Seattle Real Estate & Neighborhood Blog

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Uwajimaya, Seattle's Best Asian Grocery Store!

Uwajimaya, the largest Asian grocery and gift store in the Pacific Northwest is 81 years old and still going strong. Founded by Fujimatsu and Sadako Moriguchi in Tacoma back in 1928. the family perservered and re-established after WWII's internment of Japanese-Americans. After being released from Tule Lake Internment Camp, the family sold fish cakes from the back of a truck to local Japanese farmers and laborers. Now, it is still run by the Moriguchi family's four sons, three daughters , many grandchildren, and over 400 employees, but since 2000 from it's new 66,000 square foot flagship store, it envelopes three whole city

block on 5th Ave South in the International District. The store boasts one of the largest fresh fish tanks in the Northwest with an impeccably fres

h selection of seafood, produce and meats. Almost any imaginable Asian food item and everything in between can be found here. Variety ranging from rice cakes to ramen, bakery to tofu, seaweed, sakes, wines, dishes, and even appliances.

As an owner of a Japanese restaurant, Uwajimaya, named after the Japanese fishing village of the founders, remains an indispensible resource for all of us. Twenty years ago, I would

shop there daily, before many fish purveyors delivered to restaurants, and purchase just enough fresh fish for my daily business needs. In doing so, I created a bond with many family and staff

members that are still there. It is like coming home for me everytime that I walk into the doors. On one memorable evening, when the founder's son Tomio Moriguchi came to my restaurant Toyoda Sushi for dinner, I went to greet him and he said with a grin, ..."They tell me that you are our best customer...". I am always greeted warmly by Tomio and his sister Tomoko Moriguchi Matsuno and my dear friends in the Seafood Department. Tomio handed over the CEO seat to sister T

omoko in 2007 after more than 40 years at the helm.
For fort

y years that I can remember, it has always had a special place in my heart for my family and I. It is a tradition that gives comfort and so much more to Seattlelites from not only Japan, but all over Asia as well as locally. Uwajimaya is a great hub of Asian food and cultures, and the corporation has given back so much to the community in the form of donations and support of the arts such as the Wing Luke Museum. I bow with respect and honor to my favorite local grocery store in Seattle!

Helen Toyoda

Realtor

Helen@SeattlePowerSearch.com

206.383.8182

Labels: Asian foods, International District, Uwajimaya

Thursday, December 18, 2008

When it's cold and snowy, Toyoda Sushi can warm you up

Seattle had a super snowy night last night and it seemed as though everyone was staying in...so we decided to hop on over to Toyoda Sushi on Lake City Way slipping and sliding, for some fresh, much needed Sushi. We thought the place couldn't be too busy since it was such dark weather, but they were actually packed.

Toyoda has been up and running for 19 years now, in February it will be 20. Their reputation of having the freshest fish, fun and friendly sta

ff and a very nice atmosphere brings them repeat clientele and gets them referred to on a regular basis. You can tell, because the owners seem to know almost everyone who comes in! Helen Toyoda, owner of the restaurant as well as being one of our team members, pointed out to us a beautiful quilt art piece on one of the walls that a customer made for the restaurant...now that's dedication!

Last night we tried the Albacore Tuna Tataki , the Spicy Tuna Bowl along with some sushi rolls. The Toro Tataki is basically lightly seared white fatty tuna pieces (you get a who

le lot of them on a big plate!) that goes great with rice and some soy sauce. The Spicy Tuna is a bowl of tuna mixed with sriracha sauce (best sauce ever) and also goes great with rice. For the sushi rolls we went with Helen's suggestion, the Caterpillar Roll and some Shrimp Tepura Rolls and Futo-makis. I've only had Caterpillar Rolls a couple of times, but this got me addicted...there is some eel in the roll along with other goodies and is topped with avocado.

Helen also made us try her own creation of the tempura icecream...I've never tasted anything like it. They freeze a vanilla icecream (wra

pped in a short cake-like, breadded thing) ball overnight and deep fry the ball. It was SO GOOD!! I definitely recommend it as a dessert item, but only if you can share it with someone...the ball's pretty big.

Customers love to sit at the sushi bar and talk to the sushi chef, Natsuyoshi Toyoda (the jolly fellow below) who co-owns the restaurant while watching him prepare the sushi and sashimi. He's very entertaining to watch and talk to...and will greet you with a big hel

lo when you first walk in. For those of you who aren't gung-ho on the raw fish, the place also offers yummy teriyaki and noodle dishes as well.

The restaurant is located in North Seattle, in the Lake City community. Lake City Way (also known as Hwy 522) runs east-west, from Seattle to Lake Forest Park to Kenmore to Bothell, and further east to Woodinville and Monroe. The exact address of the place is 12543 Lake City Way NE, at 125th Avneue NE and Lake City Way.

Thanks for the always fresh and wonderful sushi...we'll be back soon!

Amy Kizaki
Buyer's Agent
206.384.7169
amy@seattlepowersearch.com

Labels: Asian foods, Japanese, Lake City, North Seattle, restaurants

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Asian Invasion in Edmonds!

Being from Japan, I have a love for authentic Asian foods...lucky f

or me, Seattle happens to be a very Cosmopolitan city. And hands down, one of the best supermarkets that carries all kinds of Asian foods from mochi to kimchi is located in Edmonds, on Aurora Avenue and 228th Street SW. Ranch 99 is a Chinese-owned Asian market and is a destination for several Asian families in the area. I've found sauces, candies, pickles and noodles that I thought I'd never find again here! They carry everything from produce to dim sum, fresh seafood to baked goods, carbs, drinks, and even some Asian household products. They only have two locations in Washington State, the other being in Kent; most of their locations are in California where the first store was opened and they now have several locations all over the state.

Surrounding the market are little Asian restaurants, including a little Vietnamese pho noodle restaurant and a larger Chinese restaurant. Around the corner from it is one of my favorite bubble tea places, Pochi. Pochi serves all kinds of bubble teas, including fruit smoothies, milk teas, normal teas and slushies. You can get them to add "bubbles" (they're little

tapioca balls, like the kind you find in tapioca pudding, but much bigger) in your tea...hence the name bubble tea, aka boba tea. Other goodies are available as well, such as lychee jelly, apple jelly, passion fruit jelly, coffee jelly...the list goes on. Personally my fave is the mango fruit smoothie with the tapioca bubbles, but it runs high on the calories so it's really a treat...usually I stick with normal unsweetened green tea, with bubbles.

For those who aren't too familiar with the bubble tea aka pearl tea aka "Boba" tea, it's a tea beverage that contains tapioca bubbles that originated in Taiwan in the '80s. At first it may seem different and scary but trust me it's amazing...I've convinced my friends who were new to it to give it a try and they all love it!