Great little history! I learned so much about Japanese food and how it is around the world. I loved the photographs. The writing was very personable.

This book is full of information on Japanese food. I would have liked more pictures and some recipes this being said this is a book that would be a good book to have on your shelf if you had an interest in Japan and Japanese food!

Thanks to netgalley and Gil Asakawa for this arc. All views are my own.

Well a nice and informative book.

I really did skim through most of the parts. But a very very informative one.

The author has written a couple of his actual experiences.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC.

This book was just delightful to read! I found it very accessible and it's definitely written for someone who is not already an expert. The pictures are great, and really added to the content of the book. I loved the inclusion of snippets from other Japanese Americans on how Japanese food plays a role in their lives. Time to make a list of all the Japanese restaurants near me (from takeout to fancy) and try them out!

For a Japanophile like myself, this book was very interesting to see how the Japanese food and culture became popular in the US. I live in the UK and Japanese food and cuisine is relatively new compared to the US. The glossary at the end is great to explain what some of the lesser known Japanese food are and an interesting bibliography to further research and reading as well as cookbook recommendations.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Tabermasho! Let's Eat! By Gil Asakawa. It was a nice insight in to the Japanese cuisines influence and adaptation in america

Tabemasho! Let's Eat! reminds me of one of the very first times I went out to eat in America. I'd been in the country for a few days, maybe a week and I was taken out to dinner at a local Chinese American restaurant. I was thrilled, having never had Chinese American food before. At the end of the meal my hosts asked me, "What kind of fortune cookies do y'all have over there?" I was stunned, "We don't have them in Asia." Then they were shocked, having always assumed that fortune cookies were authentic desserts from the exotic East. The culture shock on both sides of that encounter and the histories behind the assumptions made around food are what Asakawa's Tabemasho! Let's Eat! brings to the forefront.

Though there is a serious side to Asakawa's Tabemasho! Let's Eat!, the book is a fun, fun read. Asakawa's prose is super-casczz, chummy, and hilarious. Reading him is like having a beer with a friend who's found a great place to eat and can't wait to take you there. Asakawa was quick at the elbow with a witty comment. He was there to give the reader the low-down tale behind a (his)story.

I appreciated was the book's serious side too. I enjoyed how unafraid Asakawa was to speak his mind on the tougher topics of cultural appropriation and America's racist history of Asian exclusion. Indeed, much of Asakawa's point is that Japanese American cuisine and culture is borne out of that dark period.

The book is split into thematic chapters, each one taking on a different dish like Noodles or Bowls of Rice (don), or Sushi. Asakawa also devotes a chapter to Japanese American history and the ways in which transcultural cuisine develops through migration, separation, and racism. The sushi and noodle chapters are especially extensive, providing the reader with tips on where to go and what to expect, types of dishes, the differences between Japanese and American interpretations of various dishes, as well as histories of these dishes from both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

There are also chapters on lesser known delectables such as Japanese soft drinks. I was so happy to read about Pocari Sweat -- one of my childhood favorites, sold in Southeast Asia by the case! -- which is (I think), the inspiration for one of my favorite fizzy drinks, 100 Plus. I can't describe how they taste; they're a cross of salty sweetness, their appeal much like chocolate-covered pretzels. I grew up in South Korea for a time as well and there I became familiar with Yakult, Calpico and the whole plethora of yogurt-based drinks that are so popular in East Asian culture. Reading these chapters was like sipping at a memory of my childhood.

The chapter on baked desserts and pastries made my mouth water. Stopping at a Chinese, Korean, or Japanese bakery is one my favorite weekend treats. The soft, sweet, white bread that melts in your mouth is a paradise. The red bean pastes, creams, and the custards are unique interpretations of Chinese, French, and European treats.

Asakawa also provides the reader with an extensive (though non-academic) bibliography and reference list so the reader can let themselves wander further on this culinary path.

