Restaurant Reviews

Monday, 5^th January 2015

The beginning of this year, I visited a restaurant called crisscross omotesando with my friend, Saori. We went there to have breakfast. It is located a back street in Minami-Aoyama, and near from our university. The restaurant looks fine on the outside, and the appearance matches an atmosphere on backstreet of Aoyama.

http://www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/jp/crisscross/

As soon as we entered, two waitresses greeted clearly and they said choose any seats we like. The inside of the restaurant was small but there were some terrace seats outside. Now it is winter season, clear vinyl sheets partitioned off, and a heater was installed there. We choose to stay inside. The décor was simple but warming, a pretty small flower was displayed each brown table, warm colored lamps were hang over. Since it was early morning, a few people were in the restaurant. Most of them were young women, and they looked like enjoying their calm and quiet morning.

The morning menus are pancake, French toast, toast, granola, and some side dishes. I ordered buttermilk pancakes with whipped butter and maple syrup, and hot tea. We sat near the kitchen, so it was easy to see what was going there. It was clean, and some chefs were making our orders. About ten minutes passed, they served our pancakes. Three circle pancakes and whipped butter like a vanilla ice cream seated in a very white dish. These three were wearing white powdered sugar, and looked very soft. Of course, it smelled really good. After taking some pictures, we started to eat. Although there are hundreds of pancake shops around Aoyama, it was the first time for me to try pancakes. I am glad that my first pancake was crisscross’s one. That was so soft, sweet, tasty, and went well with hot tea. A pancake itself was sweet (and could be much sweeter if you pour maple syrup), so I recommend you not to add sugar into tea or coffee. In terms of the price, that was not so cheap but I think the dish is worth it. And it is reasonable to assume because this restaurant located in Aoyama.

The restaurant, crisscross omotesando, offers friendly and warming service and tasty dishes. The location is also perfect. Visit there if you have time. I promise you all like it.

crisscross omotesando

5-7-28 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062 Japan

03-6434-1266

http://www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/jp/crisscross/

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I wish you a year filled with peace, good health and happiness.

How was your winter vacation? Did you enjoy it? As for me, I had my part-time job almost everyday in December... but early in the new year, I took a rest and enjoyed holidays with my family.

On this post, I have two topics, written and visual restaurant reviews. Hope you enjoy reading it.

First, it's about written review. The title of the article is “Rick Stein, Winchester, restaurant review: Is this latest venture the start of a chain to be rolled out across the country?” This is written by John Walsh. According toThe Independent, he is a commentator and he has been editor of The Independent Magazine, literary editor of the Sunday Times and features editor of the London Evening Standard. http://www.independent.co.uk/biography/john-walsh

He wrote a review of a restaurant called Rick Stein Winchester.

https://www.rickstein.com/eat-with-us/rick-stein-winchester/

This restaurant mainly serves piscine and seafood dishes. Walsh mentions that the physical surroundings, decor are pretty simple and comfortable. Wooden tables are white-topped, and do not have napery (linens for the dining table). Customers can relax with these tables, cushiony banquettes, Cornish sea scenes on display, and copper lamps hung over. The waiting staff are remarkably bright-eyed and welcoming, and rush to bring you menus, water and bread, he says.

In terms of the menu, he says that he can promise it has a lot of comfort dishes eating on chilly November lunchtime (This article was written in November 2014). He ordered the fish and shellfish soup with rouille and Parmesan, salt and pepper squid, main-course hake, Dover sole, and pudding of autumn fruit sabayon that reeked of Christmas. He says most of all meals are delicious and good value, for instance, the soup with rouille and Parmesan, a salt and pepper squid, main course and pudding. As for the soup, he insists that only a fool or a madman could fail to order it, he means everyone should try it. The taste is like the tomato-and-cayenne-spiced broth warming your insides, the garlicky rouille fresh and lively. Second, he ate a salt and pepper squid, and says it was also delicious. However, only the Dover sole was not great, he says. The dish is the most expensive thing on the menu at £32.95, but it is terrible, waste of a light delicate fish and of £33. He mentions the taste was awful but the staff’s service was pretty good. The manager of this restaurant came and apologized for the dish, took the dish off the bill.

I’ve never read this kind of article, so it was difficult for me a bit, but interesting. I recommend this restaurant if you like seafood. As for me, fish and shellfish are my favorite, so I hope I could visit there someday.

