Umami Mart

A cupcake is like generic sex. Looks like an ok fun party from the outside, but when you dig in, it’s dull, sticky and in the end it just makes you wanna throw up. Right now, you’re probably thinking “Oh no, not another cupcake post. Weren’t cupcakes something that belonged to the 2000’s?” And yes, […]

If I had a garden, I would go crazy. Everyone thinks having a big garden invokes peace and tranquility in the mind. WRONG! It gives you a constant nagging feeling of stress and frustration. The lawn must be mown, bushes cut, apples picked, weed removed, flowers planted, birds scared away, vegetables watered… Aargh it just […]

Summer seems to be coming to an end. In my imaginary backyard, we have a blueberry tree (do they grow on trees, or on the ground?) and it is harvest season right now. What do you do when you have a bunch of blueberries? Make a pie or tart. I just found the easiest recipe […]

You didn’t think we’d go to Paris and go on a sugarless diet, did you? Of course you didn’t. Angelina’s is a famous pâtisserie on rue de Rivoli across from the Tuileries Garden.We went there the first time we visited Paris as a family over 20 years ago where I remember eating a mille feuille. […]

I mention all the time that there’s a Greenmarket every Wednesday outside of my work. There’s an awesome Korean-owned farm, who always have Japanese cucumbers, eggplants and shishito peppers. This season, shiso is abundant as well. I only buy shiso there since everything else is extremely expensive. On top of it, the next tent sells […]

My friend Futoshi came back from Japan and brought some of the newest and weirdest junk food from the motherland. In recent months, the most popular food item in Japan is apparently the edible chill-infused oil or 食べる辣油.  I saw articles about it in newspapers everywhere– Japan’s major condiment brand Momoya, came out with this […]

Omg, I totally forgot to write about Candytown, right next door to the San Pedro Fish Market! Silly me! After gorging ourselves with shrimp, oysters and ceviche, we finally called it quits and all walked over to Candytown. Yes, we saved room for dessert. Candytown is super cute and looks like Willy Wonka barfed all […]

PREFACE: Ingredients + Recipe Prep + Boil I’m not sugarcoating this. I need you to understand what a truly, utterly, and horrifyingly HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS this entire project is. When browsing the I N T E R N E T for recipes, no one ever tells you that this is such a life-consuming […]

In Japan, people give gifts to each other on many occasions. Don’t you have one or two Japanese friends, who give you gifts whenever they return from Japan despite the fact that you’ve never given them anything? You thought, “This is awkward, do you like me or something?!” right? I have no idea where this […]

This is one of those projects that I always think I can handle, but it just turns into dread, and ultimately only goes to prove what a huge procrastinator I am. Since I picked up the plums from Christi a week ago, it’s just been this nagging thing that’s been clawing at my brain EVERY […]