Category: Events

Festival Asiasie at Time Out Montreal

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Last weekend I had the pleasure of dragging Lynn and Sophie to the Festival Asiasie Pop-Up at the Time Out Market here in Montreal.  The market was great, but incredibly crowded. I suspect they got way more foot traffic than initially anticipated, and I hope the vendors all made some fantastic sales. I just hope that they find a larger venue if they do this again next year! I tried to capture the vibe and the chaos without focusing too much on strangers, but it was nearly impossible.

My initial plan was to share all the amazing goodies I brought home as soon as possible. Unfortunately, along with those goodies I brought home some miserable virus or other. I’m still sick but semi-functional, so I wanted to make sure I took the time to recommend all these amazing small businesses and craftspeople bringing both modern and traditional Japanese (and other Asian) goodies to us here. Wherever possible, I have linked to their socials and online shops as well!

 

Atelier Tsubaki

Atelier Tsubaki focuses primarily on gorgeous, handmade origami jewellery, but when I saw this necklace I fell in love. It’s an actual ume & uguisu (plum & warbler) hanafuda card coated in resin so it’s nice and sturdy and durable, and I already have the perfect outfit in mind for it, but it’s currently in California. I’ll be sure to take photos when I wear it!

If you’re looking for some unique handmade pieces, definitely check out their works.

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Bask Hour

Bask Hour make some incredible, elevated scented candles and diffusers focused around a variety of Asian fragrances. They’re made with soy, coconut, and beeswax for a nice clean burn and have crackly wooden wicks.

I know my mother is a huge fan of bright, citrusy smells so getting the Yuzu for her for mother’s day was a given. It’s deliciously balanced with grapefruit and rounded out with hinoki cedar to prevent it from being too sharp. I also love the mini paint can packaging, and their branding in general is great. I can’t wait to try out a few more of their fragrance offerings.

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Boutique MeiCo

The owner of MeiCo takes the beauty of kimono and transforms pieces that are too small, too fragile, or too damaged and turns them into stunning, wearable and useable items for modern life. I selected a keyring strap for my mum and a little lip balm holder for myself, since I am forever losing lip balms in the depths of my purse. But these are just a very small sampling, she makes absolutely stunning bags, hats, and my personal fave, bomber jackets. They’re out of my budget at the current time but hopefully one day I can splurge. She’s even offered to make some using pieces in my collection that are unuseable, and I am very tempted.

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Brasserie San-O Sake

Brasserie San-O focuses on using koji, or the fermented rice used to make sake amongst other things. They have a wide offering of drinks, condiments, and products and starters for making your own fermented goodies.

They were offering samples of their non-alcoholic ume sake and it’s absolutely delicious and refreshing. Please ignore the weird-looking cans, they were selling these at a discount due to a technical hiccup with the can-sealing machine. It had no impact on the flavour, I assure you!

I also grabbed a jar of their shoyu koji condiment, and it’s added a delicious salty umami balance to chicken so far and I intend to put it on a pork loin as soon as I have the energy to cook!

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Eliane Oba Ceramica

Since I live between two households at the moment, I am trying to avoid buying large housewares, especially fragile ones, so my original plan was to buy two handmade hashioki, or chopstick rests. These lovely black fan-shaped ones have an imprinted seigaiha design and I thought I was set. Until this teacup called my name. “Diaaaane,” it said. “Look at my beautiful glaaaaze. Taaaake me wiiiith you.”

How could I say no to such a gorgeous cup? I’ll just have to make sure to pack it well when I bring it to California! Eliane also included two sets of lovely bamboo chopsticks, which I don’t need but still appreciate!

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KotoAn Wagashi

I’ve had KotoAn’s wagashi offerings before, and they never fail to impress. They typically make a variety of nerikiri sweets with different flavours of filling, from anko to yuzu to raspberry. They’re always a pleasure to eat – the only negative is cutting into the beautiful designs!

I shared this box with my folks, don’t worry, I did not eat them all by myself in one sitting!

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Lam Atelier

Kat, the artist behind Lam Atelier, makes adorable prints, shirts, pins, stickers, and all sorts of merch based on traditional and kawaii imagery from all over Asia.

