Umami Mart

The other day, Washi and I went to Uniqlo thinking we could just casually stroll in two days after its opening. First reality check: there was a line winding two blocks down the building. So we went to some other shops. Second reality check for Washi: he couldn’t fit comfortably into a size M anymore. […]

After a whole summer of non-stop sunshine, fruit smoothies and ice-cold Franzia boxed wine (that was actually only for a day, sadly…), I’m really looking forward to the comforting food of autumn. I am not complaining though. I am a huge fan of cold noodles, raw oysters and the buckets of ice cream we allow […]

Rosemary mushroom kebabs are great on the BBQ or you can roast them in the oven. Using rosemary sprigs (instead of wooden or metal skewers) will herb-infuse your vegetables as they cook. I stacked mushrooms, marinated tofu and bell peppers on mine — but you can literally put anything on them, even meat. If you […]

When I was a kid, my mom made ebi-fry, tonkatsu and korokke frequently. Every time she would serve up one of these deep-fried treats, my sister and I who were both picky eaters, would be satisfied. To this day, I love Japanese deep fried foods. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like the […]

I usually make a vat of potato salad before I leave for a trip, leaving my husband poor and defenseless against the elements of bachelorhood. But this time I didn’t have time before the trip and figured he’d be able to fend for himself… It turns out that while I was gone for three weeks […]

Danran, a sushi spot in the Sakura-jyosui neighborhood of Tokyo, is no stranger to Umamimart. It was frequented often when Yoko and Washi lived in Japan (on one of their very first dates!), and has been the subject of many a fine blog posts, here and here. Yoko and I visited Danran tonight, to say […]

Matsutake are to Japan as truffles are to France. They are hard-to-find, fragrant, expensive and coveted. “Matsu” means pine and “take” means mushroom. Matsutake are harvested in the fall, the earliest occurring in September from pine forests in diverse locations around the world including Korea, China, British Columbia, Morocco, Sweden, California and Japan. The matsutake […]

I love mushrooms. They’re strange, beautiful, alien creatures and usually a common motif in my own work. They are such a contrast– cute, but deadly; delicate, but powerful. I also love eating them although that happens not so commonly. In contrast to the Tokyo supermarkets being full of many different freshly wrapped shrooms ready for […]