☆My Imaginary Trip to Italy☆ part 1

On December 26^th 2014 my mother, my brother and I went to an Italian restaurant called “Dada” located in Fuji, Shizuoka. At first I was planning on going to a different restaurant, however I have changed my mind prior to my visit back home. “Dada” has been my all-time favorite Italian restaurant and been there for more than I could count. “Dada” is one of the famously known Italian restaurants in Shizuoka, especially in eastern part of the prefecture. I have evaluated my visit to Dada into four different criteria with 5 to 6 questions to each criteria. Each question is evaluated with a score out of five and which sums up with a total score of 100. (Evaluation is on another paper)

The physical appearance of the restaurant can be stated as very modern and casual. I personally thought it was bit unique in a way since it was round shaped. The entrance way that leads to the door is decorated with pots filled with colorful flowers. These flowers were designed by the local professional florist. There was two entrances to enter the parking lot of the restaurant. The one in front can be entered from a big road that is from across the restaurant. However this road gets crowded during the rush hours and also during lunch hours which may have an effect on the customers who wish to enter the restaurant during the lunch hours. The restaurant itself is located in very calm place and there are other restaurants located nearby. One of the difficulties that some customers may encounter is problem of transportation. Since Fuji is very small rural city only way to get to the restaurant is either by car or taxi. The nearest train stop is Yoshiwara station, however it will probably take more than an hour by walk. Therefore taking a taxi to get to the restaurant is highly recommended if you are not eligible to go there by car.

There was a sign at the door that had today’s pasta and entrée written on it. There were about 15 chairs on the doorway for the customers to wait when the seats are full. The doorway was decorated with artworks done by local artists. As same with the physical appearance, the restaurant was designed very casually and modern. Since it was only a day after Christmas, the inside of the restaurant was still decorated with Christmas decorations. There were two Christmas trees and with Christmas wreaths. As how I mentioned earlier, the building is circular shaped. The restaurant offered both smoking and smoke free seats. However the whole restaurant is smoke free during the dinner hours. If the customer wishes to smoke, there is a small room in the middle of the restaurant where the customer can smoke. It offered both sofa and chair seats, also there is a bar counter for customers who came by their selves. We were offered a table that had both sofa and chair seats that holds four people. The servant instantly brought us water and the menu as we were seated and she nicely described the today’s pasta and entrée. Only condiment that was at the table was salt shaker. My mother wondered why there were rice bits inside the salt shaker. Also there was enough silver ware and napkins for four people. It also had a paper and pen for customer who wish to write any recommendations or a message to the restaurant. Almost all of the servants were female and they look all young. They were all nicely uniformed however I thought they looked bit unfriendly due to lack of smiling.

The restaurant offered three different types of lunch menu which are only served on the weekdays. There was also a normal menu that is mainly for lunch on weekends and during the dinner hours however it could be ordered on the days where the lunch menus are served as well. All three of us chose a set much called “dada lunch set” which comes with a choice of either salad or soup; choice of either pasta, pizza, main dish, rice dish or pizza; 1 drink and a lunch size dessert. There was total of 64 pastas, 10 main dishes, 8 rice dishes, and 6 pizzas to choose from. The cost varies between the choice of an entrée ranging from ¥1,100 to ¥2,980. I ordered Carbonara with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko and hot tea, my mom ordered Leek with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko and ice milk tea and my brother ordered Potato and Bacon topped with cheese and ice oolong tea. The restaurant offered a large size pasta with addition of 200 yen and the size of the desert can be changed to a bigger size with an addition of 150 yen. My mother and I ordered a regular size pasta but my brother ordered a larger size. We were asked whether we wanted our drinks instantly or with the dessert. My brother asked to bring his drink instantly while my mother and I asked to bring it with the dessert. The order was taken at 11:07. Salad and my brother’s oolong tea were served at 11:10. I noticed that servant was frequently looking at our table to see whether we were finished eating our salad. The servant noticed that we were done with our salad and came to our table to take away the salad bowl. My brother’s pasta was served at 11:18 when other two pasta were served at 11:20. Therefore all of the pasta were served within 15 minutes. I was bit disappointed with the fact that the servants did not noticed that I was out of water and I had to ask for another cup of water. I think it is important for the servants to notice what the customer wants before they ask. My mom and my brother finished eating their meal at 11:35 and the servant came to our table around 11:37 to clear the dishes. I finished eating my meal at 11:41 and the servant came instantly to clear the dishes and informing us that she will bring the drinks and desert. The drinks were brought at 11:43 and the dessert was brought at 11:46. The desert came on a plate with three different types of deserts. The servant nicely informed us what each desert was. The hot tea came on a tea pot
with a warm tea cup and 2 sticks of sugar.

