These chilly winter nights beg for bowls of hot noodle soup, but there’s a certain sameness to the East Bay ramen scene — everyone doing their own take on the same handful of mostly pork-centric ...

Chikara Ono. Credits: Bert Johnson/File photo These days, Chikara Ono doesn’t get behind the stove as often as he used to, but among his devotees, the chef is legendary — particularly for his skills ...

Chikara Ono is no stranger to introducing relatively little-known Japanese foods to East Bay diners. He’s the co-owner of Masabaga, whose katsu-style tuna belly burger and yakisoba pan are dishes ...

One of the great joys of Japan’s convenience store culture — among the onigiri, the canned coffee, and the dozens of varieties of instant noodles — is the fact that you can walk into any random ...