profile

Shoyu Sugar

Which dishes would tell YOUR life story?

Published 1 day ago • 4 min read

👋 Hi friends,

Before leaving Istanbul, I was invited to join a very special food tour.

Our guide Yumna introduced us to dishes from her unique perspective, along with other immigrant cuisines from Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. While our group was waiting in a local park, we were even spontaneously offered to share a plate from a picnic at the neighboring table!

The area where the tour takes place is only a few tram stops from famous sightseeing spots like the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Yet it's a neighborhood largely comprised of immigrant communities and one that most visitors would miss. So glad we didn't!

I love the way that Vines & Pearls is telling stories through their tours and letting you taste your way through experiences like these. They also do wine tours and this cool Art Deco, Prosecco and Agatha Christie tour--definitely on my list for the next time I visit!

👉 Have you been to Istanbul or do you hope to visit? Hit reply and let me know! I'd love to hear YOUR favorite spots.

🙏 I need your vote!

Would you do me a favor? Head over to this Instagram post and comment "Malia" to help my story win the Eurail Stories Contest.​

This week I found out that the story I wrote about my experience nearly 30 years ago backpacking Europe by train is a finalist and I'm trailing behind another entrant.
​
You can read the 5 finalist stories here, then click below to vote! (And maybe tell a friend too! ☺)

This email may contain affiliate links, which means purchases made through those links earn me a commission, at no extra cost to you. For details, please see my privacy policy. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time from the bottom of the email.

Destination Inspiration

  • Jennifer Hattam introduces us to Istanbul's street art from the 1980s to present day in her excellent Istanbul etc dispatch.
  • Get a taste of Hawaii through this recipe for Hō‘i‘o Haole salad as a part of the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative and NĀTIFS. It's interesting to learn about ways to identify and cook with invasive species.
  • ByWay Travel, which focuses on flight-free holidays in Europe has just released their first ‘zine! It includes an interview with the famous “Man in Seat 61” whose website has helped me to plan many a train journey!
  • I love it when food tells a story, don’t you? Learn the reason why there’s a Filipino version of Vietnamese pho being served at a Filipino food truck in Queens.

Feeling Lucky🍀

  • The Food Network & HGTV are giving away $5000 in the Get Out and Grill Sweepstakes. Enter twice per day until 9/16. Details here.
  • Hawaii residents can win 2 VIP tickets to Empty Bowl Hawaii and a $100 gift card to MW through their IG post. Enter by 9/18 Details here.
  • Win a trip for 4 to Universal Studios Orlando or Hollywood in honor of Jurrasic World Rebirth. Enter by 9/22. Details here.
  • The Golden Nugget is giving away a 2-night stay, $250 food & beverage credit and a 1 oz gold bar! Enter by 2/8/26 Details here.

Have a great weekend!

🧳

My top picks for your next trip

Looking for a recommendation for a cooking class, food tour, or other activities on your next trip? Check out some of my favorites from around the world via GetYourGuide.

​See them here →​

💸

Deal Alert: Airalo Travel eSIM

Curious about using an eSIM to stay connected while traveling abroad? My go-to for most destinations is Airalo. Get $3 to start with code MALIA2345

​Learn More→​

🍇

Calling all Greek wine lovers!

Take 15% off Andrea Lemieux's new release: The Quick and Dirty Guide to Greek Wine Ebook! Use code SHOYUSUGAR15 for 15% off until Sept 19th.

​Check it out →​

​

​

Hi, I'm Malia Yoshioka!

I'm a freelance food and travel writer from Hawaii, slowly eating my way around the world and sharing the flavors with you in these weekly updates and on ShoyuSugar.com. Nice to meet you!

​

This newsletter is a labor of love from me to you! 💌

I hope you enjoy the behind the scenes look at my work as well as specially curated food, travel and language news from around the world.
​
If you'd like to help to support my work, please feel free to use my virtual tip jar.
​
My inbox is always open and I'd love to hear from you if you have questions, feedback or suggestions. And of course if you no longer want to receive these newsletters, no hard feelings. Just click the unsubscribe button below.

​
440 N. Barranca Ave #4598, Covina, CA 91723

​Unsubscribe · Preferences​

Shoyu Sugar

Malia Yoshioka

Malia Yoshioka is a freelance Food & Travel Writer and ESL Tutor from Hawaii. She's slowly eating her way around the world, 43 countries and counting so far! Get behind the scenes news, travel tips and the best food stories from around the web in her weekly Savor the Journey newsletter.

Read more from Shoyu Sugar

👋 Howdy from Milwaukee, Something you might not know about me: before I started my website, I was once a food tour guide in Honolulu! I got to spend each tour guiding hungry visitors around Honolulu, sharing the history of family-run businesses and snacks from my childhood. My official job title with Hawaii Food Tours was "Malasada Maven" We would eat our way around Chinatown while weaving in stories about local culture, history, and ingredients, ending up on a sweet note with malasadas at...

9 days ago • 4 min read
A view from the rails of a ferry in Istanbul, with the Sultanahmet skyline of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace visible over the water and a flock of seagulls. It is a bright sunny morning with blue skies and the rail casts shadows on the w

👋 A few musings from Milwaukee… People worried about my safety when I lived in Turkiye, considering it was led by an autocratic president, with hostile policies towards women’s rights, LGBTQ+, immigration, and the economy. Political opponents have been jailed and protests suppressed. The government controls the news so it's possible for a large portion of the population to be unaware of the severity… It's easy to see how quickly civil liberties can be eroded. But it’s also increasingly...

17 days ago • 4 min read

👋 Hello from Milwaukee! Only two people guessed the location correctly in my Instagram stories when I posted last week from the beautiful Milwaukee Art Museum. I was so inspired by the gorgeous movable architecture of the building itself. If you’ve seen the Oculus in Downtown NYC, you may have recognized the same designer, Santiago Calatrava. The beautiful “wings” of the museum span 217 feet (66 meters) and mobilize to open and close fully at various points in the day! It's so beautiful to...

30 days ago • 4 min read