Umami Mart has two connections to Hakkaisan. It was the first sake brewery that Kayoko and I visited in Japan back in 2011 when we went with a group of chefs and artists from the Bay Area as part of a collective called Open Harvest. You can read about our brewery visit here. And then […]
Author Archives: Yoko Kumano
August 20, 2015
Event Recap: 3rd Annual Umami Mart MATSURI
Umami Mart is all grown up. Although she’s only 3 years old, the lifespan of a business seems to whiz by and feels like it goes by in dog years. So it feels more like she actually just turned 21. It makes sense, as year 3 brought us our very own license to sell beer […]
August 3, 2015
A Visit to Sake One Brewery in Oregon
Last month, Kayoko and I visited Portland for the 5th annual SakeFest PDX. It’s always a pleasure to hang out in Portland, and this time, we even took a side trip to the Sake One brewery in the Willamette Valley’s Forest Grove. Nestled between wineries and berry growers is Oregon’s own sake brewery. Operating since […]
July 20, 2015
China Diaries: Cha’s Restaurant in Shanghai
Cha’s Restaurant felt like the Mission Chinese of Shanghai as a hip, fast food joint serving savory dishes that pack flavor. Specializing in the Hong Kong cha canting–style (tea restaurants that tend to be fast and affordable) Cha’s menu consisted of all kinds of soy milks, sandwiches, instant noodles, braised seafood, fried rice plates, light beer […]
July 13, 2015
China Diaries: Bullfrog Hot Pot
Frog is big in Shanghai. Frog dishes are on almost all menus. It’s like the chicken of America. As someone living most of my life between the Bay Area and Tokyo, my encounters with culinary frog have been sadly few and far between. I remember eating frog as a child once when in Taiwan, but […]
June 29, 2015
China Diaries: Feng Yu SJB
For years, I longingly listened to my grandma’s stories of her golden years in Shanghai. Her sudden move from rural Japan to French Concession Shanghai in the 1930’s exposed her to opera, Gauguin and film noir. Before she met any friends or her future husband, this cosmopolitan city was her first love in a new […]
June 22, 2015
Hopkins Hive: Honey Extraction
Hallmark holidays don’t really matter to me, but ever since my father passed away, I think about how to spend Father’s Day every year when June rolls around. And I think I found the best activity to spend this special day. I’ve been keeping bees for about a year now and yesterday was my first harvest. […]