New York City and Hawaii turning Japanese

Just returned from visiting New York City and Hawaii. I've gotta say the Japanese food in these two spots are just as authentic as being in Japan. In NYC, I visited MOMO's in Brooklyn, then Kambi, a ramen spot. My friends and I started at Momo's while waiting for a table at ROBERTA'S (excellent pizza!). Momo's served fusion Japanese food. We ordered lamb gyoza then tofu salad. At first I was disturbed at the thought of lamb gyoza due to the imagined "gamey" flavor, but it was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. Pheww. The tofu salad was also interesting because the texture of the tofu was thicker and creamier than regular tofu. I liked the avocado and drizzle of light shoyu (soy sauce) with it. A few days later I checked out Kambi, a ramen spot, and enjoyed a yummy chicken shoyu ramen. The ramen broth here is more fuller in flavor and appearance. The chicken had a nice fatty flavor to it and the green onion and tea egg were perfect accents.

    Tofu salad at Momo's

Shoyu chicken ramen at Kambi

Hawaii, of course, has an abundance of Japanese inspired foods. One place to start is Shirokiya at ALA MOANA MALL. SHIROKIYA was the oldest mall in Japan started in 1662. They've got a fun food court to purchase bento boxes or made to order food. I ordered a chicken katsu on bed of salad from one of the stalls. It was perfectly fried with just the right amount of tonkatsu sauce. 

If you are ever traveling outside Japan, and want a touch of Japan, then visit these locations!

Momo's Brooklyn

Kambi

Shirokiya

MUJI SF

The Muji San Francisco store opened November 30, and luckily there was no line due to the heavy rain! They have a beautiful 2 story space with the interior having a natural look. I especially loved the cash wrap area where kitchenware like pots and pan covered the backwall. They sold clothing for men and women, personal care, travel accessories and luggage, and upstairs housed kitchen and houseware.

They have a few kinks to work out such as price labels missing on the product, and not posted on the shelf. Also they lacked small sizes on some clothing. Come on Muji it's opening day!

I definitely enjoyed the refreshments provided for the Opening Day such as daifuku (mochi with sweet red bean), strawberry cookies, and tea. I bought a really cool clear briefcase made of plastic for work and face wash. They had a 30% off promotion on clothing, but am not sure how long it will last. Check it out!

Muji
540 9th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

UNIQLO SF

Konnichiwa! It's been a while, and wanted to share my experience at the new Uniqlo San Francisco store that opened in Union Square. I do not know how I managed to wait in line for 1.5 hours at 9am without any coffee! (For those who know me, they know I need coffee to start my body motor.) Got in and it was organized chaos. Whoever trained the team did a good job of having energetic and helpful salespeople. I also appreciated the "Japanese sales style", which involved 1 salesperson shouting their product promo to customers. Reminded me of these different boutiques and competing salespeople attracting people to their tiny clothing shops in Tokyo's Harajuku district.

I totally scored on colorful $9.90 denim, which they will alter for $5. Say what?! YES, $5! For denim over $20, the alteration is free! The price promo does not last long. I basically bought all colors, whether I liked the color or not because they could be gifted or whatever. They had $20 Merino wool v-neck sweaters, $40 fleece lined hoodies, and 6 pairs of colorful socks for $9.90. My bag was full and I walked home with a tote bag.

HOWEVER, do note when you plan on returning or exchanging go straight to the top floor, registers 13 and 14. Do not waste your time on the main floor only to be told by the register guide person that you need to go upstairs.

For alterations:

First, get your denim pinned in the fitting room. Upon checkout, ask the cashier to print you an alteration receipt, then keep an eagle's eye on the alteration drop off tables. One is on the right side of the main floor, which is basically a portable kitchen island type table, or on the top floor on the left side of the cash registers. They've quoted anywhere from 1-3 hours, which is really not bad for a store that just opened. I wore my new favorite, altered turquoise denim a few hours after purchase. Super happy!

So go shopping nowwwwwww!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/uniqlo-san-francisco

MUJI COMING TO SF 2012!

My friend Jenny emailed me about a report that Muji plans on opening in Soma, a district in San Francisco known for industrial style buildings, EndUp (an after hours club), and now MUJI! I love this store because of their simple store design and products. Their focus is homeware. Plus, they like to use organic ingredients in their products. I use their olive lotion, which smells quite nice and a facial toner every morning.

Check out the story about Muji in SF!

(Image courtesy of Muji.com)

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