Gourmet Chinese Tasting Dinner, January 15 in Highland Park.

Itha Cao of the Hungry Cao will present its next Gourmet Chinese Tasting Dinner on January 15.

Residência: The Hungry Cao "Gourmet Chinese Tasting Dinner"

On January 15th, Casa Brasil welcomes back chef resident Itha Cao from the Hungry Cao hosting a unique evening, "Gourmet Chinese Tasting Dinner" where 27 guests will explore a variety of flavors and dishes through a 8 course tasting meal carefully curated by chef Itha!

The menu is composed by a variety of dishes focused on fresh and regional Chinese cuisine.

When - January 15, 2019

Time - 6:30pm – 9pm

Location - Casa Brasil

Tickets- $65 includes a complimentary cocktail

Capacity - 27 guests

Chef Itha will donate portion of proceeds to a charitable effort.

The Hungry Cao

Note: This is a ticketed dinner, no walk-ins.

Join us!

Tickets are required, limited to 27, and available online. Casa Brasil is located at 5904 Bryant St. in Highland Park (map).

Former Pirates infielder Akinori Iwamura's sushi place.

Former baseball player Akinori Iwamura is a co-owner of Sushi Emon, (すしえもん), a small chain of conveyor-belt sushi places on his home island of Shikoku. The photograph above appears outside a location in a mall in Kagawa prefecture.

The T and A in the restaurant's logo refer to the Iwamura brothers, Takashi and Akinori. Akinori Iwamura was the first Japanese position player in Pittsburgh Pirates history---and to date the only Japanese position player in Pittsburgh Pirates history---playing 54 games for the team in 2010. Two other Japanese players, both pitchers, have appeared in games with the Pirates: Masumi Kuwata in 2007 and Hisanori Takahashi for nine games in 2012.

WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring bilingual Chinese-English academic tutors.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced more openings for bilingual academic tutors.

Japanese Coming-of-Age Ceremony (成人の日) at Pitt for students turning 20, January 11.

Kasai does 成人の日 in 2010.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and English Language Institute will host the second annual Coming-of-Age Ceremony (成人の日) on January 11, 2019. A large cohort of students from Yasuda Women's University is studying at Pitt's English Language Institute this fall and will miss the traditional ceremony in Hiroshima next month, so Pitt will hold its own event. Pittwire covered last year's ceremony:

About 25 students from Yasuda Women’s University in Hiroshima, who were at the University of Pittsburgh for five months learning English, were away from home in January, missing out on the annual Coming of Age ceremony, a national holiday in Japan.

So, Pitt’s Asian Studies Center threw a party — kimonos included.

A banner that reads “University of Pittsburgh Coming of Age Day Ceremony” in Japanese greeted student Nika Tanimoto and other participants.

“This Coming of Age ceremony seems like the perfect confluence of the University, our Japanese students and the community to celebrate together,” said Lynn Kawaratani, the center’s acting associate director. Members of the Pittsburgh community, the Japanese Nationality Room Committee and the Japan America Society of Pennsylvania all loaned kimonos for the students to wear. The Asian Studies Center has been partnering with Pitt’s English Language Institute for about a year, developing programming for these international students as well as Pitt students.

2018 Japanese animated anthology film Modest Heroes: Ponoc Short Film Theater, Volume 1 (ちいさな英雄－カニとタマゴと透明人間－) in Pittsburgh, January 10 and 12.

A 2018 collection of three short films, titled Modest Heroes: Ponoc Short Film Theater, Volume 1 (ちいさな英雄－カニとタマゴと透明人間－), will play in Pittsburgh on January 10 and 12.

Studio Ponoc, the new animation studio founded by two-time Academy Award®-nominee Yoshiaki Nishimura (The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There) and featuring many artists from the venerable Studio Ghibli, made an immediate splash last year with its acclaimed debut film Mary and The Witch’s Flower. The studio returns this year with Modest Heroes: Ponoc Short Films Theatre Vol. 1, an ambitious collection of three thrilling tales created by some of the greatest talents working in Japanese animation today.

In Kanini & Kanino, directed by Academy Award®-nominee Hiromasa Yonebayashi (When Marnie Was There, Mary and The Witch’s Flower), two crab brothers embark on a grand underwater adventure to find their father, after an accident carries him far downstream. Depicted as tiny beings in a large and merciless natural world, the brothers must evade a series of freshwater predators if they are ever to reunite with their family again.

