September 3, 2004 21

Joymart (Little Tokyo)

By in 06: Downtown LA

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Joymart in Little Tokyo is a very yummy Japanese/Asian restaurant in non-traditional style. Their food is so yummy that even normal pan-fried vegetables are really delicious too! We go there for lunch during work sometimes (a 2-3 hour lunch break ^^;;). The interior is very pretentious exotic mixed of Tibetan, Japanese, Thai, Chinese and so on. The walls are in daring deep red walls, hence the intensity and darkness. There are Buddhist statues and caligraphy of Buddhist prayers all over walls, and there’s always Asian new agey music.

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Left: Salad Middle: Volcano Rice (Spicy Tuna, Scallop, Shitake mushroom, Mentaiko with Mayonnaise) Right: Cold Noodle (very yummy special sauce). The paper mats are supposed to have some Buddhist verse on it, but just so happen the ones at our table were bad copies without enough ink 🙁

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21 Responses to “Joymart (Little Tokyo)”

  1. seat says:

    Wow, the volcano Rice is very VERY tempting!! It sounds so Japanese but I have never eaten anything like that before.
    But “Joymart”…couldn’t they think of a better name for the restaurant??? ^^;;

  2. seat says:

    btw, I saw Van Helsing yesterday….it was only so-so. I am surprised, the CG is quite bad and fake and not that creative, and the whole film is just monsters fighting so it gets boring after a while. The only creatures I like are Dracula’s brides – so pretty both before and after transformation. And I am shocked by David Wenham….I didn’t know his character is a comical side-kick! He is just way toooooooo good-looking for a comical character!!

    Oh and also, I saw “Holes” on DVD, it is so sweet!! Absolutely love it!!

  3. Joan says:

    Haha yeah, “Joymart” sound like those 100 yen store or something. (Though it proper name is in Kanji: 喜市場)

    Yeah I heard Van Helsing was quite disappointing so I’ll wait for DVD instead. I know some of people who worked on the film title, they told me the film was baaaddd (I kinda read the script when IF was pitching the job too, lost interest in halfway ^^;;). The CG looks really bad just from seeing the trailer/TV spots. At least the actors/actress are quite a eye candy (sort of)?

  4. seat says:

    It is really funny that they all speak with very strange European accent – the heroine is American, right?

    Oh I saw “Welcome to the Dollhouse”(half-price week in the rental shop so.) and it was so brillant!! And very sad!! I mean, no matter how many times I see American high-school movies, I still get culture shock…like the way the kids wear really horrible clothes and make-up to school, very stupid and mean bullying the ugly/nerdy and the useless teachers just wouldn’t/couldn’t control, birthday parties of popular students that everyone wants to get invited to…and is “Wiener dog” a common term?? Was there a poor girl being called such in your school too?? The film is funny in a “black comedy” sort of way but it is just so heart-wrenching to watch everyone bullying Dawn. Her parents are just impossible!! Actually her brother is already quite nice to her compared to the others. And yeah, too bad she screwed it up with Brendon(?). So funny that he threatened to rape her after school but then he would ask what time she had to be home by and made sure she did. So cute! I wish she would just run away from home with him! (^^;)

  5. Freda says:

    I think Kate Beckinsale (the gal in Van Helsing) is British, she has the kind of pretty but featureless(?) faces that I can never remember or recognize…she looks like completely different person in different movie. ^^;;

  6. Freda says:

    Check these out (links from an ABC co-worker’s email)

    Terms used by bananas (white inside Asian ppl)
    Yellow Fever

  7. Joan says:

    I think they call her “Wiener dog” because her last name is Wiener or something similar. And Wiener dog = sausage. So just a way to make fun of someone through calling them names.

    The scary thing is, no matter how stereotypes those movie portrayed American high school as, they are really true in reality…there’s always the Jock/football players who are mostly jerks who think they’re all that, the stuck up shallow cheerleaders or “popular girls”, or the “mean girls”, the preppy rich kids, the outcast, the potheads, geeks, goth..etc. Somehow I wonder if it’s a “life intimates art” thing, people actually fit themselves into stereotypes after seeing these movies/TV shows. ^^;;; And I think junior high is the WORST period ever, at least people get a little bit more mature in highschool (and there are other things to worry about, like preparing for college or prom or something to occupy kids more from doing more stupid things). I think if Dawn just hang in there and stay strong, she’ll turn out to be a cool indie girl when she grows up.

  8. tomoko says:

    you know, one of the biggest things I like about living in Japan, which you might think is ridiculous, is that I can walk down the street without anyone making cat calls and sexual comments/gestures towards me (>_

  9. tomoko says:

    I hated it but would just ignore them when I was living in the U.S., but now that I live here and don’t have to deal with it I realize how extremely frustrating and even scary it was back then. It’s like a breath of fresh air! 

