Post-Gazette visits Sumi's Cakery, Squirrel Hill's Korean bakery.

Green tea (macha) cupcakes, via the Sumi's Cakery Facebook page.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette visited Sumi's Cakery (Facebook page), a Korean bakery on Squirrel Hill's Murray Avenue. The sweets at Sumi's are rather different than what American palates are used to, and taste lighter and less sweet than the heavy butter cream and whipped icing most commonly seen. Writes Jessica Suss:

Korean-style baked goods are very different from their American or French counterparts. Typically they are topped with a simple whipped cream frosting that is only very lightly sweetened. Pastries themselves are rarely very sweet and most Korean bakeries offer at least one savory option, as well.

That's not necessarily true of Korean bakeries in South Korea, where the ubiquitous chains like Paris Baguette and Tous Les Jours are known for heavily-sugared bread and brightly-colored cakes. With more Koreans traveling abroad, though, and more expatriates residing in Korea, these chains and the larger grocery stores are slowly expanding their offerings. Nonetheless Asian-style sweets can be off-putting for Americans used to very sweet . . . um, sweets.

I briefly previewed Sumi's in March, as the fourth Korean business in those three blocks of Squirrel Hill. The Pittsburgh City Paper visited a month later.

Some looks at the proposed Korean Heritage Room at Pitt.

As I wrote in May, the Korean Heritage Room Committee is currently raising funds to turn room 304 into another of the famed "nationality rooms" at the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning. (Actually, fundraising has been underway since early 2008). A crude scan of a pamphlet back in May showed a rendering of how the interior of the 피츠버그대학교 한국실 may look, but there are some better, and slightly different, pictures online via consultants Arumjigi (아름지기) and the Korean Heritage Committee website. From the latter:





A pamphlet from 2009 by 내촌목공소 (.pdf) has more details about dimensions and building materials of the design by architect Minah Lee.


via 내촌목공소 (Naechon Carpenter's Workshop).

Shim Hye-jin visits Pittsburgh.

Korean model and actress Shim Hye-jin visited her two nephews in Pittsburgh for the June 26th episode of 스타인생극장 (Star Life Theater). A short clip is on Youtube:



Because KBS no longer makes past episodes available online, you will have to find it elsewhere, like via NetskoTV:



If the embedded video doesn't work at first, try refreshing the page, or simply watching it at the link. The portion of her in Pittsburgh is just one part of the program; you can check NetskoTV and Google for the others.

Let the Bullets Fly in Pittsburgh, June 29 - July 3.

Pittsburgh's Harris Theater (map) will show the Chinese film Let The Bullets Fly (让子弹飞), starring Chow Yun-Fat and Ge You among others, from June 29 through July 3, 2012. From the theater's website:

Since its release this action-comedy-thriller has been lauded for its stunning mix of dark humor and eye-popping violence. Starring Chow Yun-Fat, it's become the highest-grossing film of all time in China. Set in 1920s Sichuan, it tells the tale of the bandit "Pocky" Zhang Mazi, who poses as a local governor in a dusty town, but finds himself at odds with the local mobster, who is not eager to share his turf with another drifter. A complex and deadly series of mind-games ensues between the two crooks, which are as violent as they are hilarious.

It opens with an 8:00 pm show Friday, has three weekend shows, and one each on Monday and Tuesday.

Pittsburgh is also currently showing through June 26 the Japanese movie I Wish, which, based on my discerning taste, is . . . meh, okay.

이용실이란?

Min's Jazzcuts gets it 88% right. The Korean-owned salon has an ㅇ instead of a ㅁ, which turns "beauty salon" into something approximating "utility room". As a temporary sign seen on Google Maps---which shows the street, like most streets in the area, as it looked in 2008---has the correct Korean spelling, and as the place has Korean owners and an exclusively Asian clientele who would notice the mistake, it was probably just too much trouble to have the sign redone.

DIYKaiju at The Gallery on Baum.

The Gallery on Baum (4643 Baum Blvd. in Oakland) is currently showing

an exhibition of strange beasts and giant creatures: featuring exclusive japanese & american vinyl monsters, memorabilia + more

Kaiju means "monster" in Japanese (Godzilla, Rodan, et al). You'll find some links to Pittsburgh kaiju designers on this 2008 event page, just to give a general idea about the current exhibition.

Oishii Bento temporarily closed due to fire.

Oishii Bento, a small restaurant serving Japanese and Korean fast food in Oakland, will be temporarily closed due to a fire Wednesday night.


Oakland Ave., Friday afternoon.

Oishii Bento was voted best Japanese restaurant in Oakland by readers of The Pitt News in 2011, and was the editors' pick for best sushi place in the neighborhood. It might get some competition, as Sushi Fuku is set to open across the street in the old Quizno's location. That will be the fifth Asian restaurant on the Oakland Ave. block between Fifth and Forbes Aves.

