I received this advertisement from the new Japanese market and I'm afraid I don't know what much of it is.

Anything you think I should try? What is Mochi and why do you pound it?

I'm not SK, but...

I would definitely grab the salmon and uni bowl. Uni is particularly yummy. It is the reproductive organs of sea urchin and is only available when it is in season. Enjoy it while you can!

Mochi is a dough made from cooked rice that is then pounded until it is smooth and paste-like. It makes delightfully gummy buns and cakes which are typically filled with bean goo or things like that.

Try a doriyaki. It’s a Japanese confection consisting of two pancakes with a sweet azuki bean filling. The movie “Sweet Bean” gave doriyaki some publicity. There’s a Japanese store located near me that sells them. They taste even better when they’re hot off the grille if you can find a Japanese restaurant that makes them. The movie is really good also: Drama/galloping gourmet. In Japanese and subtitled in English.

So jealous!!

Do the sushi/sashimi only if you're going to eat it right away (b/c food safety)

If you can attend the futomaki thing, I highly recommend it. Futomaki is yummy (assuming you like sushi rolls in general) and getting to make it yourself is fun.

Yes to mochi, esp if they are doing the pounding there as an event. Have you ever seen mochi pounding?

Yes to the Hanzo ramen because ramen.

It looks like there's tenpura and tako-yaki in the buffet, and probably shumai. Also probably kara-age (Japanese version of fried chicken) and maybe that's beef with sesame sauce? Anyway, yes to all that! BTW tako-yaki is octopus, not Mexican tacos.

QL, do you mean dora-yaki? I didn't see it in the photos, but dora-yaki is super yummy, a sort of bread-y pastry with sweet bean paste in the inside.

Is it snack time yet??


Steve, please report back about whatever you try!

Yes, dorayaki. Sorry for the typo. And a lot of work goes into making the bean paste according to the movie. Watching that movie makes you hungry. I don’t know of any Japanese restaurants near me that make their own dorayaki. You can only buy it off the shelf in a store.