Category Archives: Chefs

Yutori Brings A Certain Specific and Beloved Taste of Japan

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Aburi don bento from Yutori in Palo Alto.
Aburi don bento from Yutori in Palo Alto.

If you’ve ever traveled to Japan, then you know full well the much-deserved affection for konbini culture.

Be it 7-Eleven, FamilyMart or Lawson, Japanese convenience stores seem stocked with most anything and everything needed in life, including an astonishing array of snacks and prepared foods that are not only fresh and delicious, but jaw-droppingly cheap. Talk to anyone who’s ever shopped at them and you’ll get an earful of wistful longing for those cushiony egg salad sandos, seaweed-wrapped rice balls, wasabi potato chips, assorted bentos, and so much more.

Yutori, which opened in Palo Alto this spring, brings a modern taste of that to the Bay Area.

Named for the Japanese word for “spaciousness” or “room to breathe,” this 5,000-square-foot space comprises a coffee bar, small marketplace selling Japanese home goods, and a takeout deli. Before the year ends, it will also add a sit-down restaurant.

Located on El Camino Real.
Located on El Camino Real.

I paid a visit a few days ago, specifically to check out the konbini-like offerings in the refrigerator cases. The array of bentos, onigiri, and sandos will definitely remind you of Japan.

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Great Finds, Part II: The Dumpling Class

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Pork-Wagyu beef dumplings, cooked and ready to eat, that my friend Charlen and I made in Eddie Lo's class.
Pork-Wagyu beef dumplings, cooked and ready to eat, that my friend Charlen and I made in Eddie Lo’s class.

For a dozen years, Eddie Lo was on the tech fast track in Silicon Valley.

After graduating with a bachelor’s in industrial engineering degree from the University of California at Berkeley, followed by a master’s in operations research and information engineering from Cornell University, he worked at such heavy weights as Cisco, YouTube, Google and Coinbase.

Then, he made a major pivot.

He traded project management of cryptocurrency and data for pleating Chinese dumplings instead.

Lo launched “Eating with Edmund,” hands-on dumpling classes at his San Francisco home, four and a half years ago. Since then, he’s taught more than 5,000 people.

His 3-hour classes, limited to a maximum of eight people at a time, consistently sell out, too. They are priced at $129 per person.

Eddie Lo in his home kitchen.
Eddie Lo in his home kitchen.

“Tech was a lot of yelling and a lot of stress,” he says. “It wasn’t my happy place. The happiest I am is when I’m cooking.”

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Great Finds, Part I: The Soy Sauce

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LivCookEat Finishing Soy Sauce drizzled on dumplings from Dumpling City in Palo Alto.
LivCookEat Finishing Soy Sauce drizzled on dumplings from Dumpling City in Palo Alto.

When tasting a product that’s billed as superior to another, sometimes you end up going back and forth and back and forth, concentrating with all your might to discern whether truly significant differences do exist.

Other times, all it takes is one taste to know that one completely outshines the other.

Such was the case when I tried a sample of LivCookEat Soy Sauce against my usual Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce.

Granted, I did not do my tasting blind. However, when I had my husband try the soy sauces, I didn’t tell him which was which. Even so, he immediately guessed which one was the LivCookEat Soy Sauce because it tasted far smoother.

What sets it apart?

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A Savory Mochi Trifecta

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Crispy and chewy, sweet and spicy, these pan-fried mochi bao have so much deliciousness going on.
Crispy and chewy, sweet and spicy, these pan-fried mochi bao have so much deliciousness going on.

You’ve enjoyed it hot and cold, on the cob and off, and in salads, pastas, soups, and sides.

But have you ever had corn stuffed inside chewy, crisp pan-fried mochi?

With gooey cheese and spicy kimchi folded in to boot?

This perfect trio of ingredients make up the filling for clever “Kimchi & Corn Cheese Pan-Fried Mochi.”

This fun recipe is from “Breaking Bao” (Chronicle Books, 2024), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Clarice Lam, an award-winning New York City pastry chef who has worked at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market, and the Chocolate Room.

Toronto-born, Los Angeles-reared, and the daughter of parents who emigrated from Hong Kong, Lam’s creations reflect her heritage and travels, melding Asian flavors with global techniques.

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Palo Alto’s Demi Excels in Japanese Comfort Food

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The omurice at Demi.
The omurice at Demi.

As my knife and fork slid into the lofty, fluffy omelet to reveal a mountain of fried rice inside, I immediately felt like I was back in Japan.

Omurice or omelet rice is one of the many delicious mainstay dishes that I fell in love with while traveling through that country. So, when I read that there was a new place in downtown Palo Alto serving it, I was all over it.

Demi is the recently opened namesake restaurant of Chef Demi Ebara, who hails from Kyoto. She is also the owner of Demiya, which has five locations in the Bay Area.

Both concepts specialize in yoshoku food or Japanese-style versions of Western dishes that are homey and comforting. It’s the type of food that you can find served in Japan not only in mom-and-pop places but on upscale tasting menus, too.

The snug, light-filled dining room.
The snug, light-filled dining room.
A few seats at the counter also are available.
A few seats at the counter also are available.

Demiya is more of a fast-casual restaurant with an emphasis on Japanese curry dishes, while Demi is a kicked-up, sit-down restaurant.

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