Interesting and good looking book about Japanese ingredients, basically what brought the Japanese taste to America, the author shared some stories about how his mother would prepare from raw ingredients. It has lots of vintage photos as well, but I couldn’t read it fully because this book wasn't sent to my kindle and reading on my phone makes me have migraines, so I couldn’t give it all the attention that I should…

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion…

A really fun look at a cuisine I don’t know very much about! Organized by course (appetizer, entree, etc) the book is set up wonderfully and the history is fascinating. I especially enjoyed the vintage advertisements and photographs throughout the book.

I learned so much about Japanese cuisine threaded with Japanese American history from this book! I didn’t mind one bit that it wasn’t filled with lots of images of food, because the info within is captivating on its own. I’m a huge fan of Japanese culture and their food and this book gave it so much more depth. Readers will learn about different food types: sushi, noodles, rice dishes, mochi, and tea as well as origins of famous Japanese restaurants in the U.S. and other historical references from Japan to the U.S. It paved the way for more Internet browsing on some tangent topics.

This book is an entertaining look at the history of Japanese food, and how it has changed and impacted trends in the U.S. This largely focuses on both the public opinion of Japanese cuisine and the Japanese American experience of having to adapt traditional recipes to what is available in American grocery stores. I enjoyed the author's tone, a lot of the info comes alongside his personal commentary and experiences, which make reading the more dry information fun. Each chapter focuses on a type of dish or trend, and delves into it's history in Japan and how it shows up in America (the sushi and ramen sections were particularly interesting). I liked reading about the history of these dishes, and their cultural impact. Overall, an interesting read for anyone who enjoyed Japanese food.

There is a lot of information in this book! I was hoping it was going to be inspiring, full of recipes etc but sadly it wasn’t for me. There was a huge lacking in pictures to go with the info, when I pick up a book about food and culture I want to see it!

An informative and entertaining book on the history of Japanese cuisine in the US, told in ten neat chapters, starting with a personal introduction from the author, who is of Japanese ancestry himself and lived in the country before moving to the US, and then moving on to elaborate on a brief overview of Japan's main foods & ingredients, continuing with basic flavours, the history of Japanese restaurants in America, the adaptation of the cuisine through rough times for the community in the US, the evolution of sushi, noodle types, the uses of rice, Japanese desserts, drinks, and ending with the matter of authenticity vs appropriation that is debated about foreign food in the US. It also has a glossary, pictures in almost all chapters, and a bibliography with both books and internet links for you to learn more. About the only thing this book doesn't have is recipes (but you can find those in the links it provides), but it's pretty complete for an introductory book, and well presented.

Japanese is the first foreign food I ever tasted, so I have a soft spot for it and keep some habits I developed from eating their food, but I never read any book on its history or the cultural context their popular dishes started in and became what they are, so "Tabemasho! Let's Eat" filled that void. It was fascinating to learn about the Americanisation of Japanese food, too, as I was fortunate enough that I discovered Japanese food from the Japanese themselves instead of the Americanised version. Sushi is the only "not-quite-authentic-but-kinda" food that I have had in its Westernised version and in its Japanese version, which is probably why my favourite chapter was the one dedicated to it. I was surprised to learn that, although I've had the one that the Japanese make, there's an authentic sushi made as originally was that not even the Japanese know or consume much anymore but that can still be found in rural areas. But the major surprise was that the baby formula I took as an infant is made by the Japanese company that started the candy industry in Japan! Somehow I had mistaken Morinaga for a Spanish brand, Basque to be specific (due to the "aga" ending), and anyway where would my parents have got baby formula from Japan? The joys of globalisation and food assimilation. Japanese foodstuff is so well embedded into global culture that probably a lot of people eat Japanese food without even knowing its origins, this book certainly made me see how.

Gil Asakawa took us on a culinary journey with this book. It was great to learn about not only the history of foods I love, such as Ramen but of the in-depth history of how it came to be. I think the overarching message of this book is to learn about what you're eating and appreciate the people and culture behind it. Asakawa executed that message in a way that was interesting and welcoming for readers who are new to the Japanese culture. I also appreciated the ramen shop recommendations.

A combination of food history and personal stories, this book was so interesting! I really enjoyed the way that the author paced the book, starting with the introduction of Japanese staples and then speaking on their impact on American culture. The author also defined their terms, which I found very helpful as it can be frustrating to read something that the author assumes the reader already understands.