East Asia

Itinerant Verse

Ghost Scam Trial: Defendants Describe Struggles That Brought Them to America

Their stories were similar: There was the childhood in a poor village in rural China, the adult financial problems, the seemingly kind woman who offered help just at the right time, the job invitation from the Los Angeles businessman, and then the deep fear that their child might be kidnapped or ki ... More >>

"From Up on Poppy Hill": Kids Being Magical Kids

Check Out This Mesmerizing Video Tracking Foursquare Check-Ins in NYC and Tokyo

So, this is pretty cool: Foursquare has pulled together all its data to condense a year's worth of check-ins in New York City and Tokyo into one 24-hour time-frame. The video is visually mesmerizing in itself, in the same way that the iTunes music visualizer is mesmerizing (we can only imagine how w ... More >>

M.Y. China: High-End Cuisine Finds a Niche in a Busy Mall

The Postman Rings

We Dare You to Watch This Video Without Getting Hungry for Chinese Food

Eat your way through China vicariously with the folks behind the Perennial Palate in this quick video, The Traveler's Republic of Tofu. Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine are the team behind prior gems such as For Udon and Country and From Japan With Love (and Dashi), and the latest video is a quick overv ... More >>

Gung Ho Now Serving Lunch and Dinner in the Design District

The other day we stopped into the Design District's new Gung Ho, a casual "San Francisco-style Asian" restaurant across the street from the fortress of Zynga. It's the first brick-and-mortar from Seoul Patch pop-up chef Eric Ehler, and we predict it will be insanely popular with the office lunch and ... More >>

Cassava: A Savory Japanese Breakfast

Mono: Show Preview

Today in Future News: Scary Robot Chefs and Laser Knives

Guys. GUYS. Red-and-white noodle-slicing robots are taking over the kitchens in Bejing. They have flashing yellow eyes and breastplates (because if you're designing a noodle-slicing robot, why not?) and were invented by an evil scientist noodle restauranteur Cui Runguan, who laments that "the you ... More >>

"Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry": Even China Can't Shut Him Up

Five Olympics Theme Songs That Are Especially Terrible (Because Most Are Fairly Terrible)

Originally, we were going to do this list as a top five. But then it became apparent that Olympic theme songs are always so incredibly awful, it becomes difficult to figure out who did the worst job. When we started compiling this, in honor of the fact that the Olympics start in London at the end of ... More >>

Twenty Five Lusk Offers Monthly Beer and Food Flights

Craft beer has come a long way in Bay Area restaurants. Thanks to local chefs such as The Monk's Kettle's Adam Dulye and The Homebrew Chef, the phrase "beer dinner" no longer raises eyebrows. Neighborhoods are increasingly serviced by brew-centric bars, bottle shops, and restaurants with a knowledge ... More >>

Seoul Patch Wants to Show You What They've Got At Pop Up This Sunday

Back in the Dogpatch: Seoul Patch Pop Up at SerpentineWhen: Sunday, June 24 from 6:30 PM - 10:30 PM (or until all the food is gone!)Where: Serpentine, 2495 3rd Street. Seoul Patch heads back to where it started to show how far it has come.Cost: No entry fee, entrees from $9 - $16The Rundown: Since i ... More >>

Anonymous Hacks Chinese Government Websites

Anonymous, the global Internet hacking group, doesn't only dislike the American government, it has gone public with its disdain for the Chinese government as well. On Thursday, the group claimed it took down several government sites to protest China's austere Internet restrictions.Anonymous China l ... More >>

Bay Area Residents Accused of Economic Espionage for Chinese Companies

Sell our trade secrets ... that's one way to ensure China's economy surpasses the U.S.​A San Francisco federal grand jury has charged five people and several companies -- some located in the Bay Area -- with espionage and selling American trade secrets to help companies in China quickly flourish. ... More >>

Is American Sushi on the Decline? Some Say Yes.

​It's no surprise that when the Washington Post brings a storied, Japan-trained sushi chef to a neighborhood, fusion-happy sushi restaurant, he doesn't like what he's eating. What is interesting, though, are the reasons why. It's not necessarily the fact that most of the sushi rolls are covered in ... More >>

Think China's Doping Pigs? Not Nearly as Much as American Farmers Are

​Last year, American readers clucked their tongues when news emerged from China about outbreaks of illness traced back to Chinese farmers who doped their pigs with clenbuterol, aka "lean meat powder," to make them more muscular. Oh, those Chinese! What we didn't know is that the majority of Americ ... More >>

Fresh Eats: Food Find: Seoul Patch's Korean Fried Chicken Sando

Chinese Consumers Go Crazy for iPhone 4S, Apple Stores in Bejing Shut Down

View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.It's not often -- in fact, it's unheard of for a store to close shop because of too many customers. But an Apple store in Bejing never even opened this morning, saying they were worried about the big crowd of Chinese consumers camped outside the store, wait ... More >>

