Magnolia Pictures

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Magnolia Pictures

​There is already a movie about ramen. It's called Tampopo, which isn't just one of the best food movies, but in my opinion, one of the greatest films of all time.

Now there's a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi where the central subject is Japan's other ubiquitous dish: sushi. It tells the story of 85-year old Jiro Ono, the first sushi chef to earn three Michelin stars and a purported Japanese national treasure, who is a raw fish perfectionist--the Japanese Ferran Adria, it seems.
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With 99 types of food available, we asked Ibrahim Barlas, president of festival sponsor Pacifica Institute, to navigate us through the aisles. Here are five foods to not miss.  
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I'm just as guilty of butchering foreign word pronunciation as any American, but there are times when the media perpetuates mistakes that will make you look like a schmuck. This week--five things for you to avoid sounding like one in a Japanese restaurant.

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¡Co-lom-BIA!

​Celebration of Colombia's Independence Day officially kicked off ten days early on Sunday at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim with the Festival Colombiano O.C. The day-long event featured food & drink stands, gift booths, musical stylings, and more sombreros volteados than you could shake a machete at.

My fellow festival-goers and I arrived in the mid-afternoon (an American, a Colombian and a Swede walk into a Colombian festival--there's a joke in there somewhere), joining what was at least a couple thousand 4371 (per the organizers) of our closest friends; the towering, permanent Festhalle tent was thumping with some vaguely cumbia-esque pop sounds.
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Remember The Kimchi Chronicles? The PBS documentary on Korean food featuring Roller Gi--I mean Heather Graham, Wolve--I mean Hugh Jackman, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and his wife Marja (who is half Korean) as host? It will finally start to air tomorrow, July 7 at 7 p.m. on KLCS and July 8 at 2 p.m. on KCET. The 13-episode, half-hour show has already been broadcasting in New York stations for months.
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​We've sung many praises for our trusty Asian grocery stores--locally, we've got 99 Ranch, Freshia in Tustin, Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa, Thai & Laos Market in Anaheim, all treasure troves of wildly flavorful ingredients at affordable prices. But for the amateurs, or even experienced shoppers, navigating the aisles can be a head-scratching ordeal. Kinako, galangal kha, mang kho--huh? (That's toasted soy flour, aromatic rhizome and dried bamboo shoot, respectively.)  More >>

Flickr user theimpulsivebuy

There's not enough brown sugar in the world to make this appetizing.

​Tired of Starbucks and their awful, industrial pastries and burnt coffee? Sick of the insipid pancakes from IHOP, drowned in butter and artificially-flavored syrup? Can't hack another packet of instant oatmeal from the box, microwaved at the office until the smell permeates the room and everyone hates you? We don't blame you in the slightest. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it's hard to be inspired when your choices seem to belimited to unappetizing food.

Here are five hearty, filling breakfasts from around the world, all of which are available right here in Orange County. Give 'em a try--the drive-through at McDonald's takes too long.
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The appropriately-titled WASASCO sauce is made with wasabi from Izu city, an area well-known for its wasabi production. Sankakuya, the Izu-based company behind WASASCO, claims that "just by mixing a dab of WASASCO sauce, you can perfect the flavor of your sauces and seasonings used at home."

The website suggests adding a bit of WASASCO to soy sauce, Japanese-style salad dressing and mayonnaise, but, as the box label says, "How you use it is up to you!" 

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