Ben Yu - Bits & Bytes

Book Review: Tokyo Ueno Station - Yu Miri

Yu Miri’s Tokyo Ueno Station is a sobering counterpoint to the idyllic vision of Japan we often see presented in the media. Through the eyes of Kazu, a ghost haunting Ueno Park after a life of hardship and homelessness, the novel presents the stark realities of capitalism’s human

Book Review: The City and Its Uncertain Walls - Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, The City and Its Uncertain Walls, is perhaps his most accessible work to date. While still brimming with his signature blend of magical realism and surreal elements, this novel feels like a more restrained and introspective iteration of the themes he has explored throughout his

cooking

Sushi Making Progression 2024

I've been obsessing about sushi for almost 2 years now and I've learned alot on this weird rabbit-holing journey. I've gotten more familiar with a whole variety of fish and different cooking techniques, especially an appreciation of the precision and skil chef's exhibit when they handle their knives. Preparing a

cooking

Pokemon Sushi

Tatsugiri seems to be based on sushi, specifically the nigirizushi (a type of sushi shaped by hands, instead of rolled): Curly Form resembles a shrimp nigiri, Droopy Form resembles a tuna nigiri, and Stretchy Form resembles tamago sushi

sushi

Sushiya Shota (すし家祥太)

I was lucky enough to snag a reservation at Sushiya Shota (すし家祥太) during my last week in Tokyo. Shota-san is a South Korean-born chef who previously worked at Sushi Kanesaka with famed sushi chef Koji Saito. Chef Shota served us an exquisite meal of 3 appetizers and 16 different

sushi

Sushi Akazu (寿司赤酢)

Sushi Akazu is a high-end chain restaraunt specializing in Edo-style sushi made with 'Akazu' Red Vinegar. I had a chance to visit their location in Roppongi and had one of my more memorable omakase experiences. We got an early reservation and were suprisingly the only two patrons for their 5:

cooking

Rice Cooker Chicken & Rice

algorithms

CS-6515 Graduate Algorithms

This will likely be the final course you'll take in your OMSCS journey. It's a pre-requiste to gradate for all specializations and at least in 2023 you were most likely unable to register for the class until your final semester (unless you were very lucky and go an early waitlist

food

YUJI

Welcome fellow food enthusiasts! Today, I'm thrilled to recount my extraordinary dining experience at Yuji, a hidden gem nestled in the heart of the Japantown that specializes in Kappo Ryouri - the japanese art of cutting and cooking, with the focus on seasonal ingredients. Ankimo tofu, Eggplant with Uni, Simmered

cooking

Surf & Turf with Fondant Potatoes

Valentine's Day

artificial intelligence

CS-7650 Natural Language Processing

CS-7650 is the newest machine learning OMSCS course that delves into the intricacies of Natural Language Processing, offering a comprehensive exploration of both foundational concepts and contemporary techniques and a history of how we arrived at Large Language Models. I was lucky enough enroll in it's 2nd iteration for Fall

art

feeling blue

I tried using dots to create pointillist effect to create a feeling of restlessness and sense of being unmoored. The contrast between the vibrant blue circle and the dark center represents my struggle between happiness and sadness.

food

My Favourite Restaurants of 2023

January - Empress By Boon‌ Nestled within Empress Boon lies a culinary treasure: Uni & Sardine Fried Rice, a standout amidst a prix fixe menu that oscillates between hits and misses. The rice was skillfully infused with the briny essence of the sardines, creaminess of the uni an impressive sense

art

Festive Trip

'Festive Trip' is an invitation to embrace the magic of the moment, to revel in the joyous experience of exploration and discovery. I hoped to capture the essence of joyful ski adventures through an endless spiral of vibrant, alternating trees, reminiscent of a kaleidoscope of colors.

cooking

Sushi Making Progression 2023

I set a goal for myself to learn how to make sushi over 2023. Let's see how I progressed! April 22 - Tamago Sushi View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben (@benu_sushi) April 29 - Katsuo, Ikura and Salmon Nigiri View this post on Instagram A

art

pink dream

‘Pink Dream’ invites viewers to immerse themselves in the intangible, to explore the connections that weave through our existence. Color palette inspired by Annie.

machine learning

CS-7643 Deep Learning

Instructor(s): Zsolt Kira Course Page: Link CS-7643 is a foundational course for the OMSCS Machine Learning specialization. It largely follows the curriculum of similar Deep Learning courses like CS231n from Stanford, going through the evolution of deep learning through Computer Vision lens. We cover Image Classification, Perceptrons, Backpropogation, Convolutional

artificial intelligence

Hugging Face Deep RL Course

Back in December, Hugging Face released an eight unit course covering the fundamentals of Deep Reinforcement Learning. The course covers fundamental theories of Deep RL, core libraries and gives you hands-on experience training your own agents in unique environments ranging from classical control problems all the way to video games

sushi

Zen Japanese Restaurant - 2022

It's been more than 2 years since I was last at Zen Japanese Restaurant. We opted for the $180 CAD Sushi Omakase course. Like last time, it was 13 pieces of nigiri, but with the addition of appetizers and dessert! Appetizer Course - Abalone with Caviar and cucumber jelly salad.

cooking

Sushi Making Progression 2018-2022

Dec 2022Oct 2022Mar 2022Jan 202220202018

art

Kusama Semi-Infinite Mirrors

Ramping back up with three.js. Inspiration: Link: https://denim-jungle-blinker.glitch.me/

machine learning

CS-7642 Reinforcement Learning

Instructor(s): Charles Isbell / Michael Littman Course Page: Link CS-7641 is a core course for the OMSCS Machine Learning specialization. It serves as a introduction to reinforcement learning, and a continuation of CS-7641 Machine Learning At the time of writing, the course consists of 3 major written assignments, 6 homework

blog

Ben Yu does Benu

I try to recreate my favourite dishes from Benu - a 3 Michelin star restaraunt in San Francisco and one of The World's 50 Best Restaurants back in 2019. Head chef Corey Lee draws from many different cuisines, with a focus on Korean and Cantonese techniques and flavours. I could

art

Dreams of Blade Runner

Model: Stable Diffusion 1.5 Prompt: 💡A Chinese ink painting of a modern city and pokemon. The city is bustling and raining with a neon glow. In the distance, there are dragon pokemon fighting each other. by zhang zeduan, mi fu, painting on silk, immaculate scale, hyper-realistic

omscs

CS-6460 Educational Technology

Instructor(s): David Joyner Course Page: Link This class was simultaneously an introductory course about educational technology and an advanced, project-oriented class on designing or researching technology’s intersection with education. The course provides student's with information about a large number of topics within educational technology, including pedagogical strategies, research