Cooking: Dry aged steak using Koji

Last summer, during the Powell Street festival (Japanese Canadian community festival), I was wandering around the merchant booths, and met Tonami. She’s been cultivating and selling shio-koji for a few years now, and on this day, she was selling a variety of sauces made from it. Koji is a fungus that grows on rice, and…

Restaurant review: Kauai Family Restaurant

While in south Seattle to attend a Polynesian festival (which turned out to be disappointing), we left and went to lunch at a small family restaurant in the Georgetown neighborhood in south Seattle.  It was located in a out-of-the-way industrial area. When we arrived around noon, the restaurant was full, and there was a short wait….

Restaurant review: Gyo Para Gyoza & Ramen Bar

On a lazy Friday evening, we went to Gyo Para Ramen & Gyoza on Broadway at Arbutus Unlike many other ramen places around town, we were able to walk in and get a seat immediately (no line ups). The proprietor’s family comes from a history of ramen restaurants, dating back to Japan in the 1950s,…