From Innovative Wafu Pasta to Delicious Milk Bread, the South Bay Is Enjoying a Surge of Japanese-inspired Delights

Above: Photo courtesy of Palos Verdes Library District Local History

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The Japanese American legacy in the South Bay is complex, shaped by resilience through a challenging history. Early Japanese immigrants excelled in agriculture and fishing, laying the foundation for today’s culinary scene. From late 19th-century farming successes to the hardships of World War II internment, their story is one of strength and recovery. A new generation of chefs now builds on this heritage, blending tradition with invention.

Terminal Island, now a commercial port, was once a “company town” and community for Japanese families working at a tuna cannery. Restrictive laws barred successful local Japanese fishermen from abalone fishing at White Point on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and prohibited boat ownership in the area, thus pushing them to give up their businesses for company roles.

Members of the Ishibashi family were the earliest immigrant farmers on the Peninsula. They created an agricultural legacy due to their success in “dry farming,” a practice well suited for the coastal landscape. The 40 Families Project documents this history, subtly connecting it to the proliferation of Japanese-inspired restaurants today as new generations flourish.

Above: Photo courtesy of the Gerth Archives and Special Collections, CSU Dominguez Hills

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As immigration increased, drawing in skilled farmers for economic benefits, the Peninsula was transformed into a hub for fresh flowers and produce including quality tomatoes and strawberries, shipped to markets and restaurants across California and beyond. Roadside stands, like Annie’s Stand, helped embed Japanese American culture into the South Bay’s community fabric.

This legacy of quality produce and cultural visibility also laid a foundation for the region’s embrace of Japanese culinary traditions. While some Japanese Americans left post-war, many rebuilt. Newcomers enriched the region’s cultural and culinary scene.

Sushi has long been a Beach Cities favorite, from California Beach Rock n’ Sushi in Hermosa Beach, founded in the early ’80s, to Sushi I-Naba’s Michelin-starred Manhattan Beach location. Now, a broader range of Japanese-inspired dining is emerging.

RYLA Matcha-tini

Make with clean, soft, slightly sweet Japanese rice vodka. Homemade matcha syrup is the perfect touch of rich, sweet, grassy, umami flavor—the heart of the drink.

Matcha Syrup

• 1 teaspoon high-quality matcha powder (ceremonial grade recommended)
• ½ cup hot water (about 175°F)
• ½ cup granulated sugar

Whisk the matcha with a splash of hot water in a bowl until smooth and frothy (no clumps). Add the rest of the hot water and stir. Stir in sugar until fully dissolved. Cool and bottle. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Cocktail

• .75 ounces Haku vodka
• .75 ounces Chiran Tea Chu
• .75 ounces matcha syrup
• ¼ cup heavy cream, cold

Combine first three ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 20 to 25 seconds until well chilled and properly diluted. Strain into a chilled glass.
Lightly whip cream until it thickens slightly but is still pourable. Gently float it over the back of a spoon on top of the cocktail for a smooth finish. Garnish with a dusting of matcha powder.

Glassware by Nick & Nora

RYLA, opened in 2022 by Chef Ray Hayashi and Chef Cynthia Hetlinger, offers a modern take on izakaya-style dining. Their menu reimagines classics like sushi and ramen, featuring a “Lobstah Roll”—a riff on the New England staple.

According to Ray, the menu is a delicate balance between nostalgia and creativity, taking familiar flavors and delivering them in a way that feels authentic, modern and personal. They have added three or four types of ramen to the daily menu, and their signature Hokkaido milk bread with tobiko nori spread, inspired by Ray’s mother’s recipe, is a popular staple.

RYLA also plays with texture, plating or adding surprise elements like the Matcha Tiramisu or Mapo Paccheri Pasta to the menu. Annual trips to Japan fuel inspiration, with Ray noting a focus on restraint and precision in even the simplest dishes—a reflection of Japanese culinary philosophy.

Their recent Michelin Guide inclusion was a milestone. “If we introduce new flavors while offering comfort and connection, we’ve done our job,” says Cynthia.

Unico Tokyo Uni Cream Pasta

Serves 1 

• 1 clove garlic, peeled, finely chopped 
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 anchovy filet, deboned, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons white wine 
• 2 ounces uni, prepared and removed from shell 
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree 
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream 
• 1 teaspoon shio koji 
• salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
• microgreens or parsley garnish, optional
• 1 cup cooked and drained spaghetti pasta

In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat until light brown. Turn off heat and add anchovy. Adjust the pan from the burner and stir to avoid burning. Mix ingredients until combined. Turn heat to medium, add wine and cook until evaporated. Add uni, tomato puree and cream. Simmer over low heat until slightly thickened. Season with shio koji, salt and pepper. Serve with cooked spaghetti. 

Takashi “Taka” Sada, founder of Japonica and Unico Tokyo Pasta, moved from Japan to the South Bay in 2001, drawn by the beach lifestyle and surfing. Seeing a culinary gap, he opened Japonica in 2002, an izakaya blending authentic and modern Japanese cuisine. Unlike high-end sushi spots, Japonica offers a relaxed, communal vibe for lingering over sake and food—a nod to Japanese social culture.

With three South Bay locations, Taka launched Unico Tokyo Pasta in 2025, introducing the area to wafu pasta. This post-World War II fusion of Japanese and Italian American cuisine uses umami-rich ingredients like soy, miso and nori with staples like uni or shio koji.

Taka first tasted wafu pasta in Osaka. It wasn’t until he came to the United States that he realized this unique Japanese version of Italian American food was not truly Italian. He aims to share this “fun fusion cuisine” with the South Bay, seeing his destiny as showcasing Japanese culture through his restaurants.

Taka’s business acumen—coupled with the culinary innovation of his wife, Chika, at Unico Tokyo Pasta in Redondo Beach—helps them earns rave reviews. Favorites like garlic anchovy and uni pasta join reimagined classics like Caesar salad and Bolognese, served in a bright, casual setting.

Bread, Espresso &, a Tokyo-based bakery café founded in 2009, brings its acclaimed “better-for-you” baked goods to Redondo Beach, marking its first U.S. location. Cube-shaped mou bread—their signature offering—has a soft, fluffy inner crumb and crisp exterior when toasted. This creation of Chef Sakurai Tadatsugu is a variation of the popular shokupan Japanese white bread and Hokkaido milk bread. It is a deliciously addictive hybrid of French pain de mie (essentially elevated white bread) and melt-in-your-mouth brioche without the heavy hand of butter in the mix.

The brand aims to be part of the in-dining or “eat at home” experience, with its assortment of grab-and-go bakery items. General manager Takuma “Kosa” Kozaiwa credits strategy and luck for securing the former Two Guns Espresso space. Customers select fresh-baked items from glass displays using trays and tongs, often lining up for oven-fresh batches. On the menu, you will find interesting savory items like ginger pork, tandoori chicken sandwiches and a mou soup bowl with lobster bisque or clam chowder in addition to sweet offerings. A coffee bar with Caffe Luxxe beans, premium teas and mocktails rounds out the menu.

The South Bay’s evolving Japanese American cuisine reflects a cultural realignment, harmonizing traditional principles of balance, or washoku, with modern creativity. This culinary renaissance, driven by a new generation of chefs and entrepreneurs, celebrates Japanese American resilience, ingenuity and adaptability—enriching the coastal community with new and diverse dining options.