    After living in Japan for a year no pervert has EVER approached me although I take public transportation like 5 hours a day. so it makes quite a difference, I don’t have to put my defenses up so much, I feel more relaxed, safe, easygoing, mellow….

    So reading the “banana” and “yellow fever” article really brought back those bitter angry feelings I had to deal with on a day-to-day basis back then 🙁

    I think it’s simply a lot of work being female living in the U.S., no matter what the nationality cuz I’ve seen women of every nationality being harrased the way I was or how the “yellow fever” author was. The society there is just…not very nice, you know?

  10. tomoko says:

    (below, my comment didn’t post again so I had to put it up in 2 parts ^^;)

  11. seat says:

    My god, there is even PK(drop dead), haha!! ^^;;

    But that girl’s post sounds more like showing off how stunningly attractive she is than addressing the issue of yellow fever…

    Really, you got harassed on the street often in L.A.? twins, you too? Is it only when you are alone? Or when you go to not-so-safe area?

    (Hey, tomoko, it seems like you have problem posting your comments whenever you use the “upset face mark”.)

  12. tomoko says:

    aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
    (>

  13. tomoko says:

    seat, you’re right!
    I’m not gonna use the upset face anymore!

  14. Joan says:

    Yeah…I think any young girl would get harrassed on the street when they’re alone or without any male by their side. It’s even worst here in Hollywood, urgh… stuffs like that happen on daily basis (happen twice today already just from going out to lunch), usually it’s guys whistling or screaming sexual slurs from their cars, it’s like they feel a sense of power and domination being in their cars or something. It’s REALLY annoying. One time, there was a very old guy (at least 60) in a fancy convertible chased me for at least 3-4 blocks until I ran back to IF, he kept calling me to jump in his car (he originally had some young girl in there, then somehow he loose the girl and follow me). It was quite scary, but worst is that, I felt very insulted and harrassed. So I tried to always go to lunch with male co-workers (even Stan ^^;;;), but sometimes those guys would do that even I’m with a group of guys! I feel discouraged to dress up or even wear a dress because of that. May be if I wear crappy clothes and pants then I won’t have to take that kind of crap, but I DON’T want to look crappy ^^;;!!! (why do I have to adjust myself for those losers anyways!)
    I wonder if it’s because that guys are more obnoxious here in the US? Or may be US has too much freedom? Afterall, Japan is a much more “polite” country in general, or at least the guys hide it better and don’t express them openly like the guys here.

    Tomoko, try using >:0 for upset face mark? Though the other one is better though.

  15. Freda says:

    Yeah the tone of the article is a bit “attention-seeking” feel, and she’s giving in to him by allowing him to continue to talk/write down his numbers…^^;; I mean the minute he mention sexual things she should at least give him some dirty and disgusted look to let him know he’s out of bound. Like underneath many comments kept questioning “why didn’t she just do something to tell that guy off?” Though One person said it right, it’s hard to break the upbringings of being polite (esp. for Asian females). But most importantly as a female you’d never know what danger might backfire if you tell off that guy too rudely.

    I don’t get harassed at all at Asian-centric areas, maybe because we’d blend in while in Hollywood/others we’d stick out as the ‘exotic Asians.” Ever since I’ve started working at Hollywood on a daily basis, I’ve encounter more and more harrassment, there’re so many weirdos and homeless on street (one time there’s this really dirty weird old man kept following us that a pedestrian helped us telling him off), ppl whistle or yell something at us from cars, etc. Now I constantly have to put on my guard HIGH up that at the beginning it really seriously stressed me out, and giving me nightmares (so that’s what trigger us to try those Yogi Tea ^^;;). Any possibilties of ever living at Hollywood is now killed, I realize how nice my lame-ass suburb home is. Though I’ve surprised Tomoko you’ve never get harassed at Japan yet (well maybe it’s the fashionable area at work), maybe if you worked in Shibuya or something, there’ll be constantly those porn-scout bothering you ^^;;;

  16. tomoko says:

    yeah I think the problem is pretty complicated
    cuz for one in the U.S., self-expression is so celebrated that even psychos and perverts think they have a right to express themselves as in those sick old men that chase after you. and also in the U.S. I think there’s not much sympathy towards “powerless” people in general.

    Like if you get killed by a psycho, it’s considered your fault for being killed. They say you should’ve not been walking around, should’ve taken self-defense classes, should’ve been carrying around a whistle or something,etc.etc blah blah blah and the psycho doesn’t get much reprimand.

