Umami Mart

All photos by Yoko Kumano and Vanessa Bahmani, I’ve been running Umamimart for over four years now (since February 2007), bringing together people from all over the world to share their personal experiences through food and drinks. It has gone through several manifestations, and has seen many writers come and go. Umamimart now consists of […]

Ok, so this is a post where everything went wrong. I thought I was going to report on a dinner party with nice pictures of Scandinavian kitchenware, but then the snow storm arrived, people cancelled and the host’s apartment was way too dark to take any real nice photos. But hey, I tried and we […]

A cute way to serve mini pop tarts or filled pastry treats at a party– inside a vintage toaster!

In preparation for his B.A.R. exam, Paystyle hosted cocktail parties, aka Happy Hour (how appropriate), at his place every Thursday for the last month. He invited folks from all over the city to trek to his spacious apartment in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, where he fully stocked the bar for this weekly affair. No one objects […]

I have a friend (let’s call him Mr. X) who’s both a Japanophile and a shopaholic. Not that this is a bad thing – the combination means that his apartment is a treasure chamber of Japanese collector’s items, beautifully rustic ceramics and a kitchen swollen with all kinds of Tokyo food imports. Mr. X used […]

Last week I gave the foolhardy impression that I could give a daily recap of the events at Tales of the Cocktail, while still down at Tales. Instead, I left you high and dry as I ate and drank and partied and competed and sat in seminars with a hangover, then ate and drank and […]

My friends Josh and Matt recently went traveling around Southeast Asia for 6 weeks. They ate incredible food, asked people how they were made, took notes and came back to prepare their favorite dishes for us.  As dinner guests we were encouraged to participate and help with the preparation. I learned how to make pad […]

Ever find yourself tossing and turning at night wondering what Danish babies like to eat?… Well, me neither. Nevertheless, I had the priviledge to find out on Saturday when I attended Ernst’s third birthday party. This Danish baby threw his birthday party for brunch. Just like us, Danish babies invite their friends and family members […]

Every year around this time, I am in Japan for half business and half vacation. But this year’s financial crisis has hit my work pretty badly, and my travel budget got cut. Hence, I will stay in New York this year. After Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking about how I am going to spend the holiday […]

I’m noticing way too much asian-ness on this blog right now, so I’m gonna mix it up a little bit. Gotta keep it culturally diverse. (Insert sarcastic face here). Fumiko just got back from a jaunt in Barcelona- she has a nice Mediterranean glow and is speaking in funky JaSpanGlish with a weird Catalan accent. […]