Damn, forgot the camera again. Hoshi is not a place to order sushi rolls. You probably will be disappointed. And you might be taken aback when their grilled fish entrées reach your table as it is the whole fish, head, bones, fins, tail and all. This is a place to drink with buddies and practice your japanese, or get adventurous à la carte if you don’t speak any, since the waitress struggles to explain the menu but all she can muster is “ahhh, hmm, those are …

There’s something wild happening in Cupertino, the education-centric mecca for droll family life and ethnic fairs held in the duck-ruled pond/park because they don’t even have a Downtown to party in. Well, they’re all partying over at GocHi now.
I’ve heard about the horrendous wait for a table there. I’m not stupid; I do my research. I called for reservations early in the week and the friendly guy said they were completely booked for the next two weeks. That’s weekdays included. He suggested that we could …

I was pretty much jazzed about any plate of raw fish set in front of me until I moved to the Bay Area, where sushi is prevalent, but good sushi is rare (so you know if I, the human garbage disposal, am saying that, then there must be something amiss). Even some yummy stand-bys have been terrifyingly inconsistent at present, bordering on downright “bring in the health inspector” carelessness (I’m talking to you Yakko with the haphazard chirashi that one night I didn’t bring my camera, bouncing back to …

Curry is welcome at our house any time, be it Japanese-style or Indian-spiced, and I love fatty thick noodles, so I thought I’d try my hand at merging both with Curry Udon. I just subbed seitan for chicken but it’s just as yummy without meat or “meat”, too. I sent Chris off with a little bento box of this with some freshly fried naturally-filigreed lotus root (renkon) crisps which perfectly complemented the thick, savory, spicy noodles. Just make sure you coat the Lotus Root slices in flour …

When I was young, I didn’t much care for kinako, roasted soy powder. The antique-y ochre color, the moldy texture, the bitter taste.. bleh! Now I can appreciate its earthiness, generously dusted on homemade naturally green yomogi (mugwort) daifuku. Sure sounds like some Harry Potter spell (not that I would know, I’ve never watched or read any of that). *Poof*

About the Author:

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson is an avid food adventurist who has tried everything from jellyfish to sea cucumber to chicken gizzards. Mochi can be …

Mochi is as traditional as you can get, but it doesn’t have to be boring. You can now find the sweet little ricecakes boldly stuffed with fresh whole strawberries or peanut butter. I decided to take it a step further and combine both “crazy” fillings with tsubushi an. I also tinted the homemade mochi a pale turquoise blue, and it sort of reminds me of glaciers. It was surprisingly yummerific! Try it for yourself.. if you dare, hehe.

About the Author:

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson is an avid food …

Yakko joins Masa’s and Sushitomi for noteworthy Mountain View sushi. That already might sound a little odd, “Mountain View sushi”, but I’ve found much more authentic sushi down here in the Peninsula than in the City. Out of the three restaurants I mentioned, Yakko is the most romantic.. and if you’ve been there, you might be chuckling at that statement. With it’s teeny tables and severely outdated and misspelled handwritten signs with sun-faded ink announcing the weekday specials on the walls, Yakko still feels the most intimate …

Sushi, sushi, sushi. Sometimes I think my life revolves around the stuff. I was often told to check out Mountain View’s Sushitomi, mostly by white people, so I was skeptical. Call me a food racist, but I find it a smart practice to scout out restaurants approved by those that would call it “home cookin’”. Besides, when I imagine its odd location next to the hair salon with the skewed adhesive letters advertising “lash tinting” in its window, I dunno, I kinda lose my appetite. One …

So where have we been eating sushi if it ain’t at Masa’s? We’ve been hanging at Hanamaru (which I tricked myself into believing was a short distance from Yahoo!), with the cramped floor tables and uncomfortable chairs (and no booths) and everything’s sort of dark and blah, but wait.. go up to the counter and you’ll soon see the revolving well-constructed wooden boats with colorful and cultural rubber ducks as passengers bobbing up and down. One such “holiday duck” holds a lit menorah. Behind the counter, the wall is …

If you’re going to put your name on something, especially an eatery, you’d better make damn sure it’s good. Masastugi Uehara proudly parks not only his name on Masa’s Sushi in Mountain View but his smiling face on his website. Masa is not a behind-the-scenes kind of entrepreneur. He’s always behind the sushi bar counter or even behind the cash register when the wait staff is swamped, which is often because this place is always packed. Tucked away in an unassuming corner between Dittmer’s Meats and …

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Dreamlogic.net hopes you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to New Year celebrations. Although Chris and I don’t really drink because we’re naturally high (LOL), and we think that the only good champagne is one drowned out in a mimosa or frozen into a sorbet, we do enjoy the occasional glass of sweet Japanese plum wine. Just for fun, we decided to do a little comparison review of three major brands. We chose one from Trader Joe’s, one from Safeway(?), and one …