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One of the most memorable nights I had in Tokyo was an adventure in Nakano, a hip neighborhood in Tokyo. We met up with our friend and Umami Mart writer Will, aka The Ramen Shaman, along with Eri, who suggested a yakitori joint called...

I'm not ordinarily a breakfast person, I'd rather get an extra half an hour of sleep instead. However, if I'm going to have breakfast, I want it to be special. And in Hong Kong, we were only looking at two options: congee and wonton noodle...

Japan is noodle crazy. Each station in each town of each prefecture have their own noodle specialty. Being noodle fiends ourselves, Kayoko and I researched some of the regional noodles of Niigata prefecture before setting foot there last month. As soon as we arrived, we...

One of the joys of working in Old Oakland is Chinatown. We're only steps away to a wonderland of dirt-cheap eats and one-stop grocery shopping. It has taken us over a year to mine through its dense 4x3 block radius, consisting of...

In Hong Kong, one of the places my friend S insisted we try was one of two highly-rated restaurants serving Shanghai crab. Lucky for us, we were at the tail-end of the Shanghai crab season. I love crab but hadn't tried the Shanghai variety before....

Trends in roll combinations in the States are rapid, with so many joints coming up with their own "house" rolls. Conversely, the combinations of rolls or makimono are very constant in Japan. In this post, I am specifically referring to hosomaki (or thin rolls). There...

A popular snack in Taiwan, these sandwiches contain a fried egg, rousong (pork floss), and cucumbers.

By Anna de Castro Just when I thought February in NY could not get any dreamier (and by dreamy, I mean cold, slushy, and awaiting 6-8 more inches of snow), word came that a Bay Area favorite was making its way east,...

Nagi, Nagi, Nagi. This one's been near the top of my ever-expanding ramen bucket list for a long time. I've been to a Nagi branch before -- it was the first Tokyo bowl I had with fellow ramen blogger Brian from

Tokyo JUNKtion

Tokyo JUNKtion: Jicca

Yoko Kumano on Feb 24, 2014

Whenever I visit Tokyo, I look forward to meeting newborns... especially when I've followed the progression of their parents. No, I'm not talking about newborn babies. I'm talking about new places to eat. On our first full night in Tokyo, Kayoko and I visited Jicca,...

My new neighborhood in Tokyo is called Yayoicho, just a mile west of Shinjuku, one of the biggest entertainment and nightlife spots on planet earth. It's like Times Square, only if New Yorkers hung out there all the time instead of clueless tourists and touts....

I've lived in the Grand Lake district of Oakland for four years now, and we've never had a proper wine shop. Popular restaurants like Camino dot Grand Avenue, along with nail salons, bike shops, a wonderful book store, Oaktown Spice Shop -- but if...

I realized yesterday that Umami Mart will turn seven years old this month. WOOOOO! That's seven years of banter, restaurant reviews, recipes and... more banter! The fun never stops on Umami Mart, and although we're all seven years older (and a bit...

It's been twenty years since I last set foot in Hong Kong and I was excited to hear about some of the city's huge changes, including its new airport. The last time I flew...

I'm on my longest trip to Tokyo yet. I moved here! They granted me a one year visa, and I've been here for twelve days now. I still can't believe it. My dream for many years has finally come true. I left...

In the first post of this series Chinatown, Bangkok, I covered a little family run cockle and mussel stand. I mentioned, “Two stalls hawking some of the finest seafood around,” and promised to follow up with an additional post. While it’s been nearly a year, I’d like to post...

It took us five days to finally get to our first shaved ice experience. Not because we didn't try! Everyday would begin with wishful exclamations like, "Let's get shaved ice today!" But the stars never aligned -- the lady in town closed...

Aloha from Kauai! Yoko, Washi, Johnny, Keisuke, Jay, Rie and I have been lucky enough to spend five nights in Hanalei Bay -- a picturesque town on the North Shore, surrounded by staggering mountain ranges and captivating turquoise waves. It's truly paradise...

Believe it or not, I was only in Kuala Lumpur for four days, one of which was spent with family outside KL and another stuck in traffic in KL. Did I mention how terrible the traffic is over there? We spent 1.5 hrs in...

Last week a reader asked if I had tried Chibiscus. Apparently it had been compared to Tsujita -- a bold statement. I promised I'd check it out. I assumed it was the random shop that opened on Sunset Blvd earlier this year around the same...