NA Sales 11th Annual Tradeshow

Thank you to everyone who attended our 11^th annual tradeshow! We had the biggest turnout this year and appreciate the support of everyone. This year, the event was held at the Westin San Francisco Airport hotel ballroom. There were, as always, an exciting amount of products on display for sample including sake and beer from Japan as well as locally from the states!

As always, the sake booths were crowded with a constant flow of people sampling the variety of sakes. Although big, bold tasting sakes were popular as always, many guests were enthralled by the traditional, subtle offerings as well. Sake brewery Kikumasamune had an exceptionally well turnout, and received quite a bit of attention from the attendees who wished to taste a more profound sake. The NAS beer booth was also a hot location for many visitors who wished to experience Japanese craft beers firsthand. A variety of styles were available to sample, from Echigo’s award winning stout to Niigata Beer’s unique Wasabi Ale.

Outdoors, there were several booths serving food. Tanota prepared several different delicious varieties of takoyaki provided by Popla. They were tasty and always had a line of hungry customers waiting for their chance to try some! The NAS food booth was also ready with several of their own creations.

Traditionally, Japanese food has not been particularly friendly towards individuals suffering from Celiac Disease or gluten allergies. NA Sales wondered how to present Japanese style food for these individuals, and prepared several gluten-free options. A traditional noodle preparation would be impossible for someone who cannot eat gluten, but Kobayashi Seimen’s gluten-free noodles made from rice flour are a great option! The NAS food booth used Kobayashi Seimen’s product to create a dish with a refreshing hiyashi-chuuka sauce, great for the coming summer months!

Taking a more modern east-meets-west approach, the NAS food booth also prepared a unique gluten-free Japanese-style fruit punch specifically for this event. It is packed full of fruits and has a wonderful fruity flavor. But what makes it Japanese-style? Firstly, the cider used for the liquid component is actually ramune. You may be familiar with ramune due to its distinct bottle shape and marble cap. Secondly, it contains shiratamako balls. These are balls of rice flour that give the fruit punch an extra bit of texture. If you are interested in making it for yourself, please see the following recipe flyer. It is gluten free, so it can be enjoyed by everyone!

NA Sales salesman Sumi manned his own booth this year, entitled “Helpful Tips for Ramen.” His own special recipe was available for tasting in addition to a handbook brimming with tips for making your own ramen. From the soup stock to the noodles, even covering what kind of equipment is necessary, it is an invaluable guide to those new to ramen making.

Looking for a great deal on high quality dishware, visitors flocked to the outdoor dish sale to browse the wide selection of bowls, plates, and cups. Perhaps inspired by our Sumi’s booth, ramen bowls were selling left and right. The always popular ramen shows no hint of slowing down!

The new dogu (tools) area was also a big hit. Many commonly available tools in Japan are unfortunately hard to find in America. Two items that showed unexpected popularity were the kitchen scissors and bone tweezers. These particular scissors are a great all-in-one option for a kitchen tool. These are strong enough to cut open packaging and crab shells, yet maneuverable enough for cutting nori. These even have a bottle opener attached! The humble tweezers are an often overlooked kitchen tool, but indispensable for the chef who prepares fish regularly. Visitors were pleased to find that the tweezers we had on display were very ergonomic and easy to use without feeling fatigue in their hand.

Also on display in the dogu room were various lacquer ware items that caught the attention of many attendees. Items such as lacquered sake vessels and bowls are a great way to add some variety to your dining space! Directly in front of the dogu room were several noren curtains exhibited. Noren are usually hung in doorways to separate rooms, but they can be hung on walls as a great decorative piece as well. These must be seen in person to be appreciated! For those who did not get a chance to see them at the show, please stop by our showroom in South San Francisco.

Right next door to the dogu space was the Tsukiji Masamoto knives room. A widely popular spot, we elected to move this space from the narrow hallway into its own dedicated room. Visitors appreciated the open space to move about more freely and inspect the products they wished to see. Mr. Hirano, president of Tsukiji Masamoto was present and offered a knife engraving service for customers who purchased a knife. Those interested in having their name on the knife were treated to a hand engraving on either the blade or bolster of the knife. Also on display was a short film showing the knife sharpening process staring Mr. Hirano himself.

A big thank you to everyone who made this year our most successful yet! We hope that we can continue to provide you information about the latest new products from Japan.