Umami Mart

We are celebrating 10 years of Umami Mart’s blog this year. I get verklempt thinking about it. People often ask, “Did you ever expect that Umami Mart would become what it is today?” Some people think it was all in the plan from the beginning. HA! We started, and continued, the blog for pure FUN. We […]

When we first launched Umami Mart in 2007, we were a wee food and drink blog. I informed NYers about secret ramen spots, Yoko mused about weird foods in Japan, Anders updated us about the latest on controversial food packaging, Erin uploaded stunning food photos, Ryohei obsessively battled himself in the kitchen and provided extensive play-by-play recipes, and Payman […]

Sometime last week, Dave Chang of Momofuku fame declared ramen dead (in the States). You can read his diatribe in its entirety over at Lucky Peach, but he makes several ludicrous claims there, including, “Access to instantaneous information from the Internet has killed innovation in ramen,” “Ramen was always a fringe pursuit in Japan” and, most […]

On a game trip to Sacramento in 2001, Lakers coach Phil Jackson called Sacramento a cow town. He also said Kings fans were “semi-civilized” and “redneck in some form or fashion.” Later that season, when Sacramento was matched against the Lakers in playoffs, Kobe was stricken with food poisoning that left a lot of LA […]

I realized yesterday that Umami Mart will turn seven years old this month. WOOOOO! That’s seven years of banter, restaurant reviews, recipes and… more banter! The fun never stops on Umami Mart, and although we’re all seven years older (and a bit more, ehem, wiser), I’d like to think that we’ve retained our sometimes grotesque, […]

Apologies for my long absence, my life has been a bit chaotic. As you know, I teach cooking classes to Japanese ladies (some gents), and temaki sushi-making class for Americans. The sushi class is pretty consistent since I follow the same routine for each session, but coming up with recipes for the Japanese class occupies […]

Sometimes when I eat out I’ll come across a dish so awful, I occasionally fantasise about bringing the bowl to the kitchen, pouring the contents into the sink and then storming out of the shop, leaving glitter and rainbow dust in my midst. What actually happens is that I eat it and then quietly leave, […]

The early 90s… I was distancing myself from my Sandylion stickers while making multiple trips to the Wherehouse to make sure that I got tickets to see Radiohead at the Edge in Palo Alto. It was a confusing time, but it shaped me. Foodwise, I was tiring of the hambagu, Japanese curry and and gratin […]

I’m in a flurry of packing at the moment. Actually, Yoko and MOTO had to come over and help me pack since I just can’t seem to get it together. The movers come tomorrow and my days of single living are about to become a faint memory. I am 33 years old and have lived […]

Our first year as Umami Mart in 3D has zipped by. We opened our doors at 815 Broadway on August 3, 2012, and what a year it’s been! It seems like only yesterday that Yoko and I were having one of our weekly meetings at the original Hopkins Buffet, wondering how we could find a […]