I of course selected this adorable maneki-neko pins, but I was very tempted by the hilarious Buff Sanrio character stickers.

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Miya Candles

Miya Candles is a one-woman operation, and she makes the most charming variety of hand poured, scented candles. I could not resist the funny little  Daruma face here. The scent throw on these is excellent – he’s been sitting on my dresser since I bought him and the fragrance is still noticeable in my entire bedroom.

All of her candles are at least this adorable, if not cuter, definitely worth a look!

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Sakao Tea

This tea could not have come at a better time! I’ve purchased from Sakao before and am always happy with their offerings, but this yuzu-pepper-sencha blend has been a gift from the heavens with my congestion this week. It’s bright and crisp without being uncomfortably spicy. I would drink this by itself, especially as a sick-day pick me up, or with a nice spicy meal. Something it could stand on its own with. I would bet it would also be lovely used in a rub or marinade!

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Thé Gurus

Thés Gurus is another brand I have tried before and know I enjoy, but when I saw this little set of pre-measured matcha and cute little shaker, I was influenced, as they say. As someone who spends so much time travelling back and forth, it will be really nice to have an in-transit option that isn’t an over-sweetened coffee chain matcha latte. This is proper, high-grade ceremonial matcha, just packaged for convenience.

Admittedly I’m not a huge fan of single-use packets but at least they are recyclable!

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Tokusen.Store

Tokusen is a high-end direct-from-Japan importer of sauces, marinades, and cooking products. I’ve been wanting to review a selection of their offerings for quite some time now and never got around to it, so when I saw they were going to be selling at this market I made a point of grabbing a variety. I will be doing a proper review of these all when I’ve had the opportunity to use them all a few times. The products I purchased are:

This entry will be updated once the full review is live!

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There was also a booth with tons of gacha machines, and I’m proud to say that I did not succumb! I also stopped by Kimono Yuki‘s booth but behaved and only bought a fan because I was overheated, no textiles. Mostly because I just have no dang space at the moment.

After shopping we grabbed dinner at the Time Out market. I just had to share how beautiful this dang poke bowl from Le Blossom was. Look at it! So fresh and bright, and the flavours absolutely lived up to the aesthetic.

Please forgive any typos or nonsense in this entry – I read over it and spell-checked multiple times but I am still very sick and also incredibly distracted by a hockey game.

Montreal JCCC Fashion Show 2023

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Ooof. No, that year in the title is not a typo. I’m just three tanukis in a michiyuki when it comes to following up on things.

In the spring of 2023, I was invited to participate as a stylist and vendor in Everyone Can Kimono!, a fashion show and event put on by the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre here in Montreal. It aimed to encourage a love of kimono and show that it really is for anyone who is passionate about it! Being a giant awkward white woman, I was humbled and honoured to be considered. And yes, I stuck out like a sore thumb in the dressing areas, but I was welcomed openly and encouraged by all the other stylists, which was so lovely.

Sasa and Yurie did an incredible job organising everything, and helped me find some absolutely fantastic and gorgeous models to show off the ensembles I put together. I got to feature some of my favourite vintage pieces, including a few I’d never been able to use before on a person or mannequin. My models were all so gracious and enthusiastic and dressing them all was an absolutely dream.

Here are my lovely models. Due to the casual vintage nature of most of these coordinates as well as their unfamiliarity with kimono, I went with a looser and less restricted style of kitsuke, which I think worked perfectly. Don’t get me wrong, I love the tight, padded, nearly-regimented style of the modern kimono-school variety, but there’s something so effortless about more relaxed dressing that helps remind us that these used to be everyday garments.

Don’t they all look amazing and poised, and like they’ve been wearing kimono for years? They were so good!

Of course, there were plenty of other stylists who are all way more skilled and visionary than I am, and it was humbling to be included in such a talented group. Here’s a gallery of all the other fantastic outfits. It was an incredible blend of traditional, modern, and totally alternative stylings.

There was also a Q&A session at the end of the show, and I got roped into helping answer a few questions, particularly about vintage kitsuke. Some of the medication I’m on makes me particularly susceptible to heat, so behold me in all my fat sweaty glory. Yes, that is a tenugui with lemons on my head. It’s called fashion, look it up.

