For years I had dreamed of moving to SoCal, living it up in sunny Long Beach or Torrance. Alright, I’ll admit it, I still kind of dream of moving there. I hadn’t even been to California, let alone the West Coast, but I knew that region was warm, on the ocean, and filled with Asian culture. That […]
I love taking people to eat dim sum for the first time. Most people in the US, have no idea what dim sum actually is or the etiquette behind it. It’s fun to watch their eyes glaze over at the million tapas-like choices laid out before them. There are more types of dim sum than […]
I’m always both intrigued and skeptical of taking tours in the U.S. that deal with Asian culture. On one hand, I’m always curious what they’re going to teach and cover. But on the other, I find that sometimes the information they give is horribly inaccurate or that once they’ve found out I lived there, I […]
Truth be told, Chicago actually has its fair share of Asian culture spattered throughout the city. I mean, it’s no New York or San Francisco, but places do exist if you seek them out. I honestly haven’t done many #FindingAsia posts here yet– mainly because the sites are all a bit spread out and easier […]
Japan Day @ Central Park is New York City’s largest one-day celebration of all things Japanese. Having started in 2006, the festival only continues to grow even larger with thousands attending each year. So continuing my trend of hitting up as many Japanese festivals as possible around the US, I packed my bags and flew to […]
Iwas pretty excited when two giant brown boxes showed up at my door labeled Shikibox. Shiki (四季) means the “four seasons” in Japanese and that’s what I was promised to get– the best seasonal snacks Japan has to offer. Shikibox offers four different boxes: Minibox at $14.90 per month Shikibox at $19.90 per month Megabox at $29.90 per […]
It’s no secret that I love traveling specifically to attend festivals and different cultural events around the world. Times when hotels are notorious for overcharging or selling out at record speeds. When I announced my impulse decision to visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC a mere two weeks before the festival, people seemed amazed that I […]
Ilove taking people to eat dim sum for the first time. Most people in the US, have no idea what dim sum actually is or the etiquette behind it. It’s fun to watch their eyes glaze over at the million tapas-like choices laid out before them. Smiling and nodding as they look over the menu […]
The great thing about Chicago summers is that they’re filled with all sorts of festivals. I guess since we really only get a few weeks of great weather here, we have to make up for it by packing it all in come summertime. On any given week you can find at least four festivals going on. My favorite […]
Living in Osaka, I became well-acquainted with one of the region’s specialties– okonomiyaki (お好み焼き). We’d often eat this for lunch and dinner whether at home with my host family or when out with friends. Like a pancake of sorts, okonomiyaki is made from batter mixed with cabbage. Sure, that might not sound all that exciting (or tasty), but […]