Food Entry #2: Kyotofu

(from the "Daily Candy" newsletter)

Soy to the World

sweet!

Life is conspiring to keep your big Japanese sojourn an Oriental fantasy. (Frankly, you lack the time, yen, and Tinsley Mortimer advertising contract.)

But even crap exchange rates won’t keep you from Kyotofu, a new Japanese dessert bar and bakery that’s just opened (softly) in Hell’s Kitchen.

The sleek little spot (designed by the architect who did Chikalicious, Jewel Bako, and Momofuku) has a bright, comfy dining pod filled with white upholstered seating and tables for two.

The focus is on beautiful desserts, sweet treats, and small plates with imported Japanese ingredients like mochi, green tea, black sesame, lychee, and tofu (which is made on-site daily).

And, oh, the options: Tahitian vanilla sticky rice pudding, saffron-sake-pear tartlets, and bite-size cookies paired with cherry blossom liqueur, sake, champagne, and shochu cocktails.

Soon enough you’ll be able to pop by for a morning coffee and breakfast pastry.

It’s bound to become a ritual for the midtown set.

We hear it’s already big in Japan.

Kyotofu, 705 Ninth Avenue, between 48th and 49th Streets (212-974-6012 or kyotofu-nyc.com).

Grand Opening Hours: Sun-Wed 6PM to Midnight, Thurs - Sat 6PM - 1:30AM...looks like i'll be taking a quick stroll over there from work one of these evenings.



This is M.I.A. in Japan.

From Wikipedia:

Mathangi "aya" Arulpragasam (born on July 17, 1977 in Hounslow, London, England)^[1] is a Sri Lanka-raised rapper, singer and artist. She is best known by her stage name, M.I.A.. Her style contains elements of grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro, reggaeton and baile funk.

She came to light last year and her controversial album, Piracy Funds Terrorism, appeared in almost every critic's top ten if not top five artist of 2005. For hip-hop enthusiasts, or me in general, hearing her sound for the first time, was like having one of those wake-up calls about how "hyphy" hip-hop and music creation can be when the semi-porous genre boundaries are demolished, leaving sick beats, sweaty bodies, and top of your lung hollering.

Ya Ya haaaaaa... Oh eh oh eh oh oh ya ya yay!

Here's another clip of her w/ the ill Diplo (dj) on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. For those acolytes of indie/cutting edge music, host, Nic Harcourt, a bona fide tastemaker, is probably one of if not the most influential DJ's in America. A mention on his show is about as tantamount to receiving a "Best New Music" on pitchforkmedia.com, considering his podcast is one of the most downloaded shows on all of the Internet.

Songs:

M.I.A. - Galangatho (Diplo mix)
M.I.A. feat. Diplo - XR 2 (her newest single)

I can't wait to see her in concert! Apparently, she killed it at McCarren Pool last year in Brooklyn.