VIDEO: How to Make Mochi!

I recently visited Little Tokyo's oldest mochi shop, Fugetsudo. Third-generation owner Brian Kito showed us how to make suama, a multi-colored sweet made of mochi flour. I was impressed by his deft kneading skills, and when it came time for me to try my hand at it I realized I was all thumbs. =/





The 105-year old shop also makes traditional sweets like kuzu mochi, kuri manju, my most favorite ohagi, as well as modern creations like peanut butter mochi. Most cost no more than a dollar each!

More pics here on flickr.

Fugetsudo
315 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 625-8595

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In other news:

• Those white rabbit candies may be toxic.
• The wait for Vietnamese Cajun crayfish will now be longer. woohoo~
  

OMIYAGE #4: Dorayaki

Slap two little pancakes together around a scoop of sweet bean paste and you'll have this traditional Japanese favorite, dorayaki. This particular one is decorated with a dried and salted cherry blossom flower, and the pancake is steamed so that it's nice and fluffy. You'll find them at a store in Setagaya, Tokyo for $2 a piece:




Check out more sweets from Japan HERE.

Spitz - Home of the Doner Kebab (Little Tokyo)

I found this storefront today in Little Tokyo. Back when I was living in Big Tokyo, I used to buy doner kebab all the time from these Middle Eastern dudes selling them from makeshift stands throughout town. They slice the meat from a rotating spit and stuff it in a pita with lettuce and onions. It was a very cost-efficient meal, especially for the starving student that I was. So this was today's cool discovery.

But what struck me more than the new storefront was the fact that they adorned it with this oddity:

No disrespect to Conchita 666, Elizabeth P and the other random dude they quoted, but how can a place toot its own horn with praises by people with as much credibility as Joe Schmo? Granted, if I found my name on that banner in place of a big-name critic I'd be glowing right now. But I'd still expect a heavy load of flogging to come my way. After all, who am I but a person who knows how to upload photos and text on the internet?

The fine line between us (bloggers, Yelpers, etc) and them (the salaried critic) is that the latter is bound by journalism code of ethic. For example, if you're invited to a restaurant offering free food and drinks, you do not return to your writing tablet with rave reviews. Of course you had a splendid time. That was the point. The entire event was a bribe; a temporary bias in favor of the restaurant. If you must do a write-up, at least disclose the nature of the event. In other words, state that it was a big freebie extravaganza.

As for us, we have no prescribed code of ethic. To each his own.

Mind you, food bloggers have risen to rock star status these past couple years and it's neat being part of it. Just last week at 8 oz. Burger, I noticed the manager was unusually attentive to Mikey and me. My fat Canon was sitting on the table and the manager offered to take a picture. I mumbled under my breathe, almost apologetically, that I was a blogger, and he responded with a smile that said, "No shit, Sherlock." (Mental note: Be more discreet.) He then offered us not one, but TWO saucers of homemade ketchup. (Score~!)

As responsible food blogging citizens (Yelpers included), I think it's important to be aware of these biases before we generously unload our self-righteous opinions, whether good or bad, onto the universe. But until that awareness comes; until a bloggers' code of ethic emerges, I don't think most of us are worthy of our words being placed on a nice, silky banner. Frankly, it's a little embarrassing.

That said, I look forward to eating doner kebab. Incognito.

Little Tokyo's Mitsuwa Market mall SOLD!

I didn't think it would, but it makes me sad. Not because the new owners aren't Japanese ...but, just because. I spent a good part of my childhood running up and down those escalators at 'Yaohan Plaza.' And as the years passed, it was always a little painful to stop by and count the increasing number of empty storefronts.

The supermarket still remains my favorite place to shop. The place is huge. And at times, I'd be only one of five customers, but they still kept things in stock. They have the best candy-toy section in town, by far. I just hope Honda-ya sticks around.

According to the LA Times article, the shopping center was bought by Korean American investors for $35.5 million. They haven't settled on a plan but their ideas include a Korean market with Korean spas and stores in the adjoining retail space, or to have a mainstream American marketplace.

Hanaichimon-me @ Little Tokyo Square

Mochi ice cream isn't the only Japanese dessert. (And just for the record, "mochi" doesn't necessarily contain ice cream.) One of my favorites is an-mitsu ($3.50), this one containing a cocktail mix of bananas, pineapples and mandarin oranges alongside sweet red beans, agar jelly and plump pinches of mochi.

It's the kind of stuff to cool down with on a blistering hot day in Japan, though these days young people would rather do the American thing: chill at Baskin-Robbins.

Hanaichimon-me
33 S. Alameda St., #303
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(Little Tokyo Square, 3F)

(213) 626-3514

Chop Suey Cafe @ Little Tokyo

Chop Suey Cafe opened about a month ago with hopes of rekindling the charm that made it a community institution in the latter 20th century.

Following WWII, the restaurant—then called Far East Cafe—served hot meals to Japanese Americans just released from some of the nearly dozen internment camps throughout the West Coast. For those who couldn't pay, the owners gladly accepted IOU's.

Decades following, Japanese Americans flocked en masse to the restaurant for everything from birthday parties and anniversaries to funerals and farewells (Why are JAs such sticklers for Chinese after funerals?). Everyone had their favorites but the most memorable dishes included pressed almond duck, oh-so crunchy panfried chow mein and homyu—a hefty pork-fat patty speckled with microscopic morsels of meat. I've only had it once and as gross as it sounds it's sinfully good.

