Umami opens in Lawrenceville.

After more than a year in development, Umami is finally open in Lawrenceville, writes Pittsburgh Magazine today.

“Everything fell through. Eclipse (an alternative location) fell through. Investors fell through. There were plenty of delays and obstacles once we started working in this space, too,” he says. Li spent the last year teasing Pittsburghers with line-out-the-door-popular pop-ups while he fought through the delays.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of izakaya, think of it as the Japanese equivalent to a really fun neighborhood pub: there’s crushable, inexpensive, but also well-prepared food that’s meant to go hand-in-hand with a good drink or two.

“After going to Japan many times and seeing the culture of street food and bar food that they have there, I decided I wanted to replicate that here. It’s never been done in Pittsburgh in the right way,” says Li, who from 2008-2015 was the executive chef of the now-closed Tamari. Umami marks a return to his culinary roots; before moving to Pittsburgh in 2005, Li was a sushi chef at Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia.

"Research & Development of Engineered Bamboo Structures" with Yan Xiao of Nanjing Tech, May 5 at Pitt.

The May 5 keynote speech of the "Bamboo in the Urban Environment" symposium at the University of Pittsburgh will be "Research & Development of Engineered Bamboo Structures" by Yan Xiao of the Nanjing University of Technology. Dr. Xiao is an innovator in the field of bamboo in construction, and made the news in 2008 for his plans to use "instant" bamboo structures to house those displaced by the Sichuan earthquake. The talk begins at 1:00 pm in 102 Benedum Hall (map).

"Hands-On Workshop Series—Calligraphy with Xiaoxu", May 3 in Oakland.

Tuesday, May 3, is a free"Hands-On Workshop Series—Calligraphy with Xiaoxu" event at the Carnegie Library in Oakland.

Join us for HOW, a series of hands-on workshops for adults and teens. Learn from skilled craftspeople. Dig in and try things out in a creative, supportive environment. Join us for one or all of these free programs. Materials provided.

Chinese calligraphy is a traditional art form of writing characters using a brush and ink, which has developed over many centuries. You will learn step-by-step how to apply ink with the special brush, write Chinese characters, and take a piece of art home with you.

No registration is necessary for these sessions. Seating for all workshops is available to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. You'll want to come early to be sure you MAKE it on time

The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. (map), accessible by over a dozen different buses that service Oakland.

Finding Mr. Right 2 (北京遇上西雅图 2) in Pittsburgh through May 18.

The 2016 Chinese movie Finding Mr. Right 2 (北京遇上西雅图), also called Beijing Meets Seattle II: Book of Love, will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront theater from April 28, a day before its nationwide premiere.

Chinese-American movie Pali Road (夏威夷之恋) in Pittsburgh, from April 28.

The 2015 movie Pali Road (夏威夷之恋), which premieres nationwide on Friday, will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront from April 28.

Zhiwan Cheung: Hanging Fruit at Andy Warhol Museum, from May 11.

The Andy Warhol Museum will host Zhiwan Cheung's original installation Hanging Fruit as part of its Exposures series from May 11 through August 14. The museum provides a summary:

Cheung’s practice focuses on the intersection of personal history, identity, and place. Through installation and video, Cheung explores the seemingly banal details of our everyday lives that can harbor important messages about race. The naming conventions of house paints such as Chinatown Orange, 50YR 18/650, found in home improvement stores and sold by Glidden Paints, is one example of how stereotypes are deeply rooted in our commercial society. For this window installation, Cheung places large plastic banana trees painted in bold, Chinatown Orange. One can find references to Warhol’s 1966 Velvet Underground album cover, now an iconic image of the screen-printed banana, with the exposed fruit on the inside of the cover. Store products hang within and emerge from the trees—a juxtaposition that speaks to the close connection between identity and commercial consumption.

On May 14, the museum will host an Artist Talk with Cheung at 2:00 pm.

Zhiwan Cheung is a Pittsburgh-based artist currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University. More information about him and his work is available on his website.

The Warhol is located at 117 Sandusky St. on the Northside (map). It's open every day but Monday, and adult admission is $20.

1966 yakuza film Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者) at Row House Cinema from April 29.

The Row House Cinema will show the 1966 yazkuza film Tokyo Drifter (東京流れ者) from April 29 to May 5 as part of its Spirit of '66 series. A 2012 A.V. Club review offers a summary:

Blank-faced Tetsuya Watari stars as the titular wanderer, a gifted yakuza enforcer trying to stay true to his own idea of honor. The film traffics in a lot of familiar crime movie archetypes: the pretty girl kept on the sidelines; the father-son relationship between Watari and Ryuji Kita, his trying-to-go-straight boss; and all the complicated lines of loyalty and betrayal that come into play when a rival gang tries to muscle in on Kita’s turf. The story is engaging enough, and Watari makes for an appropriately implacable (but still soulful) lead, but what sets the film apart from countless others telling a similar tale are the lengths [director] Suzuki goes to in order to make each scene a feast for the eyes. Violent reds, purples, greens, and blues paint the screen, and the editing forgoes traditional cinematic logic in favor of impressionistic cuts and a jagged, jazzy rhythm. Through it all, Suzuki walks a knife-edge of ironic sincerity, poking at yakuza clichés in an attempt to reveal some larger, wordless truth.

Showtimes and ticket information are currently online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street (map).

Signage up for Tan Izakaya in Shadyside.

Signage is up for Tan Izakaya at 815 S. Aiken Ave. (map) in Shadyside, the former location of the S. Aiken Bar and Grille.

First Bruster's in Seoul to open May 2.

Seoul will have its first Bruster's Ice Cream on May 2, when it opens at 9:30 am on the 7th floor of the Lotte Department Store in Gwanak-gu. The country's first Bruster's opened on March 31 in Cheonan, a city some 80 kilometers south of Seoul. Bruster's is a chain based in Beaver County, just northwest of Pittsburgh.

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (ゴジラ・モスラ・キングギドラ 大怪獣総攻撃) at Row House Cinema, April 22 - 28.

Row House Cinema will show the 2001 movie Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (ゴジラ・モスラ・キングギドラ 大怪獣総攻撃) from April 22 through 28 as part of its Massive Movie Monsters film series. A 2003 Boston Globe review writes:

As a movie, "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" is as absurd as its title, and by those standards it's a hilarious success. Phony and retrograde to the max - the shaky ground has rarely seemed more fake, and the run-for-your-lives hysterics of the soon-to-be-trampled never fail to exhilarate - "All Out Attack" picks up where any old 1960s sequel might.

Tickets information and showtimes are now available online. The single-screen theater is located at 4115 Butler Street in Lawrenceville(map).