Eating In Translation

Grilled tuber vendor

I yam what I yam.

Santouka

The tousled noodles in my shio ramen (large; $7.99) were firmer than average; the roasted pork and other add-ins, including a fish cake, scallions, bamboo shoots, cloud-ear mushrooms, sesame seeds, and a pickled plum, were unexceptional. But the salt-flavored broth grew on me, and I finished off my ramen by drinking from the bowl.

Santouka
In the Mitsuwa Marketplace
595 River Rd., Edgewater, New Jersey

Oishinbo

Every picture tells a story, but I don't even know what it is that Oishinbo's griddle-mould impressed on my "creamyaki" ($1.50) — a crab, perhaps? Many of the other moulds are much more distinct, but no matter: It's the custard inside that counts.

Oishinbo
In the Mitsuwa Marketplace
595 River Rd., Edgewater, New Jersey

Hokkaido Food Fair at Mitsuwa

Butter with your ramen? Better arrive early.

Fritzie's Bakeshop

Loading up the fixin's for halo-halo ($4.50), a dessert that you "mix-mix" with shaved ice and condensed milk. Ingredients, which vary widely, here include sweet potato paste; a paste of ube, or purple yam; white beans; and some sort of green gelatin. The fineness of the shaved ice is essential; in this instance, sadly, it was coarse enough to crunch at first, and then to stick together.

Fritzie's Bakeshop
23-23 Broadway, Fair Lawn, New Jersey
201-794-1522
At the Philippine Independence Parade and Street Fair

A&B Ridgewood Bakery and Caffe

(This venue is closed.) This corner café by the railroad station sells housemade pastas and sauces as well as highly regarded breads and sweets. My mini ricotta cheese pastry ($2.95) was fine, but it should have been fabulous at that price.

A&B Ridgewood Bakery and Caffe
18 East Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, New Jersey
201-612-6888

Uwomaru

Also called Ridgewood Fisheries, this local provisioner has a small but well-varied selection of packaged goods, greens, and seafood; Japanese videos, too. Hatimitu lemon (340 ml.; $1.10) is more honey-flavored than lemony, but it has no carbonation, no sting.

Uwomaru
30 Prospect St., Ridgewood, New Jersey
201-670-0882