Oden (おでん) now on the menu at Highland Park's Teppanyaki Kyoto (map).

Pittsburgh-based WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring Mandarin-speaking Career Counselor / Product Manager (职业发展顾问及产品经理).

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced an opening for a Mandarin-speaking Career Counselor / Product Manager.

Pittsburgh-based WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring Mandarin-speaking Full Time Academic Tutor.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education consulting and placement firm WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced an opening for a Full Time Academic Tutor.

Pittsburgh Magazine reviews Squirrel Hill's Yue Bai Wei.

by Laura Petrilla for Pittsburgh Magazine.

Pittsburgh Magazine's Hal B. Klein has a review of Yue Bai Wei, which opened in June.

Smashed eggplant with hot pepper was the first dish I ordered at Yue Bai Wei. On a warm night in June, my pal Keith and I used a miniature pestle to pummel neat stacks of airy, pillowy slabs of eggplant dressed with sesame oil and piled high with fermented hot peppers and chopped scallions. As we tore our way through the intoxicating dish, I had flashbacks.

Everything came full circle when I learned that Yue Bai Wei’s executive chef and co-owner is Zhiyuan Tang. He is the same person who brought Sichuan Gourmet to prominence when he took over as executive chef of that Squirrel Hill restaurant in late 2017. I recall popping in for a snack one day in 2019, and the same dish was so unexpectedly tasty it prompted me to consider reviewing the restaurant. After a broader examination of the menu, I did, praising Tang for the way he improved the decade-old restaurant’s offerings.

Tang excelled in that kitchen but felt too constrained by long-standing customer expectations for a more generalized Chinese and Chinese-American restaurant to fully express his culinary chops, which are among the finest in Pittsburgh. That’s why he, his sister Li Tang and Alice Fu decided to break away from Sichuan Gourmet and open their establishment — Yue Bai Wei, which is located in the former Rose Tea Cafe space on Forbes Avenue.

See also his June write-up shortly after the restaurant rather suddenly opened.

Kagami mochi in Squirrel Hill.

Mini kagami mochi at Panda Supermarket in Squirrel Hill.

2021 Japanese film Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー) at Harris Theater, January 20 through 27.

The acclaimed 2021 Japanese film Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー) will play at the Harris Theater from January 20 through 27, 2022. A brief synospis from a December 7 NPR review:

The story follows a middle-aged Tokyo stage actor named Kafuku, superbly played by Hidetoshi Nishijima. He's a calm, mild-mannered guy who's been married for two decades to a screenwriter named Oto. We get a sense of their mutual devotion when we see Kafuku driving around in his bright red Saab, rehearsing his lines by listening to audio tapes that Oto has painstakingly recorded for him.

But their relationship is more complicated than it appears. Years ago, Kafuku and Oto experienced an agonizing loss that has led her to find solace — and perhaps something more — in relationships with other men. Kafuku has deep compassion for his wife, which doesn't make her betrayal any less painful. And then another tragedy strikes when Oto dies suddenly.

It will play at the Harris Theater in downtown's Cultural District (map), though tickets are not yet available.

Carnegie Mellon University hiring Part-time Research Analyst - Engineering and Public Policy; ability to work with data in Chinese preferred.

Carnegie Mellon University is hiring a Part-time Research Analyst - Engineering and Public Policy, with a preference for someone who can work with data in Chinese.

Carnegie Mellon University’s department of Engineering and Public Policy is searching for a part-time Research Analyst. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives in an interesting and challenging work environment. You will contribute to the department by providing vital support by studying the effectiveness of environmental policy in China by analyzing large environmental compliance data sets using the techniques of applied microeconomics.

Lunar New Year Celebration 2022 at Pitt, February 2.

via traveloriented.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and Global Hub will host a Lunar New Year Celebration on February 2.

Join the Asian Studies Center and Global Hub for a Lunar New Year celebration in honor of the Year of the Tiger! Come for some light refreshments, crafts, a photobooth, performances, and more.

It runs from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Global Hub on the first floor of Posvar Hall, and is free and open to members of the Pitt community who follow the university's COVID-19 safety protocols.

Pennsylvania seeking Request for Proposals for PA Japan Investment Representative position.

The State of Pennsylvania is seeing Requests for Proposals until February 4, 2022 for a PA Japan Investment Representative position.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) seeks an experienced consultant or consultancy to serve as an authorized representative, to be based in and focused on Japan. The consultant will be expected to contribute to the growth and strength of the Commonwealth’s economy through the attraction of foreign direct investment to Pennsylvania and the creation of quality jobs, thus increasing the opportunities for economic prosperity for all Pennsylvanians.

The Consultant, in joint effort with DCED’s Office of International Business Development (OIBD), will be responsible for development of programs to attract investors to Pennsylvania. The consultant will have extensive contacts with the region’s government officials, industry associations, business communities, the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (U.S. Department of Commerce), chambers of commerce, and other organizations (private and public) that will further the Commonwealth’s investment goals and objectives of the region.

New Japanese animated movie Sword Art Online the Movie Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (劇場版 ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 星なき夜のアリア) stays in Pittsburgh through December 15.

The 2021 Japanese animated movie apanese animated movie Sword Art Online the Movie Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (劇場版 ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 星なき夜のアリア), which opened in Pittsburgh on December 3, will stay here through at least December 15. A synopsis of the film that, based on a manga series:

Return to the death game where it all began—Sword Art Online. In this new Aincrad Arc by original creator Reki Kawahara, the story is seen through Asuna’s eyes. What at first seems like a dream come true quickly becomes a nightmare when newbie gamer Asuna Yuuki learns the only way to escape the virtual world of Aincrad is to beat all 100 levels—but “Game Over” means you die in the real world.

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront, and tickets are available online. Please note, some shows are in Japanese with English subtitles while others are dubbed in English.