Salad

(Red cabbage, radish, potherb mustard/みずな, sprout, turnip seasoned with homemade tomato vinegar dressing and topped with fried bacon) I thought there was bit too much dressing.

Potato and Bacon topped with cheese (Large size)

Cream sauce with corn, deep fried potato and bacon seasoned with parsley and cheese. 

¥1,430+200

Carbonara with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko

Carbonara based pasta with bacon and mentaiko seasoned with green onions. I thought it could be better if they added more mentaiko because it was not spicy at all. 

¥1,750

Leek with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko

Oil based pepperoncino with leek, mentaiko. It was topped with fried garlic

¥1600

Dessert:

(From left to right)

Santa Clause candy, white chocolate cheese cake topped with whipped cream, green apple jello with kiwi fruit and cookie espresso ice cream.

As a perspective of non-coffee drinker, I thought the espresso was too thick. 

               The regular menu offers dishes from wide range of varieties and it also offers seasonal menus. 15 salad/appetizers, 7 rice dishes, 68 pasta, 7 pizzas (small or regular size), 9 main dishes, 5 kids menu, 10 deserts, 3 courses, 42 non-alcohol drinks, 25 alcohol drinks and 20 wines. Most of the meat that they use for the main dishes are the local meat brands. The restaurant also offers seasonal menus, which are 1 main dish, 1 pasta and 8 deserts.

              The restroom was divided into men and women. In case of women there were three stools (2 Western style and 1 Japanese style). The restroom was very clean and there was enough toilet paper in each stools. At the cashier, they were selling their homemade pasta and homemade flower arrangements. 

I been to Dada more than I could count and I always go there when I take a trip back to Shizuoka. Their fascinating delicious amazing foods makes me fulfilled with happiness and joy every time. It also makes me fulfilled with a sacrifice that I ate too much. I highly recommend all of the Italian food lovers to take a trip to Shizuoka and have an Italian meal as one of your memories in your trip to Shizuoka. If you are planning on going there for lunch, I highly recommend to go to the restaurant at 11 when it opens. That is because it gets pretty crowded as it gets close to 12 and you might have to wait to be seated. As for meal, I highly recommend Potato bacon pasta and ice milk tea that is because this restaurant is known for these two. I hope you will have a chance to visit dada and have a fabulous time there :D

Restaurant Information:

静岡県富士市高嶺町 11-6

Tel: 0545-57-2275

11:00-24:00 (L.O 23:00)

http://www.1cho-me.jp/page_html/dada/

 

☆Restaurant Reviews: Written and Visual

HEY GUYSS!!!

Hows everyone spending their winter break so far?

As for me, I'm currently back in Shizuoka and all I have been doing is eating and watching TV...

What a great way to get chubby lol

My high school is hosting a Seijinshiki on January 4th so I can't wait to reunite with all of my friends back from high school.. :D


So.... I need something to put me back in the road of reality so I will analysis the blog and the video about the restaurant evaluation that we were given in our last IE class.







So first, me and my partner was given an article called "Bubba Gump Shirm Co, restaurant review: A cavernous, deep-fried, hokey simulacrum"
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/bubba-gump-shrimp-co-restaurant-review-a-cavernous-deepfried-hokey-simulacrum-9901411.html




Some people may recognize the title but "Bubba Gumps" is one of most famous and commonly seen movies in the United States. 

There are restaurants in the United States and also in Japan that has this movie as a theme and serve dishes that are or suits to the movie. 


