Ramen has always been big in Japan, and since the mid-2000's it has exponentially grown in popularity and trendiness, with younger entrepenuers trying their hand at making the nation's most beloved B-kyu (B-Class) food. B-kyu foods are defined as "comfort foods"...
I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Not exactly a ramen mecca, but times change. Ramen's profile is ever-growing and in 2011 "celebrity chef Jonathan Sawyer" (that's according to his bio, I guess he's on tv or something) opened NoodleCat, Cleveland's...
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...
If I gave you several options for dinner and you knew nothing about the restaurants other than their names, and one was called “Junk Garage”, you’re eating there, right? I’m going with Junk Garage every single time. I heard about this shop through the...
Cream anmitsu at Nakamuraya on the 9th floor of Tokyu department store (west wing) in Shibuya.
Oden shack on the backstreets of Monzennakacho, Tokyo.
We finally made it into Tsujita for lunch during our trip down to LA over the summer. You know, when they actually serve ramen... Yoko and I had ignorantly gone there for dinner once, all excited to try their tsukemen (dipping ramen). But...
Sakura-ebi kakiage at Nunotsunesarashina in Tsukiji, my favorite soba spot when I lived in Tokyo.
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...
We drove a long way from Los Angeles proper to try the soba at Otafuku in Torrance. The shop donned no sign, except a neon "Open" sign that flashed in the window. The place was packed with hungry folks for lunch,...
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...
If you know anything about ramen in Los Angeles you’ve heard of Daikokuya, the original LA noodle institution. There are throngs of people waiting outside its bright yellow awning at almost any hour of the day, despite several other shops within viewing distance. It was...
Since May, our beloved Ippuku of Berkeley has been serving teuchi (handmade) soba. Owner-chef Christian Geidemann recruited Koichi Ishii from Yamagata, a prefecture well-known for soba, to come and cook at Ippuku and start a soba program right here in the East Bay. We...
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 second day in Japan was inauspicious. The sky was dreary, overcast, drizzling all day and on into the night, and I woke up with a full-blown cold to boot. So in other words, the perfect day for a bowl of ramen....
This one was a long time coming. Since I first started reading about ramen over at Ramenate I've been fascinated by Jiro-kei (Jiro-style) ramen. What is Jiro you ask? Jiro is an institution. It has spawned several official offshoots and many more imitators....
Hello all, it's been a while, hasn't it? It's been a hectic year and my food mojo has done a runner. However, I've come to realise that it's the little things, the comforting things, that make you appreciate what you have....
In the spirit of getting back into writing and sharing my thoughts more often on Umami Mart, I want to tell you the story of how Johnny and I met. It was the summer of 2011. I had been going on dates throughout the year,...
It's been just over a year since I started my ramen blog. At least six new ramen shops have opened in LA since then (a far cry from the one-a-day that are said to open in Tokyo, but still). I've learned more about...
I had a lot of fun shooting recently with Chef Brad Farmerie (of Public in NYC) for his new restaurant in Napa called The Thomas. There has been a lot of buzz over the building itself, which has a prime location...
