January 2, 2012
To celebrate the new year, I hosted a last-minute dinner last night with a few close friends. What was on the menu? Okonomiyaki! It was a mellow evening of cocktails and sour beers to accompany the famous Japanese savory pancake. It was the first time I would be making okonomiyaki, but I figured it would […]
November 30, 2011
Enjoying the early winter so far? I know I am. I’m a cave bear and enjoy spending the long Scandinavian winter evenings in my studio or couch, working, crafting or watching Daria. In fact, since it is so windy, wet and utterly, depressively dark, I feel less bad about not hanging out on the beach, […]
October 6, 2011
Whenever I take a test, I always make associations between certain things in my life so that I will memorize keywords. Sometimes the explanations get really long but sometimes they come to me very quickly and concisely. Sometimes associated words come to me when I am not studying a test, which is the case for […]
September 21, 2011
Most people think the Japanese eat sushi for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fact is, most of their diet is something entirely different. Like iri iri pan pan for example: rice, beef, eggs and peas. It’s a super easy dish which has an undertone of sugary sweetness crashing with the crunchy peas. – Served very hot […]
September 19, 2011
The Japanese have many dishes that originated somewhere in the world, but recreated it in such a way that fits to their taste. Curry, from India, is a good example. Japanese curry isn’t the same curry as the kind from India. It’s a lot sweeter, and thicker. Hamburger aka humbagu is eaten without buns (very […]
July 28, 2011
I visited my mom recently and she served me one of the best breakfasts I have had in a long time–tai chazuke. Chazuke is short for ochazuke, a common method of enjoying rice in Japan. A bowl of rice is topped with condiments and hot tea or dashi is poured over it. Tai chazuke is […]
July 20, 2011
This is a personal post about being lost in culinary hell and finding the path home again with a little help from my Japanese friends. In case someone out there might be in the same situation that I was in, I hope this helps and inspires. If I sound like a self-holy, born-again foodie asshole […]
July 11, 2011
Photos by Derek Dercep. I am currently writing this post from Lake Muskoka in Canada. My friend OWNS a freaking island here. Apparently, this lake is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for summer vacation destinations. Screw the Hamptons, this island is so much better!!! (Although I’ve never been to the Hamptons). Life is good, […]
June 30, 2011
The one (and only) thing that I miss about the disgustingly humid temperatures in Tokyo is the arrival of cold noodle dishes on menus everywhere. During the hot months of June through September, I would convince myself that I deserved a daily reward of a big bowl of cold noodles for surviving each hot day. […]
June 28, 2011
My sister is married to a wonderful man, whose mother also happens to be an exceptional cook. As a Malaysian diplomat’s wife, the prime minister preferred her cooking to going out to restaurants whenever he rocked into London. She’s that good. The injection of Indian and Chinese influences are especially evident if you ever visit […]