Rick Stein, 7-8 High Street Winchester (01962 353 535). Around £37 per person, before wine and service. Lunch menu: two courses £19.95

https://www.rickstein.com/eat-with-us/rick-stein-winchester/

Next, I’m going to write about a video. I saw “Step Inside Be Our Guest Restaurant.” 

This movie is about Disney world in Florida. It’s the place I really want to visit once in my lifetime :) The theme of the restaurant is a Disney movie called “Beauty and the Beast.” In this review, only a woman talks and introduces about the restaurant. She speaks clearly and cheerfully. I think her way of speaking is suitable for introducing a Disney facility because I believe Disney world is dream itself!! It’s the most important to tell pleasure to audience.

Chefs, owners, managers and restaurant staffs are not featured in the video. I guess the reason they aren’t focused is that it is unnecessary for this restaurant. As I’ve mentioned, the most important thing for Disney world is to give excitement and pleasure to everyone comes there, so it’s not important who is the chef or who is the manager. The dishes served there should be tasty, but customers maybe don’t care who made them. It’s perfect as long as people can enjoy eating, and the atmosphere is like a dream land, I guess.

If you have time, you can watch this video! I recommend it. Her speaking is clear and easy to understand. Ahh I wish I could visit there…

The shocking truth about fast food

Hello. How are you doing? I'm doing okay, but my younger sister is likely to catch a cold. Hope her and you all don't do so.

I'm going to work on my recipe assignment on Wednesday. To be honest, I don't always cook at all and I'm not a good cook, so it'll be a challenge for me. I'll do my best! I hope you'll like it. 

Now, I write about the topic related the book I'm reading. It's about the dangers of eating fast food. Then, I found this movie on YouTube. It's not so long, so you can watch! You must be interested in this topic.

How was it? This video focused on McDonald's hamburgers and french fries. He tested what will happen if he left these fast foods. Usually, not only fast food but normal food should go bad if people left them for a few days. However, in this test, french fries never go bad, never be spoiled. In terms of hamburgers, they rotted away but it took longer time. Based on this experiment, we become aware of that McDonald's foods contain some chemical ingredients which helps them to live longer and to be looked nice. We also realize that some of the chemicals are unhealthy and poisonous for our bodies.


After watching this video, I thought I have to be more careful what I eat everyday. Good taste and looking are important of course, but there is something I should pay more attention.

Analyzing "Never Seconds"

Hello, how are you doing? I'm doing okay. It's becoming chilly, I hope you all won't catch colds.

A few days ago, I made apple crumble! It's a sweet cake from Britain. Do you know this? Have you ever tried it?

These are the pictures. I searched on Google Image.

I think they look tasty but my family always say that they don't like apple crumble because it's all brown and all dried out, not juicy at all! I'm so sad! What do you think then? Do you want to eat it? If you'd say you like it, I will treat you :) ....Someday ;)

Now, I write about topic of this week. It's about a food blog, Never Seconds, which is written by a girl in Britain. The blog title is interesting.

http://neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk/

First, I was shocked that elementary school girl writes a blog on the Internet..! This has nothing to do with the assignment in this class, but it was surprising for me. I didn't think about my school meal at all and played outside when I was in elementary school... She has sharp sense toward food, I respect her.

Quality:

The format is simple, so easy to read. I personally think the quality is high.

Usefulness:

Of course this blog is really useful. She collect contributions for poor children in a developing country. At first, she started the blog to complain about her school meals, but it developed to be a social movement. That is amazing.

Visual attractiveness:

She posts a lot of pictures on the blog. They all are attractive. In addition, she uses Youtube movies which help us to understand the detail of the post. It's good to use not only static images but moving ones. I've never challenged that, so I'd like to follow her and try that.

Accessibility of the language:

The blog is only written in English, so maybe it's difficult to read for people who don't use English everyday. However, she writes about school food of other countries. (I read the article of Japanese school meals) That can attract foreign people too, I guess.

How interesting is it to you personally?:

Personally I'm interested in school food. In my elementary school, I ate school meals and they were tasty everyday. Well balanced and looked good, so I liked it. However I realized that delicious meals are served not all over the world, on the contrary, there are a lot of children who cannot eat. I should thank that I can eat well.

