Blog

Ever since shelter in place came into effect, I have been diving head first into two indulgences: K-dramas and sweets, often at the same time. It took me a few tries with the K-dramas. I got about three episodes into Let's...

With the fires and virus raging, I spent all last weekend in my kitchen with the windows shut tight and the air filter blasting. Making this Pork Belly Kakuni recipe from our friends at The Japanese Pantry was the perfect weekend...

My mentee in "sunglasses" and me After the 2016 elections, I was in despair and generally pretty down about the future for women and girls. I wanted to do something beyond the ballot box. What could I offer? How could I reach out and...

When early fall rolls around, I'm always in the market for thin, deep purple nasu (Japanese eggplants), which are less spongy, and juicier than the large round American eggplants. The flavor of Japanese eggplants are more concentrated than their American counterparts, and don't take...

Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout California. Join today! Yeast is one of the four main ingredients of sake, the others being rice, water, and koji. Yeast is very important in sake-making because as the koji is...

Kohi zeri (coffee jelly) is a common dessert in Japan. You can find it everywhere - prepackaged at the conbini, at craft coffee shops like Maldive in Shimokitazawa, heck you can even get one fresh off the plane at Royal Coffee Shop...

To celebrate the release of Den Brewery's newest sake, Den Blanc, we called upon Lani Sako of the Den Duo, for some pairing tips. While tasting the new brew, she mentioned that she whipped together this Trout + Citrus salad that...

Had our friend Covid never happened, Yoko and I would be in Kyushu right now, lying on the beach in Okinawa, drinking awamori, enjoying the lackadaisical tropical life. No joke, we were going to spend a month there!  Instead, we're stuck in fire country, between the coldass...

Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! Since this pandemic began, there has been nothing more depressing than to cross out all the vacations in your calendar, one by one, month by month....

Every few months or so, I get a message or comment about how all of the photos I style have the chopsticks facing the "wrong way" and that it's "not truly Japanese." I usually reply simply by saying that I am left-handed. But I think the...

 Chichibu River, where Katanishi Sake Brewery draws their water Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout California. Join today! We all got together over zoom to taste these sakes and to view a presentation by Sake Director, Yoko. Watch...

Let us fantasize for a minute here: we're in the Yucatan, having drinks on chaise lounges by the infinity pool overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. In this fantasy, I have a hot JLo bikini bod. Hell yah! Reality: the "Gulf of Mexico" is actually a kiddie pool I...

My signature dish for a BBQ has always been Yaki Onigiri (grilled rice balls). It's usually something no one else is bringing, and everyone loves them, from the out of towner in-laws to the cousin's anti-social tween. My mom taught me how to make onigiri. I...

Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout California. Join today! I’m back! I take over Sake Gumi for Yoko once in a while and am resurrecting mytheme from 2018, Holy Honjozo!. I love honjozos and feel it is...

*This week, Casa de Kei lunchboxes will be available for pickup at Umami Mart in Oakland. Pick up times will be Thursday July 9 and Friday July 10 at 12-3pm. Check out his menu on his Instagram page and order with him directly. Keisuke...

I've been watching Queer Eye, season 5, and have been appreciating all of the inspirational quotes that accent the show. Many seem to center around being in the present, which I'm all for. For example: "You can't start the next chapter if you keep rereading the last one." - Unknown...

Ah, the summertime - here we are, can you believe it? There's something about the heat that makes me crave a gooey okonomiyaki, filled with cabbage and pork belly, oozing with Kewpie mayo and sauce. Crack open a cold beer or get a glass of shochu on...

Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 200 members throughout California. Join today! Watch Yoko talk you through these sakes and their cheese pairings here, on our Youtube channel.  Ever since I was little, I did not like eggs, milk, or cream,...

We had originally wanted to have an event and make umeshu with everyone together at the bar, but thought the next best thing would be to show you how to...

Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! Barley is a grain used to make beer, whisky, and other spirits, so it is no surprise that it is one of Japan’s most popular shochu categories. And who could resist this light,...