Cute Food and Bento Box Decoration: Japanese recipes cookbook ‘Cute Yummy Time’ by La Carmina

CUTE YUMMY TIME AUTHOR LA CARMINA ON NHK JAPAN TV SHOW. CHARACTER BENTOS, KAWAII HELLO KITTY PLUSH TOY.

Ah, the scratch-your-head experience of being on Japanese TV! Here’s day two of behind-the-scenes photos from my NHK Japan filming (courtesy of Shichi). I call this my “genki outfit”; think energetic, fun, bright:
Cobweb sweater top: Black Peace Now, from Closet Child. (It comes with trailing sleeves, not worn.)
Ganesh elephant god top: Vivienne Tam. Bought it almost 10 years ago in Hong Kong.
Punk plaid skirt with furry dangles and detachable leg covers: Peace Now, from Closet Child. (Such a unique piece.)
Hair: tied up in two loose, messy bundles. The TV director marveled: “How very spiky!”

The cameras filmed me doing what I do: chilling with Hello Kitty, reading Japanese bento books, blogging and writing all day. Let’s play Where’s Waldo! Can you spot…
† The blue feather I wore at the Halloween Vampire Masquerade ball?
† The gift that came with Blablahospital’s Xmas card?
† The dead kitty scarf I wore to Christon Cafe Shibuya?
† Part of my Phoenix Wright bento lady cosplay outfit?

The director interviewed me about my work. I don’t mind cameras in my face; I’ve had a lot of practice on my YouTube.

After, I Gothed up my lips for a fashion segment. Black lipstick from Lime Crime and a dab of dark blue from Make Up For Ever.
Fuzzy black beret with sparkles: Nile Perch, from Laforet Harajuku.
Silver and black crucifix ring: What’s your guess? Guess again? (Oh that never gets old!)
Crystal and black leather cuff: Yohji Yamamoto (one of my favorite pieces ever, from a Shibuya vintage store)
Spiky ankle boots: Tripp NYC, from Trash and Vaudeville in NYC

Here’s a closeup of one of my favorite eye makeup techniques. First, put on loads of black eyeliner (I use Urban Decay). I swept Aromaleigh Sonic Rocks in a teal shade over the edges, added blue glitter from Too Faced to the inside of my eyelids, and finished with Japanese dollar store stickers.

In one of those classic “montage” segments, I modeled the coats from my previous collection. Can’t wait for the first printing of the Akumu Ink collaboration t-shirts, now available for order here (and more info here – thanks for your enthusiasm!).
You’ll see how the TV shoot turned out in early February when it airs on NHK (and I’ll put up video clips on my YouTube.) Please keep in touch: I added Google Friend Connect and Facebook Fan boxes to the right sidebar. You can also receive special announcements via my Twitter and mailing list; please subscribe by entering your email in the top right box on the sidebar.

CUTE BENTO LUNCH BOXES! NHK NEW YORK WAVE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT CHARACTER BENTOS, LA CARMINA CUTE YUMMY TIME TV SHOOT.

NHK Japan documentary shoot, day one… lights, cameras, action! Photo-journalist Shichi took a zillion behind-the-scenes photos, which we’ll share with you in upcoming posts. He also gave me this stuffed Domo (the NHK mascot!).

Dress: Yumi, a flirty London brand inspired by Asian fashion. I couldn’t resist the Yorkie terriers print and the price (on sale for $70).
Leggings: Vivienne Westwood, a gift from my cousin and aunt. This is the first Westwood item I’ve owned!
Cute animal hair ties: from Daiso, the 100 yen (dollar) store.

TV shoots involve a truckload of equipment: lighting, tripods, cameras, you name it. The crew consisted of a cameraman, audio person, director, reporter, makeup artist — and yours truly. (The NHK team spoke to each other in Japanese; luckily, I knew what was going on!)

Before the cameras roll, there are hours and hours of preparations. The previous night was a mad rush to create sample character bentos (animal pancakes, frog pita sandwich, eggs dyed yellow with turmeric and transformed into chicks). I showed the host, Hana, how to draw kawaii animals.

