UM Recession

We’re all fucking poor! Deal with it.

January 24, 2013

UM Recession: Ikaho Onsen

by Yoko Kumano

I woke up on January 1, 2013 ready to shred on the tatami mats at my husband’s parent’s house in western Tokyo. After a great workout I took a walk and saw Mt. Fuji in clear view. It was a memorable Jan 1 already. At 12 o’clock, my in-laws and I all piled into a […]

June 9, 2009

UM Recession: 88 Cent Meal

by Yoko Kumano

You read it right – 88 cents (or yen). I have mastered the art of cheap bastardism, and come up with a meal that could be the favorite for both my taste buds and my wallet. In a city like Tokyo, where you expect to spend $30-40 for a dinner out with friends, here’s a […]

March 4, 2009

UM Recession: $1 (100 yen) Ramen

by Yoko Kumano

photo Yomiuri OnlineThe global economic crisis has brought on haken-giri, an onslaught of job cuts for haken workers in Japanese companies. Haken workers are part-timers and day-laborers who work on a contractual basis, rather than as an salaried employee. This means that a huge percentage of the young Japanese workforce who used to commute to […]

March 1, 2009

UM Recession: Cornish Hens and Madeleines

by Tyson Kubota

Some ideas for recessionary cooking: Tonight’s dinner was cornish hens ($5.80 for two at the local Trade Fair in Astoria). The price by weight was significantly lower than chicken breast, which is why I bought it–my usual strategy for dealing with whole chickens has been to buy the pre-rotisseried variety from Whole Foods or the […]

February 17, 2009

UM Recession: Chinatown Heaven

by Moto Yamamoto

Chinatown is awesome. If you can deal with the smell of dead animals and fish, the occasional dead pig or cow sitting on the sidewalk, millions of people walking toward you, a live eel escaping from a bucket onto the street, and guys spitting everywhere as if it’s mainland China, you are good to go. […]

January 29, 2009

UM Recession: Free Lunch at Google HQ

by Kayoko Akabori

Went over to Google HQ in Mt. View for lunch today. The plethora of food there is just mind-blowing- not to mention FREE!!! Doesn’t have the views like the NYC offices, but on this warm sunny Norcal day where outdoor seating is practically a requirement, I ain’t complaining. Google offices are scattered all over Mt. […]

June 19, 2008

UM Recession: Amish Market Butter

by Kayoko Akabori

There’s been much talk about butter in the press in the last few months: the NY Mag butter taste-testing, and the article that Emily (of Serious Eats) pointed out about Japan’s endangered butter supply. Also, there was my babbling manifesto on butter last year- the stuff means a lot to me. But, butter is also […]

June 2, 2008

UM Recession: Just Don’t Eat

by Kayoko Akabori

Here’s something I saw in my subway stop over the weekend- “Slim Shots”, liquid appetite controllers that look more like little containers of half & half. Let’s call them appetite control creamers. Fucking gross!!! Their tagline is “Eat up to 30% less everyday without feeling hungry”. Perfect during our declining economy- I mean, who can […]

May 5, 2008

UM Recession: VRAC Cotes du Rhone

by Kayoko Akabori

Please excuse my pathetic ability to describe wine. I realize that my descriptive abilities of eating is pretty mediocre to begin with (lots of ooohh and mmms), but wine is like a whole other sphere of knowledge that I sadly lack. This reminds me of Hua’s post on how “precise description matters“- I am failing […]

April 10, 2008

Umamimart Recession Survival Kit: <$10 wines

by Irwin Chen

If Greenspan himself says we’re “in the throes”, well, dammit, I guess that means we’re in the throes. I don’t know about you, but staring down the barrel of a recession makes me want to drink more, not less. I’m sure kanshefle will have much better tips but again, I must toot the horn of […]