Article
June 8, 2007
Great Eating at Alan Wong’s Hawaii
Practically the first thing we did upon deciding on Hawaii as our honeymoon destination was make a reservation at Alan Wong’s in Honolulu. Our excitement to eat at this relatively unknown restaurant was fueled by strong rec’s from friends and co-workers (including a Hawaiian native) and reinforced by Alan’s appearance at the finale of last […]
June 4, 2007
The Umami Reader, vol.002
Noteworthy readings, websites, blogs and eats: BBQ Time! The Minimalist on using the best meats for grilling yummy burgers Tap is in: restaurants ban bottled water Cooking with saffron Gawker says: Rosé is the beverage of choice for hipsters and old folks for the summer (make sure to also read the WSJ article, and watch […]
May 20, 2007
The Umami Reader, vol.001
Noteworthy readings, websites, blogs and eats: The Minimalist on how to cook the perfect hard-boiled egg Bittman goes to Istria with Lidia Bastianich (note asparagus frittata recipe) TMonkey recommends the wine documentary, Mondovino A community of wine lovers on Cork’d Batali and Bourdain on Adam Platt and bloggers on Grub Street Bruni Showdown: yet another […]
May 17, 2007
The Manifold Path to Lasagne Enlightenment
It all started with this recipe in 101cookbooks, which I love, but whose hype I had never succumbed to until one day last weekend, when I decided to make Aya a bon voyage lasagne (my girl loves her some lasagne) before her trip to Wiener-ville. It’s a masochistic lasagne, a fact we learned later in […]
May 13, 2007
James Beard Foundation Awards
When I was asked to shoot the Beard Awards, I was so excited. Tickets to this black tie affair cost anywhere from $400 to $2,500…and they paid me to come and eat! (as long as I took a few photos). It was quite an event- basically the Oscars of the food world. It was amazing […]
May 12, 2007
Burrata + Oysters: The Reckoning
tmonkey lost his mind last night. I came home from work at 10:30. The apartment was sweltering. tmonkey was walking around, sweaty, shirtless with a small knife. He mumbling something about mozzarella cheese. He had been blogging. I knew there would be trouble. “Do you know how to shuck oysters?” he asked. I told him […]
May 11, 2007
Burrata + Oysters? A Match Made in Puglia (story at 11)
*TI went to Murray’s Cheese Shop on the way home from work today and walked out a lot lighter in the wallet. Who knew cheese could do that? One of the things that caught my eye was the package of “Burrata Di Andria”, apparently the latest import from Italy’s Puglia region that is making gastronomes […]
May 4, 2007
When in Monterey…
I’m from Monterey, California (home of the world-famous — and deservedly so — Monterey Bay Aquarium) which is one of the most beautiful places on earth (the breathtaking landscape was featured in Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo), but the problem with the beautiful places on earth are that they are usually turned into tourist traps — everything […]
April 2, 2007
Jindaiji
Honestly, there’s nothing better than waking up late in the morning with your honey and spontaneously going to Jindaiji – a charming little town in Western Tokyo famous for soba (buckwheat noodles). I realize that this is way after the fact (we went a month ago), but that is the downside of waiting until your […]
March 31, 2007
Rockmeisha
(Editor’s note: This post was co-written by Aya and Tmonkey. All opinions and typos are theirs.) Aya: I am always hungry. But Tmonkey, you are always always hungry. What’s up with your metabolism? Tmonkey: I burn a lot of chi doing kung-fu. Also my massive brain controlled by alien maggots requires about 3 times more […]