Seoul Patch's Korean Fried Chicken Sando

​Four months after its debut, Seoul Patch, a lunchtime popup operating out of Rocketfish in Potrero Hill, continues to evolve. Chef Eric Ehler's been spinning out his original ideas -- all Korean-American culinary juxtapositions -- into new forms, bulking out the menu with new dishes (brussels spr ... More >>

Seoul Patch vs. Reform Club Pop-Up Battle Royale

Korean dramedy? Might we suggest the delightful, "Playful Kiss"?​What: Seoul Patch vs. Reform Club Where: Specchio When: Sun., December 4. Seatings 6-10 p.m. Cost: $40, $25 extra for beverage pairing The rundown: Eric Ehler is back, and this time he's combining both of his pop-ups into on ... More >>

East Comes West

Seoul Patch Starts Serving Bulgogi LTs Today

Kenichi KawashimaSeoul Patch's Korean fried chicken po'boy.​Not long ago, Eric Ehler, who'd been a cook and sous-chef at Serpentine for three years, took a break from cooking to hang out in Seoul. "I didn't just love the cuisine of Seoul," says Ehler, who was born in Korea but had spent ... More >>

San Franciscans to South Koreans: Stop Eating Dogs and Cats

Eating your pets is just plain unsavory ​A group of San Francisco animal lovers is taking on a not-so-domestic animal-rights issue.  In Defense of Animals, a international nonprofit, will deliver 15,000 signatures tomorrow, asking the South Korean government to crack down on illegal dog and c ... More >>

At Happy Garden, Dim Sum Is Only an Appetizer

Photos by W. Blake GrayShanghai dumplings​We wound up at Happy Garden because Good Luck Dim Sum across the street had a long line, and we felt like sitting down. Happy Garden has a dim sum menu. And we ordered from it. We were hungry. Only after we ordered and began paying attention to what e ... More >>

Shabu Pub and G Cube Cafe: Japanese Hot Pots Go Chinese

A Hole in the Iron Curtain

We Got Your Back

Drinking Snacks and Korean Fried Chicken: Q&A with Seoul Food Blogger Jennifer Flinn

Jonathan KauffmanJennifer Flinn at a ramen-rice cake shop in Seoul. Note: She does not normally wear a bib.​Eating fried chicken wings, rice cakes, and fish-egg soup at Red Wings ― all with beer and soju cocktails ― made me wonder about how these foods would be eaten in Korea. Were they drinki ... More >>

Earthquake Hits Japan Again, No Tsunami Warning for S.F.

Another tsunami warning in Japan​Sadly, Japan was shaken again by another earthquake Thursday night, and is now under the threat of a tsunami, a month after it was devastated by an 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami that killed more than 25,000 people. Buildings as far away as Tokyo reportedly shook for ... More >>

Bakesale for Japan Rallies Support for Disaster Relief

Albert Law/porkbellystudio.comBi-Rite Market was one of dozens of nationwide locations of Saturday's Bakesale for Japan.​Organized by local chef Samin Nosrat, Saturday's Bakesale for Japan popped up in moe than 40 locations across the country, including Bi-Rite Market on 18th Street, shown her ... More >>

Sunday: Fabric8 Hosts a Benefit for Japan with Art, Food, and Beer

Erik Otto​Japan Fundraiser Where: Fabric8, 3318 22nd St. (at Valencia), 647-5888 When: Sun., Apr. 3, noon-5 p.m. Cost: Free The rundown: The Mission art gallery is selling raffle tickets for art (most pieces created by Japanese or Japanese American artists) and gift certificates (including ... More >>

Tommy Guerrero and Umamimart Present a Japan Relief Show at the Burritt Room

Guerrero: Doin' his part for Japan.​In just the latest of several Japan earthquake benefit shows to hit S.F., local skater/musical mastermind Tommy Guerrero has announced plans with the food and drink lovers over at Umamimart for a special event at the Crescent Hotel's Burritt Room. Guerrero, who ... More >>

Japanese Tsunami Debris: Will It Trash Our Beaches?

