by joanna on April 8, 2010
A gem of an Izakaya in Shanghai’s central Jing’an District
After a trip to Japan, we became totally addicted to Japanese food, amiyaki, teppanyaki, yakitori, sushi…. you name it. I think the reason why I like it so much is that most Japanese food is thoughtful and intentional with the of goal of culinary perfection in mind – whether it be a simple bowl of rice or an elaborate multi-course meal. What I mean by thoughtful and intentional can be best observed in the details, like never a drop more sauce than one needs, or perfectly balanced plate presentation, or sushi apprentices who can spend up to 2 years just forming the rice before they even get to look at a fish. So when a friend in Shanghai offered to take us to an authentic izakaya named Makoto, we were out the door before you could say “sake.” [keep reading…]
by Paul on August 21, 2009
Dun
Dan
Dun!
This post should really start with the iconic “Kill Bill Theme” theme song from the movie and play throughout. If you’d like to load it up to play in the background get it here : )
We had just finished watching the Tokyo Giants win the game with a homer in the 9th. The hot dog and yakitori we ate in the 2nd inning weren’t holding us over. As we debated food options (surprisingly not a lot around the dome) our friend, who is no stranger to Tokyo, suggested we hit up Gonpachi. The name didn’t register with me at first. Then she said all that needs to be said about the place, “the kill bill restaurant”. Dun Dan Dun. The music immediately started up in my head as a grin spread across my lips. Sure I said coolly, masking the kid-like joy bubbling up inside me. [keep reading…]
by joanna on July 7, 2009
Organic & macrobiotic…not your average Izakaya
Eating healthy is important to me…so when I heard that there was a healthy version of an Izakaya, I was eager to try it. To put this in perspective, an Izakaya is basically a pub serving food to complement the drinking…so in its simplest terms, a bar serving bar food. While the food is quite good in izakayas, healthy is not a word one would necessarily associate with this style of eating. And macrobiotic to boot? – well we had to see it for ourselves. [keep reading…]
