Chopsticks with some personality
Attempting to hold a pair of chopsticks properly is no small feat. Using chopsticks to grab the last piece of slippery har gow dim sum is an even greater accomplishment. Unless you’ve grown up in an Asian household or have eaten sushi all your life, your experience with chopsticks has likely been limited to the wooden pairs found at the bottom of bags of takeout — nothing more than temporary utensils, used and discarded as soon as you’ve finished your order of beef chow mein.
But people have been using chopsticks since around the 4th century BC. Yes, before Chinese takeout was invented. And there’s something to be said for owning your own pair. Whether wooden, plastic or metal — shaped like swords or decorated with owls, lots of owls — a good pair of chopsticks can be used to eat and cook almost any type of food. They’re especially useful when scrambling eggs.
At Kura Fine Japanese Cuisine, chopsticks are given as a sign of appreciation to loyal customers, who receive their own pair, stored in a colorful box on a bookshelf near the sushi bar. You can also invest in a good pair for $5 to $15. Here are four places to start shopping:
Shinyodo Kimono & Japanese Gifts: The chopsticks are sealed in plastic wrappers with a variety of designs, sprouting out of cups on a shelf like bouquets. Traditional Japanese-made wooden chopsticks are adorned with pictures of owls and have porcelain grips. Twisted wooden
chopsticks come with fortune cookie chopstick rests. And there are pairs with gold flowers, tigers and even glitter. 119 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, Los Angeles, (213) 687-7080.
Rafu Bussan: The store will most likely move before the end of the year, but until then, there will be chopsticks, and lots of them. Half of an aisle is devoted to multiple shelves of neatly arranged pairs. Some feature pictures of colorful butterflies on the handles; others are covered in waving cats, crashing waves, snow-covered peaks and flowers. You can buy chopsticks with boxes for the serious connoisseurs or learner pairs for beginners. 326 E. 2nd St., Los Angeles, (213) 614-1181. Utsuwa-No-Yakata: If you want chopsticks with a samurai sword handle, this is the place to go. You can also find chopsticks that feature intricate illustrations of sumo wrestlers. 333 S. Alameda St., No. 114, Los Angeles, (213) 626-7367.
Japanese Tokyo Outlet: At this store, you can find most of the common wooden chopstick designs, including those with geishas, owls, cats and flowers. You can also find “Star Wars” chopsticks — yes, the chopsticks are miniature lightsabers that light up while you’re eating your sashimi, or you can battle for the galaxy. Multiple locations, including in Little Tokyo and on Sawtelle Boulevard, at www.tokyojlsusa .com.