UnCultured

Raindrop Cake Is America's Next Big Food Craze

Step aside, cronut. There’s a new dessert coming to town that’ll be making a splash this weekend. Meet the raindrop cake, a dessert inspired by Japan’s Mizu Shingen Mochi. Described by creator Darren Wong, it’s a “light, delicate and refreshing raindrop made for your mouth.” And like rain, the water and agar-based creation is calorie-free and lacks flavor until eaten with accompanying molasses and roasted soybean flour. Raindrop cake will only be available at Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg starting this weekend for now, but you can learn more about the dessert here.

LA's Button Mash Combines a Bar & Restaurant With a Retro Game Arcade

Games arcades often ban food and drink from their premises in fear of soiled joysticks and grubby buttons, but Los Angeles hybrid restaurant Button Mash doesn’t seem so preoccupied with such concerns. Featuring an inspired interior that oozes ’80s-era whimsy, the design for the self-titled ‘barcade’ was conceived by LA design agency Design, Bitches, and draws from influences as diverse as film noir and Postmodernism. Spread over 4,000 square feet, the restaurant is divided into three zones —  a dining area serving Asian fusion food, a pinball room, and a video arcade offering two dozen classic titles such as Tron and Donkey Kong, all of which is connected by a bar.”The design is rooted in multiple LA-centric time periods, with nods to the 1980s and 1990s in material and colour choices, mixed with the local haunt feel resonant in film noir classics like Chinatown,” said Design, Bitches.”These inspirations and influences are intertwined with Postmodern design and pop cultural references to create a timeless experience.”

Button Mash 1391 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA90026

Manila Social Club’s 24-Karat $100 Gold Donut 

If you find it hard to pass by a Krispy Kreme when the “Hot Now” sign is illuminated, then you’ll more than likely be super intrigued by this 24-karat gold doughnut, offered at New York’s Manila Social Club. The family-owned restaurant is run by head chef and founder Björn DelaCruz, who posted a picture of the Golden Cristal Ube Donut roughly a week ago. Since then, New Yorkers have been lining up to try the $100 dessert. The doughnut is filled with ube mousse and decorated with champagne frosting. To top it off, it is then leafed in 24-karat gold.

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'Noma: My Perfect Storm' Trailer: Documentary on the World's Best Restaurant

Magnolia Pictures releases the new official trailer for Noma: My Perfect Storm, a documentary that showcases the “best restaurant in the world” as voted by Restaurant Magazine. Located in Copenhagen, Denmark, the 2-Michelin star-rated eatery has seen high praise from numerous critics and global competing chefs, and draws in diners from every corner of the planet to experience the awe and wonder of the Scandinavian cuisine. The trailer thus highlights these accomplishments, while also giving viewers a peek into René Redzepi’s career – the hardship that comes from running the restaurant and holding such acclaim for over 12 years. Noma: My Perfect Storm opens in theaters and on Amazon Video and iTunes on December 18.

A Look Inside Masa, America's First 3-Michelin Star Sushi Restaurant

Chef Masa Takayama is known to peers simply as Masa, and his eponymous restaurant in New York City is not only the first Japanese restaurant in America to achieve 3-Michelin star status, but it’s still regarded as one of the most authentic omakase experiences in the country. When Chef Masa moved to his adopted country, he opened his restaurant and subsequently carved a space for Americans to enjoy the most authentic Japanese dining experience they could pay for. Now, the restaurant is the single most expensive restaurant in the country and despite its steep price is still one of the best.

Burberry Opens Its First Cafe in London Flagship Store

Burberry becomes the latest luxury fashion brand to foray into food with the opening of Thomas’s, its first in-house cafe situated in its London flagship store at 121 Regent Street. Joining the ranks of Gucci, Armani, Roberto Cavalli and the like, Burberry’s first dining outlet is named after the founder of the brand, and serves all-day British fare, with items on its “breakfast to dinner” menu including whole lobster and chips, Mersea Rock oysters and Sutton Hoo chicken salad, as well as your choice of afternoon tea or champagne. The new cafe is housed in the gifting section of the flagship store, where patrons can pick from a selection of home furnishings, stationery and travel accessories, and have them personalized on the spot through embroidery or leather embossing.

Lernert and Sander Present 98 Perfect Cubes of Raw Food

Amsterdam-based artists Lernert and Sander have put together an eye-catching piece of art involving an assortment of different kinds of raw foods. Titled Cube, the piece consists of 98 pieces of fruits, meats, fish and vegetables that have been symmetrical sliced up into 2cm x 2cm x 2 cm cubes, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing display. This piece was commissioned by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant as part of a culinary photography special.

Yoon Ambush’s Ultimate Tokyo City Guide

When we touched down in Tokyo, we knew exactly who we wanted to get in touch with to show us around the city known for it’s drool-worthy ramen, karaoke, sumo, parks, skyscrapers, Shibuya Crossing, and the world’s largest fish market. You can literally, and are encouraged to, eat your way through Tokyo, which proudly possesses the highest number of Michelin Guide stars in the world.

Yoon, our very well-dressed tour guide, is a designer, international style icon, and one-half of Tokyo’s premier creative collective, Ambush Design, which she runs with her husband, Verbal.

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Fricote Magazine Food Tour with Julien Pham: Paris – Part 3

In the final part of our exploration into the Parisian edible delights, guided by Fricote Magazine‘s Julian Pham, in association with Warsteiner we take a look at the basics of what makes a great meal. Home to some of the highest quality ingredients in the world, Julien explores establishments that are renowned for artisanal foods such as preserved French candies, cured meats and food court/market place hybrids. Expertly guiding you through the city with almost too much to offer, Julien exemplifies how his eye for culinary perfection lead him to start and run a magazine of such high calibre that is Fricote.

The HYPEBEAST City Guide to Shanghai

Although nothing is as exhilarating as spontaneously setting off on an adventure without an itinerary or plan, most of us will have had times where we look back and rue an overlooked, must-visit spot. Whether it’s a place to eat, shop or even just to bask in the ambiance, how many of us wish we had someone with similar sensibilities to inform us of these hidden gems, which aren’t included in your average guidebook? With ticket details consistently available, a last-minute getaway is literally a click away so leaving everything behind on a whim has never been easier.

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Koreatown, LA: It’s About Time – The Emergence of Koreatown

Koreatown in Los Angeles used to be like an inside joke: if you were in on it, you felt undeniably cool, and if you had no idea what this sprawl of urban life was about, the town was somewhat befuddling and unwelcoming. The neon diaspora of foreign Hangul signage has generally produced more confusion than curiosity, and so Koreatown, with its all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ joints, secret after-hours nightlife, and the pockets of Latino and Bangladeshi communities was, until recently, not the easiest place to navigate without the help from someone on the inside.

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Seven Dark-Horse, Sure-Bet Restaurants in Paris

Since many Paris-bound food lovers are often on a frantic quest to try the city’s latest restaurants, it’s easy to forget you can still have some spectacular meals in the French capital without scoring a table at Septime or Restaurant David Toutain. Here’s a little cheat sheet of under-hyped, under-the-radar places — some new, some classics — that have superb food but don’t require an answered prayer or the patience of a saint to land a reservation.

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Irving Penn

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