Many of us wish we brought our lunch to work more often, and while leftovers and sandwiches are delicious options, sometimes we're looking for out-of-the-box ideas. Might I suggest you start searching in the box with a bento lunch? This Japanese boxed lunch has a long history, but these days it's a delicious, healthy, and convenient lunch option, perfect for Spring picnics or munching at your Read more

We know it best for sushi, ramen, and teriyaki chicken, but Japanese cuisine actually encompasses a vast range of dishes and flavors. Japan may be a relatively small island nation, but its topography is peppered with snow-capped mountains, broad agricultural fields, and plenty of seashore. Pasture land is at a premium, so the diet tends to be low in animal fats and relies heavily on locally Read more

Japanese gets creative with this high-concept dish of sea urchin, shrimp, salmon roe, quail egg, and fermented soy that Yoo Eatz recently discovered. Oishiiiiiiii!! A few months ago, I grabbed drinks and dinner after work with a good friend at Hecho. We were intrigued by the restaurant's izakaya-meets-tequila bar concept, and we were not disappointed. The highlight of the meal was a dish called Read more

You may have heard of mochi, the Japanese cake made with sweet, glutinous rice. You may have even enjoyed it as the shell of mochi ice cream, a frozen dessert popular at Japanese restaurants. But do you know that mochi can be a sweet or savory component in just about any meal? I recently discovered this when I spotted bake-and-serve packs of mochi next to tofu in the refrigerated section of Read more

My idea of a dream gift isn't an expensive piece of jewelry or a fancy new bag; it's a food-related souvenir from another country. So when Emily from SavvySugar paid a visit to Japan and brought back some instant noodles for me, I was over the moon. Two of my favorite things — travel gifts and ramen? It was almost too much to bear. Emily couldn't read the package but found the instant noodles Read more

Lauren has shared her preferred Sake with the community and you should do the same! Do you have a delicious photo to share? Put it in the Savory Sights group. It could be featured here on YumSugar! Read more

On the final day of the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, wine expert Joshua Wesson and Nobu Miami executive chef Thomas Buckley held a seminar of pairing wine with sushi, a fairly apropros way to end the celebration after four long days of indulging in burgers and grilled cheese. There, I sampled pairings like sashimi tacos with Alsatian Crémant, vegetable rolls with Greece's Moschofilero, Read more

Recently I sat down with a group of people to conduct my first-ever sake tasting. The event was hosted by SakeOne, a craft sake brewer that's based out of Oregon and known for producing award-winning and fun-flavored sakes. The tasting paired 15 sakes with different artisan cheeses also from the beaver state. As I took my first sip of the grassy, smooth, vanilla-ish Momokawa Diamond, I realized Read more