In Life Ain’t Gonna Lose, acclaimed animator Yoshiyuki Momose (key animator on Isao Takahata’s films at Studio Ghibli, and animation director of the video game Ni No Kuni) makes his directorial debut with a very different kind of story. Eight-year-old Shun loves baseball and to run. Only eggs defeat him. With the love of his strong-willed mother (Maggie Q), Shun faces the challenge of an everyday life threatened by a deadly allergy.

Lastly, in Invisible (the directing debut of Akihiko Yamashita, a talented key animator on many of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s best-known films) a man wakes up one morning and goes through his day in a world where no one can see him. But just when he seems to have reached his limit, a momentous decision gives him the chance to reclaim his humanity.

Together, the stories explore ideas of heroism large and small, and the infinite potential of the short film format allows the directors and Studio Ponoc to experiment with breathtaking, action-packed visuals, concise human drama, and gorgeous fantasy worlds, in this unforgettable short film anthology that is further demonstration of the studio’s exciting future.

It will play at the Southside Works on January 10, and at the Cinemark in Monroeville on the 10th (subtitled) and 12th (dubbed). Tickets are available online.

Crazy Rich Asians at Carnegie Library downtown branch, January 22.

The Downtown & Business branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will present Crazy Rich Asians as its next installment in its Page to Screen series on January 22.

A native New Yorker accompanies her longtime boyfriend to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting her boyfriend’s family, she is unprepared to learn that he has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the heir of one of the country’s wealthiest families, but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Based on the novel by Kevin Kwan.

The film was the 16th highest grossing film in the US in 2018 and was the top film in the country for three weeks in August. It runs on the 22nd from 12:15 to 2:15. The library is located at 612 Smithfield St. (map).

Korean film Burning (버닝), Japanese film Shoplifters (万引き家族) to continue in Pittsburgh through January 10.

The acclaimed 2018 films Burning (버닝) and Shoplifters (万引き家族), which opened in Pittsburgh on December 21, will remain in town through January 10.

Mob Psycho 100 (モブサイコ100) Season 2 premiere, January 5.

The premiere of Mob Psycho 100 (モブサイコ100)'s Season 2 will play in Pittsburgh on January 5.

We have read your minds and we know you want more Mob Psycho 100! To get you prepared for Season 2, we will have an exclusive first look at Episode 1 from Season 2 before it premieres in Japan!

If you have not had a chance to get caught up on Mob’s story as a powerful esper, we will also show the OVA which recaps the first season from Reigen’s perspective. This premiere event will also feature an exclusive welcome from Setsuo Ito, voice of Mob.

It will play in Japanese with English subtitles at Southside Works Cinema and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and Pittsburgh Mills. Tickets are available online.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly (ドラゴンボール超ブロリー) in Pittsburgh, from January 16.

The new Japanese movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly (ドラゴンボール超ブロリー) will play at several Pittsburgh theaters from January 16. The distributor provides a summary:

A planet destroyed, a powerful race reduced to nothing. After the devastation of Planet Vegeta, three Saiyans were scattered among the stars, destined for different fates. While two found a home on Earth, the third was raised with a burning desire for vengeance and developed an unbelievable power. And the time for revenge has come. Destinies collide in a battle that will shake the universe to its very core!

Goku is back to training hard so he can face the most powerful foes the universes have to offer, and Vegeta is keeping up right beside him. But when they suddenly find themselves against an unknown Saiyan, they discover a terrible, destructive force.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly was the top movie in Japan the weekend it was released. It will play locally at Southside Works, the Hollywood Theater, AMC Loews Waterfront, AMC Loews South Hills Village, and the Cinemark Theaters in McCandless, Monroeville, Pittsburgh Mills, and Robinson. Tickets are available online.

Free Chinese, Japanese, Korean classes in Pittsburgh in 2019.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is an invaluable source of free and enriching programming for people of all ages. Most relevant to this site are the free Chinese, Japanese, and Korean courses at an increasing number of branches. The start of a new year is an excellent time to revisit this list of free courses available for children, complete novices, high-beginners, intermediate learners, and advanced speakers.