Oh Joy!

{oh joy eats} sweet treats in little tokyo... 9 Apr 2013

When we visit our friends—especially those who have new babies—one of my favorite things to do is bring a box of treats for the new parents. And since we've had a ton of friends having babies over the past year ('tis the season!), I've been looking for something to bring other than my standard cupcakes or pies. So I took a little trip to L.A.'s Little Toyko in search of some treats for friends, as well as some for future sweet cravings of my very own.

My first stop was Fugetsu-do, a family-owned staple of Little Tokyo since 1903 that specializes in the freshest mochi (rice cakes) and manju (sweet bean-filled rice cakes). In addition to the beautiful mochi and manju, Fugetsu-do has packaged and boxed candies and crackers that I stocked up on for last-minute gift and snacking needs. (And they're up with the times and offer shipping across the country and sell online!)

For the best ice cream mochi (rice cakes filled with ice cream), Mikawaya (located in Japanese Village Plaza) was my next stop. Mikawaya has a ton of regular mochi options, but specializes in the ice-cream-filled variety. So while these might not be things I can take over to a friend's house, they are a nice treat to have while you're in the area shopping. The green tea, cookies and cream, and plum ice cream mochi were my favorites.

While in the Japanese Village Plaza, I stumbled upon Café Dulcé. I'd heard great things about the green tea doughnuts, and I loved the variety of doughnut and pastry selections available—it's simply a great Japanese version of your favorite local bakery. I especially loved the tapioca roll and, of course, the green tea doughnut.

Once all was said and done, I gathered together my finds from all three places to put together a little box of treats for friends. It was such a fun morning of exploring what Little Tokyo has to offer and experiencing a bit of Japan right here in Los Angeles...

Fugetsu-do | 315 East First St. | Los Angeles, CA 90012 | 213.625.8595

Mikawaya | in Japanese Village Plaza | 335 E. 2nd St.| Los Angeles, CA 90012 | 213.346.9910

Café Dulcé | in Japanese Village Plaza | 335 E. 2nd St.| Los Angeles, CA 90012 | 213.346.9910

{Photos by Bonnie Tsang. My outfit: dress by En Soie, tote by Mar Y Sol, vintage shoes.}

a japanese cupcake... 16 Feb 2012

I recently found these gorgeous sugar flowers and leaves that I had bought during my trip to Kyoto in 2010. Needless to say—two years later—they're probably best not consumed...but they still had their shapes and colors fully intact, so I decided to use them to spruce up a carrot cupcake! Totally whimsical and fun... — Joy

{photos by Oh Joy}

bath time for baby... 20 Aug 2011

I've been starting to stock up on some basics for our little lady, and recently came across some amazing Japanese bath towels that seem perfect for her. I'm not super into baby pink, so subtle patterns on really soft materials feel just right. I picked up this Uchino Ecolive polka dotted towel set at Terrain and these striped Yoshii towels from Broome St. General. They feel so incredibly soft, so I can only imagine how well they'll wash too {I just might need to add these and these to the collection as well}. — Joy

{photos by Oh Joy}

kooky cookies... 13 Oct 2010

...so fun and quirky...by Cookie Boy...

{Thanks Neal! Photos by Cookie Boy}

foodtographer love... 8 Oct 2010

...sweet, quirky, and warm...by Japanese photographer BananaGranola...

{photos by BananaGranola}

yuzu fever... 4 Oct 2010

While in Japan, I got a serious case of Yuzu Fever. While I've had yuzu in Japanese dishes before, I had never had fresh yuzu juice...mixed with water or soda and ice, yuzu juice is like the best lemonade I've ever had. It tastes and smells like a really intense, fragrant lemon...with a little something extra I can't quite describe. Now that I am back in LA, I'm determined to find some juice here {which probably only comes in concentrate}...or maybe even grow a little yuzu tree in our backyard?

{photo by Oh Joy of fresh yuzu juice from the Nishiki Market}

ramen love in {kyoto}... 1 Oct 2010

We have pretty good ramen here in Southern California, but while in Japan, I was on a mission to try the real deal. A reader from Kyoto suggested Isshindo which she said was cheap and tasty...check!. Then when doing google searches it turns out Kyoto Foodie had also been there and loved it....ding, ding, we have a winner!

A few of us got on foot in search for Isshindo which was only a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel. It was easy to miss with it's lack of English signage and hole-in-the-wall location. However, the journey was certainly worth it for the lovely bowl of noodles that would follow. There were no English menus or signs, so we did our best to tell the waiter that we wanted ramen. He said there were two choices: pork or seafood. Turns out, whatever we picked had a pork broth and seafood inside {clams specifically...Kyoto Foodie gives a detailed explanation here...wish I had read this before going!}. The Isshido Soba we did have {which they call soba but is actually ramen} was delicious...rich, perfectly salty, and fragrant...the clams were an unexpected, but nice, addition. The place is tiny, but it felt so hidden and real and just perfect...

{photos by Oh Joy}

the path to green tea... 29 Sep 2010

On the path to Kiyomizu-Dera, there are a ton of little shops selling trinkets and chotchkes...and plenty of green tea treats {you already know I'm addicted right?}. Said treats include green tea soft serve, green tea soft serve on top of green tea cake, and cream puffs filled with green tea ice cream or green tea custard. Did I try them all? But, of course!

{photos by Oh Joy}

japanese doughnuts {in kyoto}... 28 Sep 2010

Although I love sweet treats, I rarely find myself craving a doughnut. Even the fanciest of the breed are typically too large, greasy, and overly sweet for me. However, this all changed after I had doughnuts in Kyoto.

The petite-sized off-shoots {less than 3 inches in diameter} are dense, just sweet enough, and feel like something you can actually have for breakfast and not feel guilty about.

One of my favorite spots in Kyoto to get these said doughnuts include Floresta {shown above...I went to this one}. With its sweet illustrations, awesome flavor options {I loved the green tea and salted caramel}, and the fresh fruit frozen yogurt mixed on the spot...this was my go-to spot for the week.

I also peeked into Hara Donuts a few times which looks super cute and very similar to the size and flavor options of Floresta.

Finally, while Floresta and Hara run in the gourmet end of doughnuts, I also loved these little guys found at a stand at the Nishiki Market. At a reasonable 10 pieces for 200 Yen, these soy doughnuts from Konnamonjya {also called Fujino Tofu} had a similar texture and flavor as funnel cake. Certainly more greasy than the other options, but still light and fluffy and so so good.

{photos by Oh Joy}

sushi for breakfast & closed tsukiji {in tokyo}... 27 Sep 2010

Our first morning in Japan, we woke up at 5am due to jet lag and proceeded to the famous Tsukiji Market. Sadly, the wholesale part of the market was closed that day, but there were a smattering of little restaurants opened so we still had sushi at 7am in a tiny open restaurant near the market.

So fresh and melt-in-your-mouth tender...I had the best sushi I've ever had {amazing tuna!} at a tiny hole-in-the-wall Tsukiji Sushi Ichiban near the closed market. {Thanks Maki for the translation!}

This place also looked amazing...I loved how large the photos are on the outside of the restaurant!

{photos by Oh Joy}