Top: We had a five minute race to make cute faces out of healthy ingredients. Right: Our completed character bento sandwiches (can you recognize my cat, Basil Farrow?). Left: This is Japanese TV — so we had to be extra smiley and energetic and cute. Hana picked up a cashew nut and said, “This looks like a smile.” I held raspberries in front of her eyes and made them dance. V-fingers!

Filming involves take after take after take… Hana had to repeat a line six times: “Kawaii, ne? I’m going to turn this into a sandwich!” We began at 10 am and kept on going until well past 6pm. TV work is tiring, but oh so fun…

The New York Wave episode about cute bento boxes will air this February on NHK; I’ll be sure to let you know the exact time and put up segments on YouTube (please subscribe so you won’t miss out). More goofy photos from the shoot to come.

In recent press

† Popular Philadelphia radio show Chef’s Table interviewed me about my recipe book Cute Yummy Time (you can stream the show on the site).
† CNNGo is doing a four-part series about Cute Yummy Time recipes; the first one gives a tigerish makeover to India’s chicken tikka masala.
† If you’re interested in many more cute-faced recipes, please check out my new cookbook, in stores and available online.

ADORABLE BENTO CREATIONS BY CUTE YUMMY TIME COOKBOOK READERS. LA CARMINA TV APPEARANCES IN 2010, JAPAN KAWAII FOOD DOCUMENTARY.

Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who bought Cute Yummy Time and sent me photos of the recipes they made. Siouxsie Law built a coffin tiramisu — it looks deadly delicious. The stylish Gari Ouji threw a Cute Yummy Time birthday party, where the guests made food inspired by my cookbook — what a great idea! Finally, Meg Tweeted to me: “Looook!! I made a baby bird egg salad wrap like @lacarmina !! Best cookbook ever. I love the book, got it for Xmas & can’t wait to try everything out! So kawaii!!” If you’re interested in finding out more about the book, click here.

I’m excited about 2010… plans include more TV work and time in Japan! In May, French TV station Canal Plus will fly me to Tokyo to be featured in a 90-minute documentary. It’s part of an ongoing series that takes a surprising and subversive look at world capitals. And the host is none other than Antoine de Caunes, one of France’s biggest TV and film stars. Perhaps you may know him from the hit UK series Eurotrash, which he co-hosted with Jean Paul Gaultier!

So you can look forward to much more Tokyo Decadance (literally — we’ll be painting the town red with party organizer Adrien le Danois.) Of course, all my favorite Tokyo Spooks will be involved in the filming, like the Andrew Zimmern Bizarre World shoot (which will air this April).

Next week, I’ll be in front of the cameras for a Japanese TV station, NHK. As I mentioned before, I’ll be the subject of a New York Wave documentary on cute food and character bentos. Hello Kitty and schoolchildren will be involved… yes!

And where will I be in February/March? The City of Angels, with the infamous Yukiro Dravarious! (Above: Yukiro with Das Ich and DJ SiSEN.) We’ll be rooming together (!!) and collaborating with LA luminaries, leaving a trail of ostrich feathers and blood in our wake…

What else do I have planned for 2010? Quite a lot. I’m continuing to write about Asia pop culture/music/fashion/food for CNNGo (see all my articles here), and I want to get started on my next book project. There’s additional TV stuff in the works, which I can’t talk about quite yet… but so far, everything’s pointing to a green light. And the fashion collaboration will be revealed soon, so keep checking back.

2010 is going to be a killer year of filming, friends, fashion, and flamboyance — can’t you feel the electricity in the air? Who’s coming along with me on the wild ride?

BIG NEWS: APPEARING IN NHK JAPAN DOCUMENTARY! CUTE YUMMY TIME RECOMMENDED IN WASHINGTON POST HOLIDAY COOKBOOKS GIFT GUIDE.

