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August 13, 2015

Chizu, A Cheese Bar in Portland

by Kayoko Akabori

It’s so important to travel. Not to say it needs to be lavish or romantic or life-changing every time, but it’s really necessary to get out of your comfort zone and visit new places, even if it’s only an hour away. Remember that Sex and the City episode where Miranda was dating a guy who […]

August 10, 2015

Mike’s Noodle House in Seattle

by Kayoko Akabori

I’m afraid I’m becoming one of those older Asian ladies who gets really grumpy after not eating noodles or rice or something with soy sauce flavoring for a few days. Although who am I kidding: I am grumpy if I don’t have noodles in some form at least once a day. On our last trip to […]

August 6, 2015

Come See Us at Sake Summit This Weekend!

by Kayoko Akabori

Yoko and I will be hanging out at Sake Summit all weekend in Union Square in San Francisco. Come visit us! This is your chance to try pretty much all the sakes that are available for consumption in the Bay Area. If you’re into sake, you can’t miss this! This is the third annual Sake […]

August 3, 2015

A Visit to Sake One Brewery in Oregon

by Yoko Kumano

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 30, 2015

Shanghai Restaurant in Oakland

by Kayoko Akabori

Shanghai restaurant is our go-to in Oakland Chinatown for meetings and hang-outs over lunch or dinner. The food is consistent, always fresh, delicious and everyone on staff knows us. It’s a nice, no-frills local joint where you probably won’t run into anyone you know. Hooray! Yoko went to Shanghai recently and lavished our humble blog with […]

July 22, 2015

Introducing SAKE GUMI, Our Monthly Sake Subscription Program

by Kayoko Akabori

Yoko and I could not be more thrilled today — we are dubbing it SAKE GUMI DAY. We’re finally launching our sake club! IT IS HERE! We’ve been having a lot of fun since we opened our Bottle System in April — it’s been really wonderful to be able to share sakes and beers from Japan with […]

July 9, 2015

Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar in Capitol Hill (Seattle)

by Yoko Kumano

I’ve visited Seattle twice in the past year and I’m somewhat convinced that this city is the West Coast’s best kept secret. The reason? FRESH SEAFOOD. Shrimp, oysters, salmon and geoducks are everywhere and in gleaming abundance. We had a few recommendations for the best joints to go for seafood. We weren’t picky — we […]

June 25, 2015

Go To Blind Pig Bistro NOW (Seattle)

by Kayoko Akabori

When I received a list of places to eat in Seattle from one of our longtime customers, @SamayouKodomo, the only comment he put next to Blind Pig Bistro was, “American goodness… beer bread, mmm.” Besides this, there was no other insight into this little eatery out a way’s north of the downtown area where we were […]

June 22, 2015

Hopkins Hive: Honey Extraction

by Yoko Kumano

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. […]

June 18, 2015

Yakitori Bunraku in Tokyo

by Kayoko Akabori

A good friend of mine is in Tokyo right now and he wanted a shortlist of places to eat. As a tourist, you usually do want to be armed with a list from someone you know of where to dine while traveling. You don’t want to get stuck in an awful, overpriced restaurant that caters […]