoko Ideas, on par with: “Why don’t we open an Umami Mart storefront???” (Circa March 2012). This was […]
June 5, 2013
Chinatown, Bangkok Pt. 1: Cockle + Mussel Stand
Recently I took a trip to Southeast Asia, starting off in Thailand. I decided to make the trip up as I went. I didn’t even have a place to stay when I first arrived — a challenge when you land at 10pm. But my first post back has nothing to do with Thai food. Rather, I’d like to […]
June 3, 2013
DIY Umami Mart: New Floors!
I have to admit, I had been dreading redoing the floors for the shop. We all knew it had to be done — the reality was that once we signed the lease, we were no longer a pop-up. The shop had to “grow up.” Without going into the technical details, we had received a few […]