I pondered the "Yellow Terror" exhibit at the Wing Luke Asian Museum

(with props to the Wing Luke)

From K.

Sometimes, art is art for art's sake. Other times, it makes a statement about who we are and how we live. "Yellow Terror" at the Wing Luke in the Chinatown/ID definitely is the latter.

I checked out the exhibit on opening night after dinner at nearby Green Leaf with a foursome of girlfriends, not quite sure what we'd find but assured by our friend J. that it'd blow our minds. An hour later, after being moved to tears by Roger Shimomura's collection of World War II-era anti-Japanese, anti-Oriental ... memorabilia, for want of a better word, I was startled anew at how easy it is to coerce a nation toward hate.

Movie posters boasted of sailors taking on housefuls of geisha girls. Valentine cards emblazoned with Chinamen told sweethearts "I chink I'll be your Valentine." Even Dr. Seuss was in on the act, illustrating a variety of buck-toothed Japanese warriors for postcards during his stint as a talented propagandist. What hurt my heart most, though, were the "hunting licenses" not for deer or elk but for "Japs," which I hope were issued in jest. But you never really know what's going on in peoples' heads, do you?

Shimomura's paintings are eye-poppingly shocking. He favors the pop-art style of Warhol and Lichtenstein, though his twist is to relate his feelings of isolation by portraying himself as a searingly yellow, bucktoothed stranger aside comic book-perfect Caucasians. Click here to see more. I stared at "American Portrait #2" for at least 10 minutes, trying to take it all in.

"Yellow Terror" is open through April 18. At the very least, see it to also check out the Wing Luke, which is filled with fascinating glimpses into Asian-American history and the West Coast immigrant experience.

I ate at Moshi Moshi

From K.

Ring-ring, ring-ring.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Hai. K desu!"

"Hai! O genki desuka?"

Yes, I'm definitely genki, or feeling energized. I always feel this way after good Japanese meals. Something about the combo of miso soup, fresh fish, pickles, good rice and something fried just sets me smiling (all that tonkatsu et all is from Portugal's legacy in Japan BTW, but we can forgive them because it tastes so great). My friend KT suggested a trip here after we realized we hadn't shared dinner in ages. Too much training for triathlons and bootcamp make us forget how much fun we can have when we're not working out.



After the typical Ballard parking drama, we met up in a booth along one of the walls and perused the menu. KT went for a bowl of fresh sashimi (chirashi) and I ordered tonkatsu. We split pickles and each got miso soup. I think KT would have appreciated a pictoral sushi guide to better enjoy her dish, though she seemed happy. My tonkatsu came out piping hot, crispy and meaty, with a rich-yet-fruity dipping sauce (made me wonder if they just go ahead and pour Bulldog Brand straight from the bottle?). The pickles ranged from super tasty to bland and spiritless (they need to perfect the eggplant for sure). The miso made my mouth happy, as did the high-quality green tea. We enjoyed all this beneath the glow of their LED pink sakura tree that crowns the restaurant. While MM did not displace the ID's Kaname as my favorite Japanese spot, I shall return (I also love Hiroshi's on Eastlake for nikku udon and curry rice, but I digress :)

Next time I want to explore their drinks menu, as well as their mochi (I wonder if it's from Tokara in Phinney/Greenwood? Or of their own creation?). But this night we headed down the street to Cupcake Royale to try out their new, reformuated cake recipe.



They definitely seemed more moist and less crumbly. But then again, their cupcakes always taste great in store, not as swell by the time you're home (unlike Trophy). Seemed promising though, and I'm happy to experiment some more for the sake of scientific research :)

The deets
Moshi Moshi: 5324 Ballard Ave. N.W., Seattle, 206-971-7424
Cupcake Royale (Ballard): 2052 N.W. Market St., Seattle, 206-782-9557

I ate crawfish...

From N.

Damn you Alton Brown.

I struggled the first time I made a pit stop at Crawfish King in the International District. It's hard to get the tail meat out of those spicy little buggers. But then Alton featured crawfish on an episode of "Good Eats" on the Food Network, and he made the crawfish (sustainable seafood!) look so good and so easy. I was ready for another round. Crawfish, you are mine.

But it was not so easy. It was so hard. Alton showed this simple twist, open and squeeze, and the tail meat looked like it popped right out. Instead I had to peel the tails, which was slow. I also tried to squeeze the deliciousness out of the thorax, but the spiciness made me flinch and I couldn't get anything out. I resorted to digging stuff out with my fingers. It wasn't pretty.

The server also claimed people eat two to four pounds each. At $8.99 a pound, that ain't cheap. We ordered 6 pounds for four people and by the end of my 1 1/2 pounds, I was exhausted. And not quite full.

So we went to that savior of all frustrating meals: Molly Moon. Ginger ice cream and fresh waffle cones fixes everything.