How many volunteers will this cleanup take?​There are so many alarming side effects to the Japanese nuclear leak -- tainted rainwater, polluted air samples, and let's not forget the possibility of radiation in your milk. But while we are so preoccupied with these immediate hazards, we have yet to ... More >>

Japan Benefit Highlights the Highball

Umamimart​The Gift Of Food: A Benefit for Japan Where: Burritt Room at the Crescent Hotel, 417 Stockton (at Sutter), 400-0500 When: Tue., April 5, 8.p.m -1 a.m. Cost: $40 in advance, $45 at the door; proceeds benefit Second Harvest Japan The rundown: Umamimart, the food blog founded by l ... More >>

Bakesale for Japan Update

​Bakesale for Japan Where: Multiple Bay Area locations When: Sat., April 2, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Cost: Items priced individually The rundown: Since we last checked in, Samin Nosrat's Bakesale for Japan has snowballed, with dozens of locations spanning the Bay Area, Southern California, the Paci ... More >>

Japan Crisis Escalates, S.F. to Join Nation in Candlelight Vigil

It's the least we could do ​As news spread on Friday that Japan is facing a possible breach at the troubled nuclear plant, San Francisco residents and politicians decided they would show their support with a candlelight vigil Monday after sunset. Media outlets are reporting that radioactive contam ... More >>

Morning Benders Release Japan Echo EP for Earthquake Relief

​File this under super-cool ways to benefit the struggling, earthquake-torn nation on the other side of Ocean Beach: the Morning Benders, the Berkeley-via-Brooklyn indie-pop quartet that basically took the world by storm last year, has released an EP whose sales will go exclusively to benefit the ... More >>

Yoshi's S.F. Announces Japan Benefit with Anthony Brown's Asian American Jazz Orchestra

As the full scope of the Japan Earthquake disaster comes into view, everyone with a connection to Japan -- and many without one -- are pitching in to help as best they can. Count among those the San Francisco music venue and restaurant Yoshi's, whose Japan benefit event will feature live ... More >>

Japan Relief Fundraiser Tonight: Win a Bike Ride with David Chiu

Photo by Greg Dewar Pedaling, but not for politics ​Maybe it's the last thing you could imagine doing -- spending one-on-one time with your city supervisors. Imagine lunching with Supervisor Malia Cohen (what would you talk about?), or taking a trip to the Academy of Sciences with the perennially ... More >>

Food Trucks' Days are Numbered as China Basin Prepares for Focaccia

John BirdsallSam's ChowderMobile in the courtyard at China Basin.​China Basin, the South Beach office complex at 185 Berry that lost a Specialty's Cafe last month is preparing to fill the void with focaccia. Make that Focaccia with a capital F, the FiDi bakery and cafe now readying its second ... More >>

Chronicle Books Bake Sale Raises Over $7,800 for Japan

​Yesterday's Chronicle Books Bakesale to Help Japan? Some three dozen bakers ended up donating treats (staff, spouses, and neighbors, as well as Poco Dolce, Sweet Constructions, and Angel Cakes), says CB's David Hawk, netting just over $2,300. Chronicle Books doubled that figure for its donati ... More >>

Tonight: Off the Grid Selling T-Shirts for Japan Quake Relief

​Not the best weather for an outdoor food-truck fest, maybe, but Off the Grid Fort Mason Center is dangling another incentive* for the waterproof who show up at tonight's season opener: T-shirts for Japan. OtG's Matt Cohen tells SFoodie he'll be selling shirts rocking the new Off the Grid logo ... More >>

Radiation Levels Monitored on Japan-California Flights

Old-school decontamination​U.S. Customs and Border Protection is monitoring radiation levels on airplanes, cargo, and passengers on flights inbound to West Coast cities from Japan, federal officials said today.In a statement, Customs and Border Protection said officials were seeking to "evaluate t ... More >>

Today: Order the Quail at Nombe, Help Japan's Quake Relief

Angela W./YelpNombe's chicken wings, a previous donation vehicle.​Another restaurant raising money for Japan quake relief: Nombe. Actually, Nombe started collecting donations last Saturday, day after the first full day of news about the tragedy broke over CNN. Co-owner Mari Takahashi says the ... More >>

Chronicle Books Organizing Bake Sale for Japan Quake Relief

Chronicle Books​As reported earlier today, Samin Nosrat is planning an epic series of simultaneous bake sales April 2 to raise funds for Japan disaster relief. In the meantime, Chronicle Books is stepping up with a sale of its own this Monday, Mar. 21, in its lobby at 680 Second Street in SOMA ... More >>

Ebisu/Hotei Donating Part of This Week's Proceeds to Japan Quake Relief

Ebisu​Another S.F. restaurant is stepping up for Japanese disaster relief. From a message on Ebisu's website: All of us are saddened and concerned to have learned about the destruction of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake which has devastated areas of Japan. Many of us and our staff have family and ... More >>

Tsunami Relief: Here Is How to Help

Help!​Images of the earthquake that devastated eastern Japan on Friday still haunt us; the death toll is rising by the day, and threats of a nuclear meltdown lingers.  Naturally, San Franciscans are flooding organizations with phone calls, curious about where and how they can help victims in ... More >>