The nearly century-old Far East building was condemned in 1994 after the Northridge Earthquake knocked it off its feet. But now over a decade later, through the charitable efforts of the Little Tokyo Service Center, it's open again.

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I love my two grandmas. Even though they're far too polite to criticize my restaurant choices, I can tell exactly how they feel just by the flow of conversation at the table. If they're reminiscing about pre-war days and how one of them used to be a jitterbug queen then the place is a bonafide winner. But if they're mute and comatose, the food ain't so hot.

I got a response somewhat in between when I took them to Chop Suey cafe the other day. They chose the orange chicken, which should have have a chili pepper symbol next to it because who woulda thought orange chicken would be spicy? Though like nice grannies, they stayed quiet and set it aside against my better judgement. Still, if you like spice, the dish is fairly decent.

We also had the sauteed string beans which was a bit bland but surprisingly fresh and crunchy. As an appetizer we tried the shumai plate (see top). One word: uninspiring.

One thing Chop Suey cafe has going for them is the ambiance. The front room retains the old school feel with the original layout and fixtures. There's a great little pub in the back with alleyway seating and an overhanging fire escape apparatus. Feels like a piece of New York.

With the best of China (incl. Taiwan) in SGV, it's really hard for neighboring Little Tokyo to compete. But maybe, just maybe, through a lot of comments and kind advice, the new Chop Suey proprietors can chisel their own little niche in LA's burgeoning culinary scene. Either that or it'll remain as a simple reminder of years gone by.

fyi-I'll be rooting for them.

Mitsuwa Market @ Little Tokyo

Remember that Twilight Episode where that crazy old man with the thick glass realized he was the last man on Earth? He was pretty damn happy when he found that library. (He liked to read, thus thick glasses.) I guess I've alway thought it'd be cool to inherit the world but stillreally kinda sad that you have no one to share it with. That's how I feel about Mitsuwa Market in Little Tokyo. It's located in that huge ghost-town of a shopping center on the outskirt of J-town. Back in the 80s, it used to have a happenin' bowling alley on the 3rd floor but now you're lucky to be their fifth buying customer.

I was there the other day checking out their natto section when I suddenly turned around to find.....absolutely no one. Go over there and try turning around all of a sudden. It's the loneliest feeling. You'll find yourself wanting someone to hold you.

Still, that Mitsuwa on Alameda and 3rd is, by far, my favorite Japanese market in Southern California. Forget Torrance's Marukai. Am I the only one who gets claustrophobic there? WLA's Nijiya is nice cause it's open late, but Mitsuwa is THE BEST. It's huge, but not overbearing, and they have the best selection of miniature toys around. They also have a great selection of bento boxes, vegetables, meats.

There's been rumors that the market is going to close down but that's been going around for a few years now. With the way things have been going in downtown, though, I wouldn't be surprised if I show up one day to find it's been turned into a high-rise loft. *tear*

Tofu Festival

Someone needs to make me a shirt that says, "I went to Tofu Festival and all I got was this lousy strawberry tofu." Hahah, no just kidding. I actually thought it wasn't bad. Sure, absolutely no imagination went into it. They could've just used a package of flan. But on this hot day in August, it proved quite refreshing. And it made me appreciate kinugoshi (soft) tofu even more. Soft tofu contains more water than the firm tofu and so its texture is so much nicer than when you bite into a momen (firm) tofu.

At the tofu eating contest they used medium firm which is just plain harsh to the palette, but makes eating contests all the more enjoyable. You'll find kinugoshi delicately placed in salads and momen in miso soup where it spends time simmering. Try using kinugoshi in miso soup and it'll eventually crumble in a big mess.

Here, Iron Chef Morimoto does his thing...



He made a daikon pasta--long shreds of white radish--with a tomato, tofu and lobster sauce. Only a lucky few had a chance to sample it.

Fiore @ Little Tokyo

(disclaimer: I'm not saying Fiore's melons are noxious. I'm giving my opinion on melons as a whole. Fiore has excellent melons! Try them.)

IT'S THE SAME THING!! I just stopped by the new frozen yogurt shop in Little Tokyo and got a sample. Yes, it's the exact flavor/taste/texture as our beloved Pinkberry. The big difference? There's no line. Plus, since they just opened today they've been giving away free samples up the yin-yang. They were even kind enough to give a sample to one of the local homeless ladies.

Here's the info I gathered:

-------------original ------ green tea---------------

piccolo --- 2.95 ------------3.50

medio ---- 3.75 ------------4.25

grande --- 5.75 ------------6.25

1 topping .75
2 toppings 1.75
5 toppings 2.50

Open: 11 am- 10 pm, 7 days a week

They're still experimenting and so those are the approximate hours. Depending on the customer flow in the next few week, they'll adjust accordingly.

Not to be completely be thrown in the same box as LA's reigning frozen yogurt champion, Manager Seung says that Fiore uses fresh fruits (watermelon, pineapple, blueberries and more) and offers more on the menu like "flower tea," which is supposed to be lightly-sweetened and fragrant—a good way to compliment the dessert.

I really liked the place and hope they do well. They're a subsidiary of Todai so they definitely have a comfortable backing at least.