I’ve been juggling projects recently, and something awesome was just confirmed… NHK, Japan’s national public broadcaster, is shooting a 20 minute documentary about cute cooking that will focus on my work and book, Cute Yummy Time! I’m currently brainstorming with the producer and director, so I can’t say much more about it yet. But NHK will be shooting the “New York Wave” episode in January, and it’ll air internationally (many US cities receive the channel). There might even be some way you can be part of the filming… I’ll keep you posted.

I’m still reeling: The Washington Post listed my book Cute Yummy Time in their Holiday Gift Guide! Recommended “for globally minded cooks,” Bonnie Benwick describes my cookbook as “Japanese fun with food that is irresistibly charming.” (You can find more info on my book here.)

Hope you’re enjoying the holidays! If you’re looking for holiday gifts, please consider my Japanese charaben-inspired cookbook, Cute Yummy Time — thanks for your continued support!

JAPANESE BENTO RECIPE BOOK, CUTE YUMMY TIME REVIEW IN LA TIMES, LA WEEKLY. LA CARMINA INTERVIEWS, PRESS CLIPPINGS.

Los Angeles. Ah! What a heavy metal adventure. Serial killer art, fudge cake, a Zen garden, Twisted Sister Xmas, cosplay book signings and wearing each other’s clothes… hold tight for a deluge of photos!

The LA book signings picked up some press, so let’s begin with a round-up. Liz Ohanesian of LA Weekly interviewed me about the differences between Western and Japanese Goth fashion and subcultures; the article included photos of GPK Prince Ken, DJ SiSEN, and yours truly with the LA Adventure Team (Ementhy and Lemon, above). You can read the interview here as well as after the jump.

The LA Times food section did a feature on my adorable cookbook, Cute Yummy Time. The article refers to me as a “cool hunter” and devotes an entire paragraph to my baby bear, Basil Farrow!

- The About.com Manga blog by Deb Aoki (a must-read), included Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants in its “Great Gift Books” guide.
- WaCowLA featured Cute Yummy Time in a front page article that also plugs my book signings.

Wasabi Fashion Kult calls me a Harajuku Alien and asks me 22 random questions. I tried to be entertaining. Below is a sampling; you can read the rest here.

One word that Basil Yuen Farrow would use to describe you. Mommy!
Your preferred method of transportation? Piggyback.
Tell me about your personal heaven? Cute Visual Kei boys hand-feeding me cute food in a room full of cute earless cats.

Speaking of… Hi Hi Caro took several Polaroids of me and the boys for her blog. Can you figure out what my cosplay outfit is? Are you excited to see more photos of the LA Adventure Team?

Song of the Day #251: Alphaville – Forever Young (80s dance mix) (because that’s how it should be.)

Continue Reading JAPANESE BENTO RECIPE BOOK, CUTE YUMMY TIME REVIEW IN LA TIMES, LA WEEKLY. LA CARMINA INTERVIEWS, PRESS CLIPPINGS….

CUTE BENTO BOX LUNCH DEMO VIDEO, JAPANESE BENTOS COOKING LESSON. LIVE CHARABEN TUTORIAL AT NEW YORK BOOK SIGNING.

My first NYC book signing for Cute Yummy Time went well enough that the store kindly invited me back — and on Halloween, too! (As if I need an excuse to wear spooky clothes for my events.) I am costumed as Pierrot, the classic French clown. The pointy hat is from Village Paper; I decorated it with skull stickers from Tokyu Hands. The panda’s a bit of a trompe d’oeil; it looks like a pendant but is actually a sticker from a Harajuku store.

Fun fact: I use Staedtler purple pens to sign my name.

To my surprise, as you can see in the video, the books sold out in 10 minutes! But I stuck around to demonstrate bento cutters, turning cheese and crackers into kawaii animals. (If you’re interested in my Cute Yummy Time cookbook, you may find out details and ordering info here.)

New York City, I will be back soon! I got some thrilling news today; I’ll let you know what’s up as soon as it’s set in stone. Maybe you can even be involved, dum dum dum…

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. What are you doing for the holiday? Maybe you can give the cute turkey dinner and pecan pie recipes in my cookbook a spin.

