Umami Mart

It’s kind of embarrassing, but I really didn’t do any research about Chengdu before touching down on the tarmac. The only reason why I picked Chengdu was because I wanted to eat spicy noodles (not because of the cute pandas) and I kind of just took the path of least resistance from there. Direct flight […]

*Yoko is in China for 10 days! And with no access to Facebook or Instagram, she is sending us photos the old school way — via postcards. We’ll be featuring these snapshots from Yoko in Chengdu and Shanghai all week here on the blog. Enjoy! – Kayoko Another hot and humid day is an opportunity […]

I’ve been really lazy about cooking these past few weeks. I don’t know if it’s because we are (finally) experiencing summer here in Oakland, or if I’m feeling unmotivated in the kitchen. It’s probably a little bit of both. But eating out or buying pre-made food gets really old, fast. And the effects of eating […]

I am a huge fan of spice, and finding a dish that I can make that delivers the spice is always a welcome affair. This renkon (lotus root) kinpira is a recipe I made out of an awesome book that Kayoko got me during her nine-hour layover in Japan. It was luck that I had […]

For Happy Hour this week I’ve created another cocktail for you that’ll help you get your spring on! I call it the Jalapeno-Pear Caipiroska. The Jalaheehowhatyousay? Is that Russian you ask? Well, yes and no. Read on my friends. If you’ve ever had a Caipirinha then you’re halfway there. If you haven’t then you need […]

This week we’re going to have a little fun during Happy Hour as we set aside the history lessons and cocktail lore, along with all notions of cocktail purism and snobbery, to indulge in a little cocktail hedonism. For those who gave up chocolate for Lent, you can take pride in your perseverance, for this […]

From time to time I like to go back to the drawing board with certain cocktails and see if I can work in another twist while still maintaining the integrity of the original. The Bloody Mary is one of my favorite candidates for this, as it is a drink that lends herself to virtually infinite […]

Here’s a Bloody Mary that’ll not only help your hangover but kick your ass in the process. I made a Bloody Mary as you normally would except I replaced the standard vodka with the Chile Pepper Infused Vodka I wrote about in an earlier post, and added a chile and chopped cilantro for garnish.

What good is tasty food if you don’t have an equally tasty beverage (preferably alcoholic) to wash it down with? With that spirit in mind, I’ve decided to take a cue from Kayoko and start a column called Happy Hour, dedicated to all things alcoholic that make us, well, happy–we’ll leave the sad part to […]