Umami Mart

Lavender flavored soft serve (or “soft cream” as they call it here in Japan) from the Hotel New Akao’s Herb House in Atami. The subtle hint of lavender was just right, not overwhelming. I wish American chefs would use more flowers and herbs to flavor sweets. Like macarons from Laduree! Gotta love this purple soft […]

This place was good enough to spend both of my last two birthdays. Kigi is tucked in the heart of Setagaya-ku’s Sakurajosui. Its unpretentious service and earthy food is what I miss most about the Northern Californian food scene. Kigi is a perfect place to counter Tokyo restaurants’ tendencies to deliver over-the-top, fake service, and […]

Just got to Tokyo late on Monday, and my aunt swooped my away immediately to Atami, a sea-side town just an hour out of the city. We relaxed there for a night bathing in the hot springs and went to a cheesy jazz band dinner show (where the food was terribly bad). Above all else, […]

It was my friend Jonathan’s birthday party last night at his new house. Buzzing with lots of English speakers and models from Romania, I bust open the door and there’s a naked girl on his dining room table with sashimi all over her! If you haven’t heard of this phenomenon it’s called “Nyotaimori” (direct translation […]

I ate it. Yashigani or coconut crabs live in the Indian and Central Pacific regions. I have never seen one in Tokyo, therefore, although it’s quite pricey (4000yen for a small one at 500 grams), I knew I had to try it. They are terrestrial and have fluffier meat than their aquatic counterparts. The body […]

My third blog entry on my trip to Ishigaki Island in Okinawa is about beef. Since moving to Japan, I realize just how beef-obsessed the Japanese are. Yakiniku is huge, guaranteeing for really stinky salarymen on packed trains every Friday night. Luckily on Ishigaki Island, there are no salarymen. Ishigaki-gyu (cow) is probably what Ishigaki […]

Part II in a series of food reviews from my trip to Ishigaki Island, Okinawa. The tropical climate of the Okinawa Islands yields wonderful fruits. Our visit, in the beginning of September, coincided with the best of pineapple season. I was eager to try as much fruit as possible. My first chance was the hotel […]

I would like to go by the 1992 Vanessa Williams’ hit “Save the Best for Last” regarding my reviews for the various eats I experienced during my 5-day trip to Ishigakijima (Okinawa). Ishigakijima is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. It was the ideal vacation spot to chill out and enjoy a […]

If you know me, you won’t be put off by the title, because you will know I am prone to hyperbole and you will know that my hyperbole is usually in jest. In this case, however, I am utterly sincere. What I didn’t know about Kyoto, a city renowned for its beautiful temples, was that […]

Mom used to make tonkatsu and ebi-fry for us. It was a treat. But I hated the shredded raw cabbage on the side. None of my American friends were eating cabbage, let alone raw cabbage. It just seemed so industrial age. The only way, I could force myself to enjoy the raw shredded cabbage was […]