LA CARMINA: GUEST ON TODAY SHOW, LIVE BENTO DECORATION FOOD DEMO. TV APPEARANCE AT 30 ROCK, INSIDE NBC STUDIOS IN NYC. CUTE YUMMY TIME REVIEWS.

Once upon a time, I was a guest on the weekend edition of Today Show in New York — and the experience was like a fairy tale. The previous night, I stayed up late prepping for the food demo (unlike Cinderella, the neighborhood rats didn’t lend me a paw). Somehow, I managed to crawl out of bed at 5am to do my hair and makeup. A sleek black car drove up to my doorstep; the driver popped open a large black umbrella and walked me to his chariot. I felt like a princess — or maybe Sleeping Beauty, as I wanted to doze on the Dr. Oz talk show couch!

Lolita kitty dress: Innocent World, from Closet Child Harajuku
Silver sheer skull leggings: from Hong Kong
Runched ankle boots: MB Shoes from Kris + Cris shoe store in Vancouver

The chariot drove to 30 Rock, the famous address of NBC Studios. Getting past the metal barricade required a security check and airport levels of security. Fun fact: the elevators are designed so that you can only get off at your designated floor (so no, I couldn’t stalk Tina Fey or Jimmy Fallon). I crossed four more security guards and got lost several times before finding the Today Show studio.

I wanted to show a spread of cute food, so I brought some hardboiled eggs and quickly decorated into chicks. The singing crab bagel and ham/cheese animal face sandwiches are recipes from my cookbook, Cute Yummy Time. (Want to learn how to turn boring breakfasts into cute creations? There’s info on my book here.)

The sun had hardly risen, and yet the TV hosts were inhumanly perky. They gushed that their children loved the book and cooed, “Eeeeee, look at the little egg guys!” I waited for a swine flu Q&A session to end. During the commercial break, my publicists and I set up the Cute Yummy Time display. Then at 7:45am, photos of kawaii food flashed on the screen and I was up.

Nervous? Nah — you know I do cute food demos on my YouTube channel all the time. A quick photo with Erika, and 3… 2… 1… we’re on the air! (Tomorrow, I’ll post the video of my Today Show appearance on my YouTube channel.)

Announcing TWO Los Angeles Cute Yummy Time book signings! I hope to see you on Saturday, Nov 28 and and Sunday, Nov 29 from 2-4pm. Come to Kinokuniya Bookstore, 123 Astronaut S Onizuka #205, Los Angeles CA. If you’d like to cover the event or interview me for a publication, please contact me.

CUTE FOOD DEMO, LUNCH IN BOX BENTO ACCESSORIES. CHARABEN CLASSES IN NYC, CUTE YUMMY TIME BOOK SIGNING BY LA CARMINA.

Announcing TWO Los Angeles Cute Yummy Time book signings! I hope to see you on Saturday, Nov 28 and and Sunday, Nov 29 from 2-4pm. Come to Kinokuniya Bookstore, 123 Astronaut S Onizuka #205, Los Angeles CA. If you’d like to cover the event or interview me for a publication, please contact me.

I did two cute food demos and signings at New York’s Broadway Panhandler, a wonderland of kitchen goodies. I’m wearing an h.NAOTO skull dress from Closet Child Shinjuku, a steal at $70. My witch hat and pumpkin hair clips are from Tokyu Hands in Shinjuku. The crown choker necklace is Black Peace Now from Closet Child Harajuku. (My outfits get progressively weirder on the tour, as you’ll see.)

I did a cute cheese and cracker demo: bento cutters are an easy way to add a twist to hors d’oeuvres. The children in the store rushed up and were wide-eyed at the transformation. One girl couldn’t stop flipping through the photos. Another loved the fairytale about Basil Farrow and me (found inside the book — it’s not just recipes!). And it was a pleasure to see old friends and meet blog readers.

The books sold out at the store — but you can find Cute Yummy Time online here. (Video from The Today Show and another store demo coming soon.)