Mama Luli was introduced to me as, “The Princess of Tokyo,” and with such a title, I knew we had to meet. Mama Luli was born and raised in Tokyo, and spent the 80’s and 90’s in the Lower East side, practicing modern dance. She moved back to Tokyo, where she worked in the night club business as well known places like Le Baron. Now, it is food and entertaining on a more intimate scale, that inspires Luli, and Hotel Pearl is an experiment in just that. After one brief email introduction a week before my departure, Luli suggested we have a Salad Party at her pop-up space, Hotel Pearl. Next thing I knew, there was an invitation for a dinner party in my inbox, all in Japanese, except for the words, “salad” and “Julia Sherman.” I wasn’t sure what to expect; I didn’t even know if I was cooking, or if I was a guest, but this was all part of the fun.

I met up with Elena Yamamoto, a Japanese-American chef formerly of Mission Chinese amongst other great restaurants, who works with Mama Luli running the kitchen at their secret restaurant on the third floor of an old factory building. We went to the most beautiful farmer’s market and put together a plan for our salad — fried lotus root, asian pear, myoga (Japanese ginger flower), in a sudachi-yuzu dressing. The other salads would be brought by a select group of guests. So, it was a potluck of sorts, something entirely new for the Tokyo crowd. Apartments here are so small, people don’t host their friends for dinner, and thus the tradition of the big ol’ potluck is somewhat exotic. Not to mention, a meal comprised entirely of salads.