April 16, 2013
*Sakura’s involvement with Umami Mart is testament to the power of bringing people together over the internet. I asked her to write for Umami Mart after she commented on our site. Somehow I knew that she would be a right fit — with her love of literature, food and culture. To this day we have never met IRL, but I always look forward to Slightly Peckish Tuesdays.
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April 2, 2013
My first-ever visit to New York was with my sister and it flew by. It’s been four years since we travelled together and she’s always so much fun — we do a lot of laughing, shopping and, of course, eating. This time was no exception as we raced through the city to meet our friends for brunch, lunch and dinner. As a family of mixed-Japanese origin, I’m rather proud to say we started and ended our short holiday with ramen (we had no choice, it’s in our blood.)
MOMOFUKU NOODLE BAR
Ramen is booming in London at the moment but it took root in the States way sooner in a more tighter, deeper way — from instant ramen so beloved of college students to the more artisan kitchens for the truly addicted.
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March 19, 2013
London Ramen Wars Part I: Ittenbari
The second ramen bar that opened in London close on the heels of Ittenbari is Tonkotsu located in the middle of Soho. Run by the team behind Tsuru Sushi whose pop-up ramen event I attended last year, Tonkotsu is a stylish and modern ramen-ya serving tonkotsu ramen as its central dish — so beloved of Kyushu in Southern Japan.
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February 26, 2013
London is currently undergoing a ramen boom. In the past year alone, five new ramen bars are opening its doors to a public clamouring for some hearty B-kyu Japanese grub. It’s a ramen war, baby. Compared to what was available before, these are serious noodle bars with a tight focus on all the accoutrements that make ramen such big business in Japan: fresh noodles, aji-tamago (marinated boiled egg), home-made chashu and most importantly, the soup.
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February 12, 2013
Although I’ve been writing for Umami Mart for almost three years, I have yet to meet any of my fellow writers as most of them live across the Pond. But a few weeks ago I received a lovely surprising. Anders, a Danish designer who writes the Skankynavia column for UM and was crucial in designing the Umami Mart shop in Oakland, was visiting London and wanted to meet up!
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January 29, 2013
Yup, you read it right. This is a present from one of my Japanese friends who visited London last year: a seven day supplement for young and puru-puru (plump and quivering) skin. Although placenta in skincare has been around in Japan for years, it’s only recently that I’ve begun to see them appearing in the UK, usually in high-end beauty parlours where they do botox and carve up your face.
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January 15, 2013
There is something about Japanese confectionary and pâtisseries that pushes sweets to a level of sophistication I haven’t found anywhere else. It’s not the purely Japanese examples either. They excel in transforming desserts from all over the world into something less sweet, less heavy and more palatable. And it’s no coincidence that sweets are HUGE in Japan. If a cake shop has made it big somewhere in the world, that it’s only a matter of time before you’ll find a small shop opening in Japan, especially French pâtisseries.
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December 25, 2012
It’s not very often I go to fancypants restaurants but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the excitement and taste sensations that often accompany these forays into high end dining. I love them and I wish my pockets were deeper. For Christmas this year, we went to Roganic, the two year pop-up restaurant that’s been wowing London this past year.
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December 4, 2012
On a combined wedding/tour/family holiday in Sri Lanka in mid-November, I had two days in Colombo with my parents. One of the things I’ve been trying to do for the past few years was to visit Euphorium Tea Salon which supplies Ceylon tea to Lanka, a Japanese pâtisserie in London. But each time I’ve tried, we’ve somehow been unsuccessful and I wondered whether I would ever set foot in this place.
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November 13, 2012
I always thought chirashizushi was the large, family-friendly tub of vinegared sushi rice studded with a variety of colourful ingredients such as shiitake, cooked seafood, and what ever else you like — all sprinkled with thinly sliced Japanese omelette and cucumber. My mother would often make it at home and it was an easy way for us kids to eat sushi.
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