Teen Tanabata Japanese Festival in Brookline, July 7th.

Colorful Tanabata celebration in Sendai, by FlutterbyNessa.

Brookline's Carnegie Library branch (map) will have a Teen Tanabata Japanese Festival on Saturday, July 7th:

Manga, anime, and SO much more!! Come celebrate Tanabata with the Brookline library with an all-out festival celebrating Japanese culture!

Wikipedia tells us:

Tanabata (七夕, meaning "Evening of the seventh") is a Japanese star festival, originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The date of Tanabata varies by region of the country, but the first festivities begin on July 7 of the Gregorian calendar. The celebration is held at various days between July and August.

So we'll see how similar Pittsburgh's version is to the real thing. It will be celebrated in Asia this year on August 24, but it's nice to have some events here in July to break up a slow summer.

Asian immigrants to Pittsburgh up, potential "brain gain".

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Asians and Asian-Americans are now the second-largest minority group in Pittsburgh.

That puts Pittsburgh right in line with the national trend, according to a Pew Research Center report released Tuesday.

The report says that Asian immigrants have overtaken Hispanics as the immigrant group with the greatest number of new arrivals in the country. Asian-Americans comprise 5.8 percent of the nation's population, and 3.17 percent of Pennsylvania's population, according to the report. In the Pittsburgh metro area, 2.1 percent of the population by 2010 Census data is Asian, compared to 1.3 percent who are Hispanic. Within the city limits, 5 percent are Asian, compared to 2.3 percent Hispanic, from the same census data.

And it's not just Pittsburgh's rivers attracting Asian-Americans. It's also institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, UPMC and employment opportunities with the Marcellus Shale industries, said Melanie Harrington, who works to welcome immigrants to the city through the organization Vibrant Pittsburgh. She listed the industries to which new Asian immigrants are attracted: the education sector, health care, technology, energy and business entrepreneurship, among many.

Who in the blue hell suggested anyone comes to Pittsburgh for the rivers, though? The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon attract a lot of Asian students, researchers, professors, and other professionals, but they are generally just here for the duration of their studies or for short-term contracts.

Although many Asians come to Pittsburgh for the universities -- nearly 81 percent of Carnegie Mellon's international students last year were Asian -- those who stay in the country don't always choose to live in Pittsburgh. Zipei Tu came from China in 2006 to study at CMU, but he was the only one in his class to remain after graduating. Mr. Tu, who works in international sales for an information technology firm, said his friends left for San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. He added that the "temporary" population of Chinese immigrants in Pittsburgh -- mostly students -- is greater than the permanent population.

"Let me put it frankly," he said. "I don't think people here are as open as in other areas."

If you look at the 2010 census map, compiled by the New York Times, you can see where Pittsburgh's Asians are living.



As expected, concentrations are highest in Oakland, Shadyside, and Squirrel Hill. That tract around Fifth Ave. and Craig Street, where they've crammed 2,400 people into high-rises, has the highest in the city at 31%.



The maps provided by the Pew Research Center's report, "The Rise of Asian Americans", break it down even further. Though you can't see neighborhood-by-neighborhood data, you can see where Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, and Asian-Americans have gathered. Not surprisingly, concentrations are highest in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and State College.


Japanese in Pennsylvania, for example.

Real ramen in Pittsburgh?

lol, no, not really. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a June 14th article about a Ramen Brunch at a trendy restaurant that sounds promising:

Lately, ramen has been making cameo appearances at several restaurants.

Salt of the Earth serves a Ramen Brunch the third Sunday of every month. A few months ago, the sous chef duo of Kevin Rubis and Chad Townsend hatched the plan and now are the executors of the soup. It's the real deal, too.

At first it was just an idea. "When I had a bowl of ramen at Momofuku in Manhattan, I deconstructed it," says Mr. Townsend. "We can make that, I knew. It has to be easy since it's all about the components."

"Then one night after service, Chad and I started talking about ramen," chimed in Mr. Rubis. "We thought it would be a fun project. We ran the idea past our chef, Kevin Sousa, who gave it a thumbs-up."

But if you want good, authentic Japanese-style ramen near Pittsburgh, you'll need to travel to Morgantown, West Virginia.


Miso ramen at Yama, Morgantown.

Just off High Street, tucked into the dingiest slumlord-run building in town, is Yama (387 1/2 High Street, but facing Fayette Street), a Japanese-owned and -run restaurant best known for its miso ramen, shoyu ramen, and other noodle dishes. As there's hardly any Japanese community at the university, most of the customers are Japanese visitors from Pennsylvania or locals who have tasted real ramen before. The place doesn't look like much, but it's good, authentic, and still relatively cheap for stateside prices. The only complaint, besides the rundown apartment that houses it, is that the menu lacks Hataka ramen, the most famous regional variety of the dish.