And some lovely group shots of all the models, as well as the whole team of stylists, honoured guests, and JCCC staff! I managed to avoid being in these because I was setting up a booth to sell off parts of my collection it was time to say goodbye to. A few pieces found good homes, and I hope their new owners cherish them like I did.

This has gone on to be a yearly event, but I’ve been in California for the past two years and haven’t been able to participate or attend. If you’re ever in Montreal in the spring, keep an eye out for announcements and definitely try to come see the show if you can! Maybe one day the timing will work out and I’ll be able to be involved again, but either way I still urge you to support small local kimono initiatives like this whenever possible 🙂

Review – Morimoto Restaurant Las Vegas

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I want to preface this with the disclaimer that I have had a crush on Chef Morimoto Masaharu for literal decades, ever since I first saw the badly-dubbed transport of the original Japanese Iron Chef show. I mean, a handsome man in kimono who makes delicious food? How could I not?

So of course, when my boyfriend took me to Las Vegas last month I knew I wanted to finally get the chance to eat at one of the Morimoto restaurants, even though I knew realistically there was no way he would actually be there.

The restaurant is in the Marketplace area below the MGM Grand, and we stayed in the MGM Signature which is connected via a walkway to the Marketplace, which made it incredibly convenient and comfortable to get to, but if you’re staying in a different property be prepared for a bit of a walk.

First impressions on the atmosphere – the hostesses were incredibly attentive and friendly, and one even helped an older gentleman find the way back to his hotel room despite him not having been a patron at the restaurant. The décor is a lovely blend of Japanese clean lines and more ornate Chinese elements. It works without feeling ill-informed or like some kind of “oh all Asian things are the same” mish-mash. The bar and lounge is opulent in reds an golds and feels more Chinese (and also more like what you’d expect inside a casino) whereas the main dining room with the teppan area is all black wood and clean lines and has a much more modern Japanese vibe to it.

I asked if I could snap a photo of both the dining room and the sushi bar and they were kind enough to oblige me. I didn’t take more as I didn’t want to disturb the other diners. I also really liked the clear chopsticks and snapped a quick photo of our place settings.

I will say that this place was noisy. This is no fault of the restaurant itself though, it’s simply what happens when you place a restaurant inside a casino. One table nearby in particular were clearly having a very fun time and the quiet that settled after they left was palpable. We went on a Monday night and it was still awkward to have an intimate conversation, so I can only imagine what it would be like on a Friday or Saturday. This didn’t particularly diminish the experience for me but it is something to note if you’re looking for a quiet date night.

Once we were settled our attentive but not overbearing waiter asked if we wanted drinks. I started with a cocktail called a Geisha’s Secret, that was listed as containing Kai lychee vodka, shōchū, Calpico, and pomegranate juice. When I got to the bottom I found what I assume to be the geisha’s “secret”, an actual whole lychee! I was delighted because I love lychee. Keith went the safe route and ordered a beer; a Tokyo Black porter which had this delightful little Sumōtori butt on the can. I followed up with a Morimoto-tini for my meal, which is vodka and sake. I’ve never been one for gin so this twist on a vodka martini was perfect. I avoided eating the cucumber garnish though, as to not inadvertently kill my dining companion (more on this in a moment). This was a much cleaner and more subtle cocktail, and suited the sushi much better than the first one would have.

Of course, the most important part of a restaurant is the food, right? So how was it? Undeniably fantastic. We started with an order of gyoza and then decided to go with the chef’s choice sushi plate. The gyoza were flavourful and the perfect balance of soft and crispy, and the fish was the freshest I’ve ever had in a landlocked state. Keith is allergic to cucumber and avocado which can make rolled maki a challenge, but they were very accommodating and gave us a selection that was safe to eat (and yes this is why I ignored the garnish in my cocktail) while remaining utterly delicious. The hamachi nigiri with scallion and lemon zest alone was a revelation. I could have eaten an entire plate of those alone!

However, that one single plate of sushi alone was one hundred and sixty dollars. I realise they’re highly trained chefs using very fresh and clean ingredients, and we certainly didn’t leave feeling hungry or wanting more, but that still works out to roughly six dollars per piece of sushi.