Continue reading "Chew on this"

Hi, how are you doing? I’m doing very fine.

 Now I’m working as a tutor of exchange students, and going to visit Nikko with them this Friday. It must be exciting trip! Nikko has traditional places, so they can feel the sense of Japanese culture and enjoy the experience.  I hope it will be a fine sunny day... No rain please! X(





Then, I'm going to talk about my book, "Chew on this." The summary of the part I've read is this: Who made the first hamburger---American fifteen-year-old boy Charlie Nagreen made in October 1885. When he sold meatballs at an annual fair,  he noticed that customers had trouble eating them and walking at the same time. People didn't want to take time to eat meatballs. Then he got an idea that squashed and put them between two slices of bread. That was the first hamburger. History of hamburgers---After 1885, a hamburger had a bad reputation because of the thought that "hamburger is a food for poor" and two poisonous hamburgers murders. After reading this part, I was shocked and surprised because the problem (such as contamination or poisonous food) is almost as same as current days. Now many fast food companies are struggling with this kind of problem.

I thought they didn't have those issues in the past, so it was surprising for me. In addition, I wonder that why this problem occurs again and again.



Thank you for reading. Have wonderful weekends and AGU festivals!

Analyzing a professional blog

Hello! How are you doing? I’m okay :)

Last weekends, I went to Kochi prefecture and attended my cousin’s wedding. That was the first time I met my cousin’s bride, she was a really lovely person! The reception was gorgeous, all attendance dressed up beautifully. The bride wore Kimono, white and green wedding dresses. I personally liked the green dress the best. She looked nice in the color, and it was like the little mermaid.

Usually I have few chances to meet my relatives living in Kochi, so it was glad to meet them.

At the reception, Kaiseki-ryori (traditional Japanese meal brought in courses) was served. Sushi and Sashimi were tasty. That was maybe because Kochi faces the beach and can get fresh seafood, I guess.

So, let’s move on to today’s main topic. It is about analyzing a food blog: 
WATTWURMNASHI the best patisseries in the world http://wattwurmnashi.com/.
A woman, Wattwurmnashi, writes this blog. It’s specializes in sweets.

She said that she doesn’t like a Mont Blanc because it looks like lugworm poo...

That's why her pen name is

Wattwurm = German for lugworm

nashi = romanized Japanese for without.

It’s really interesting. I personally like a Mont Blanc though :)

Quality:

Usually, I don't read blogs so much, so I'm not sure but I believe the quality is high. I can only say that readers will want to eat some sweets by reading. It's true. 

Usefulness:

In terms of usefulness, it depends on people, I guess. It means, it's basically useful but not every time because she evaluates sweets and shops based on her standard. Therefore, this blog is useful for some people who has as the same sense as her, but not so useful for the other people who don't have it. I think it's natural because that's the blog is.

Visual attractiveness:

I like the pictures on this blog! They attract me so mush! When writing a blog, it's important to put on some attractive photos because people get most of the information and impression from eyes. I think this blog is really attractive.

Accessibility of the language:

On this blog, everyone can read in three languages, English, French and Japanese. I think it's effective way to attract people all over the world. In English, she sometimes uses the words I don't know but it's easy to follow for the most part.

How interesting is it to you personally?:

I personally like this blog and I think it's interesting. It is because she writes not only good reviews of sweets and shops but also writes some complaints. These days, almost all TV programs show some delicious food, but they only report the good aspects. Of course, I believe there are many shops which serve tasty food, but there can be some cafes or restaurants serve not so delicious cuisine. Therefore this blog is kind of fresh to me. I like it. 

Introduction of my book

Hello, how are you doing? The typhoon has passed and it was fine, much hot today.

I chose this book: Chew On This

The authors are Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson. Eric has investigated the fast-food industry for years, and he is famous for his book “Fast Food Nation”, which was a New York Times bestseller and made into a film. Charles is a writer of the New York Times Magazine and the New Yorker. This book was published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 2006.

I’ve been interested in a junk food culture and heard for many times that some people say eating too much junk food is dangerous. Although I don’t have any reliable sources, I agree with that view. However, by reading this book, I will be able to find “where fast food comes from, who makes it, what’s in it, and what happens when you eat it.” (pp. 8-9) That sounds interesting for me. Now, I’m going to read this more and get information about fast food.