    So although I don’t think the author acted in a bright way, I think it’s sooo typical American that SHE gets reprimanded for not being more militant. I mean, I know it’s necessary to stand up for yourself and all that, and she should.

    But it’s really tiring living in a society where everone has to be super aggressive and militant and defensive………
    and I think that mindset leads to an overly aggressive country that just destroys everything.

    So I wonder if there is a nice, ladylike (but effective) way to tell off those sick perverts?
    Cuz I really want to know!

  17. tomoko says:

    oh and seat, in response to your question,
    I was living in Glendale which is just a residential area w/mostly families and old people. it’s a really safe area, but I would constantly get harrassed anytime I would take walks around the neighborhood. (or when I’d walk to Porto’s bakery ^_^)

    It could be becuz I was walking around alone, but I can’t call someone up just to take a quick walk around the block……but I wanted the excersise……it was so inconvinient!

    But I’ve been harrassed when I was actually with someone as well >:| I think there’s no way of avoiding it!

  18. seat says:

    I am really surprised…considering there seems to be quite a large population of Asian people living there and if everytime an asian gal passes by those idiots have to harass her then they must be rather busy…^^;;;

    So basically white girls don’t have that trouble, or at least not as much, as asian girls? Those people might not but just perverts, they could be racists. They could harass asian guys just as well but maybe girls are easier, and safer, to scare and threaten than guys. They could be just jealous, of the better living standard of most asian immigrants, so that is just a way of revenge?

    I mean if there is no specific motivation on that kind of behaviour, then maybe American are just so insecure about themselves that they must bully other people to show that they are stronger – just like the bullies in the film.

    But you know, some sidetrack sorry, the bullying in Japanese schools is quite serious I heard? Just that the way they do it is very subtle, like I heard “ignoring” (無視) is one the worst, like if you are the victim, you are treated as transparent and no one will talk to you or acknowledge your existence…until you break and refuse to go to school, or even commit suicide….that is also scary…And I watched this program saying even the teachers can get bullied here, like the whole class will not show up in a particular teacher’s class and force him/her to resign, and the number of school teachers needing counsel or even medical help is rising and so on.

    Back on track, I think there are stupid people anywhere in the world, fundamentally people are nasty in nature, don’t you think? The problem is how big is the window of freedom for them to execute that nastiness. I guess Japan is still relatively easy to live in because the society is still strict on manners, even between strangers. It is suffocating sometimes, but at least it is not offensive. White people still get stared at on the train and stuff you know. But at least Japanese, or at least most of them, stare subtly.

  19. Freda says:

    And whenever a female being aggressive and militant she’s called a bitch. Notice all those who accused the author this and that seems to be
    guys, and a lot of them would later remark something like “I have no sympathy for people like her because it is Asian females like her who only dated/married white guys themsleves, so how dare they complain!?” -__-;; Compare to other races, Asian women are more so raised to be docile and polite as virtues, while for black women seems like (stereotyping) being ‘THE BITCH with attitude’ is considered positive.

    Though I read a interview with a Japanese film director (on Tokion) who mentioned that the Japanese media and society also like to blame the
    victims. Like those independent journalists who got kidnapped by Iraqi terrorists awhile ago, instead of being supportive, the Japanese media were like “they deserve it.” is that true!?

    Ah the Japanese school bullying is quite infamous (at least made it to international media), I definitely read quite a few Japanese horror comics based on this “ignoring” thing.^^;; The bullying is like a
    collective thing, if you don’t follow along you might end up be the victim one day.

  20. tina says:

    uh, sorry i am a little late in catching up with everybody. . .
    yeah, i totally agree with what you guys are saying. . . when i visit japan 2 years ago for the first time, i felt really comfortable in my own skin . i haven’t went back to any asia country since i moved to the states, and that’s about 12 years ago. and i also went through the bully, the racisim, and whole lot of other crap.. . i remember the image of america in asia was the land of freedom , and that is just whole bunch of bull sh@#!!! my japanese was so crapy that i need to use sign language when i was at tokoy. but people were so nice to me. they talk slower, and are more welling to help me than try to avoid me . . . it’s a weird feeling that i feel more at home when i visit other country, and when i am here i have to put up a fight everyday to be a jerk to survive.

  21. Joan says:

    Hey there are lots of friendly and helpful nice people in America too! People are willing to help you spontanously on the street, like one time I got a flat tire and some guy just come and change tire for me. When I bought big furniture at IKEA, I couldn’t lift them in the car, several people just come up and help me load them in. Stuffs like that happen a lot too. So…I think lots of American people kinda have “hero complex” too, they like helping people, heh….