Umami Mart

I love Dead Poets Society. When I first saw the movie in Japan, I bought a duffle coat just like them, and begged my mama to change the liner to red satin. No wonder she said no, since that sounds so fucking gay. I live a couple of blocks from Ethan Hawke, and see him […]

One of my favorite spots since moving back to the San Francisco Bay Area is the Tomales Bay Oyster Company. I read about the TBOC on Umamimart while I was still living in Tokyo. It was a long wait until I was finally able to make the beautiful drive along Point Reyes National Seashore to […]

As I promised, this week I am sharing my chicken shiso coRn ball recipe this week. I’ve made chicken meatballs many times for parties. I usually use it as mini chicken sliders with a piece of shiso leaf, with a slice of cucumber. But I kicked this up a notch this time, and served it […]

Cutting a block of raw fish was intimidating for the longest time for me. I know for a fact that I am still not doing it like the pros because 1) I don’t cut with a sashimi knife and 2) I’ve only cut raw fish about 5 times. Cutting, plating and serving sashimi at home […]

My mom used to pack rice balls for me as an elementary school kid for lunch way before the sushi craze swept the nation and way before there were sightings of Alice Waters toting around onigiri. Having these balls of rice wrapped in “black stuff” was actually a source of shame and anxiety for me […]

This title might be deceiving. You know I cook a lot, from lazyass to the it-will-take-all-day kind. But fish is something I’ve never explored much. As I mentioned last week, something about the eyes, the mouth, and the flesh freaks me out. In Japan, where fish supply is abundant, most people buy fish whole, and cut […]

Lake Tahoe is a bit of a nightmare during the height of the summer. The lake is a dream but South Lake Tahoe is swarming with slot machine hungry tourists from both sides of the border (California and Nevada). We stayed at the Marriot and I had no complaints, especially because we stayed in a […]

Lazy here. Very very lazy. Yet, I have a knack for going into my fridge and whipping up random dishes that are at times bizarre, but always edible. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Goya Champloo Breakfast Burrito. It’s kinda genius, if I do say so myself, plus it seriously only took me like […]

Thursday, another start of a four-day weekend, was spent in the kitchen. It was gorgeous outside, and it would have been a perfect day to lay on the beach, but all the travel, sand, and that return trip with sand stuck in your butt crack didn’t sound too attractive, so I decided to devote it […]

For those who are curious to eat more responsibly in the seafood arena, mackerel is an ideal option. For the rest of us who don’t care about being responsible, mackerel is also an ideal option because of its salty-savoriness that’s addictive and a great complement to a glass of shochu. Succeeding last week’s Japanify for […]