Dessert was a delicious toasty pot of genmaicha and a spectacle of a dessert, a brownie with marshmallow creme topped with a chocolate dome that was melted at the table. It didn’t feel particularly Japanese but in retrospect they do a lot of incredibly elegant western-style pastries now so who am I to judge? It was rich and indulgent without being overwhelming, but I am very glad we decided to split one dessert. Eating this alone would have been a challenge!

I managed to get a video of part of the fantastic dessert spectacle, but missed the actual opening of the dome. I was too distracted by chocolate and fire.

The inside had a delicious pillowy marshmallow crème and a brownie bottom. It was a fabulous way to end the meal! 

All that being said, was this worth it? It was a fresh, delicious, once-in-a-lifetime meal with my favourite person in the world and as an experience it was definitely worthwhile. If you’re in Las Vegas and are looking for a memorable meal, by all means go for it. However, if we’re quantifying things solely on the food itself, I honestly feel like as long as you live close to a coast or in a large city, you could get sushi just as fresh and delicious for a more reasonable price.

Of course, I did have to dress up for this, right? Had this not been travel-within-travel (flying from Montreal to southern California and then driving from there to Vegas) I may have been tempted to wear a kimono but I knew it wasn’t realistic, especially with the shoulder injury I am dealing with. Instead I chose to wear this black dress with very kimono-influenced kiku designs I got at Wal-Mart, of all places! The dress was originally much too short for my gargantuan frame (for those of you unaware, I am 5’10” and change, or 179cm tall and built a bit like a retired linebacker gone soft – yes that is a normal sized door behind me) but my dear friend @taylor_goodacre managed to insert a black panel around the waist that was reminiscent of an obi. A pink faux-leather obi-style belt and my moonblossom earrings fit perfectly and added just the right finishing touch to the outfit.

If you do plan to go and want to dress up (either in Japanese-inspired western clothing like this or full-on kimono) just remember that while the restaurant itself is lovely and elegant it is inside a casino food hall which means people in various states of dress from resort casual to formal will be wandering in and out. So if you’re the type of person who feels self-conscious when over-dressed, that is something to think about. I am a ridiculous peacock of a human being so I was fine with it, but it’s worth bearing in mind.

Gardens of Light 2019

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I don’t know if it’s the changing seasons or the general state of the world or what, but my motivation for new content hasn’t been fantastic lately. Also, I’m still unreasonably enamoured of the last outfit I put on the mannequin and don’t want to change it yet.

However, I don’t want to leave you guys hanging for too long! And I’ve been sitting on these photos trying to decide if they were relevant enough to share for a year. A year! I’m such a trash panda sometimes. That said, I figured I may as well get off my butt and share.

Every year, the Montreal Botanical Gardens holds a lantern festival called Gardens of Light. The reason I was hesitant to share this initially is that the bulk of the lanterns are in the Chinese Pavilion, and I try to avoid encouraging that “all far-east Asian cultures are analogous” mentality. But there are also displays in the Japanese Garden, as well as exhibits of Japanese items inside the smaller Japanese pavilion. Also they’re just beautiful lanterns and we all need some beauty right now.

Last year, I was lucky enough to finally meet Elsa of Elsa Eats after knowing her online for nearly fifteen years now. She and her sister were in town for a short period of time, so we hit up a food truck gathering, then the lantern festival, and then drinks and snacks over at Le Blossom Bar. We all had a lovely time, and one day when I find myself on her side of the pond we can do this again.

And without further ado, the photos! First up, of course, the lanterns.

The Lanterns

Japanese Pavilion

Blossom Bar

Harajuku Fashion Show at Otakuthon 2019

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Photos courtesy of Buddy Photography

Last weekend I had the amazing privilege of styling the kimono segment in the Harajuku Fashion Show at Otakuthon, a local anime and Japanese culture convention. The main focus on the show was modern and funky Japanese street styles, so I wanted to make sure a variety of modern fashions using kimono were featured.

By the end of it, I was a hideously sweaty exhausted mess but man, seeing all these beautiful ladies together was incredibly rewarding! The models all did such an incredible job, and I love how cohesive the outfits all look together! For some fantastic individual shots by Buddy Photography and Phunkey, as well as details about each outfit, please read on.

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