Through out the article the author not only criticize the restaurant but criticize the movie as the whole. For instance the author mentions, "If you haven't seen the film Forrest Gump, skip this first bit. In fact, skip the whole film. It's dreadful. Mawkish, faux-serious – surely one of the worst 'good' movies in the canon. "
Also the author mentions " If you haven't already eaten in Bubba Gump, skip that too. It's not a restaurant. It's a cavernous, laminated, wipe-down, deep-fried, hokey simulacrum of a restaurant, sucking up shoals of tourists in the catering equivalent of industrial fishing." criticizing the restaurant as well. 


☆Does the reviewer show any special "insider" knowledge of the chefs or the restaurants's plans for the future?
The reviewer does not show any special insider knowledge. about the restaurant or about the chef. That is due to the reason that all the reviewer mentions is his criticism and hatred towards the restaurant and the food that are served. 


☆What is the writing style of the review?
I thought the reviewer's idea towards the restaurant is very simple and to the point. He is stating his view about how Bubba Gumps is the last restaurant on his recommendation list. From this it can be portrayed that his visit in the Bubba Gumps was very unpleasant one. 


☆Does the reviewer include a convenient grid?
No, the reviewer does not include a convenient grid that informs the reader about the location, the price and the information about the restaurant. However when the reviewer is informing how the food that he ordered was unpleasant, he includes the price of the dish in pounds. 


☆What additional information can you find out about the restaurant from their website?
What information that i found out about the restaurant from their website was that this restaurant is located in all over the world. Other than that, what the reviewer mentioned in the article was correct. Especially about how the restaurant has the movie as a theme but there is nothing that from the movie that fits into the restaurant except about shrimp. 


☆Based on the review, would you and your partner like to try this restaurant?
I have been to this restaurant twice and unlike the reviewer my visit there was very pleasant and I was very satisfied with the food that was served. So if I was given an opportunity to go there again, i would love to go there. However, I would not want to go there if I had to make a decision whether to go there or not by just reading this review. 






The video that my partner and I were given to evaluate on is called "Omaha Restaurant Spoofs Negative Yelp Reviews"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6cXJf3aVUQ


☆What is focused on in the review?
The video focuses on a restaurant located in Omaha called Block 16. They are one of the most popular restaurants in town. However they sometimes get a bad review that sometimes hurts their feelings. This video focuses on what the owner does with the bad reviews that they get and turning to a laugh. 


☆How does it differ from the written review in presentation and content? What does have it have in common among these two?
The differences among these two review is that the written review was too biased. It just stated his idea and thoughts about the restaurant, movie, and the food. While the video focused more on what the owners and managers are doing with the bad review that they sometimes get about the store. 


☆Are chefs, owners, managers, or restaurant staff featured in the video?
Both the chefs and owner is featured in the video. I do not think in this case their appearance had any thing to do with the providing the information about the restaurant nor making it too biased. That is because they are just practically answering the interview about their experience about getting a bad review of their restaurant but just making a laugh about of it from those by making a video. 


☆What criticisms do you have of the video?
I do not have any criticism towards the video. I thought it was very unique and very funny in a way that owners of the restaurant are taking this action about the bad reviews that they sometimes get. 

☆The hidden facts about McDonalds.... ☆

Hello hello and hellloooooo...


How is everyone doing??
I'm doing okay.. i guess.. but it totally could be wayyyyyyyyyyyyy better lol


It seems like cold is going around. 
Everywhere I go i find at least one or two person who has caught a cold.. 


Watch out for those yucky and gross germs!! 

Sooo.. I went to Disney sea just yesterday before my part time job and drank a drink called "Kahula Mocha Cocktail" !!!

It's a hot alcoholic drink and it has chocolate bits inside and topped with whipped cream and more chocolate bits! 
Sounds yummy,right?? Well, it sure was! lol 
I wanted to introduce it to you guys all ,because it is pretty rare to find an alcoholic drink that is one, chocolate flavored and two, topped with whipped cream! :D

I'm planning on going there again next week and i'm planning on drinking this and another alcoholic drink called "hot chocolate cocktail"!! 





So the video that i have chosen for this week's assignment is

"15 Outrageous Facts About McDonalds"

↑This video focuses on 15 facts of McDonalds that are not commonly known by the public.  I will state few of the facts that were mentioned in the video that I thought was either interesting or was shocked about. 

First fact that a term called "McJob". The term "McJob" was printed in one of the famous dictionary, "Merriam-Webster" defying that the term refers to a low wage possession where anyone is eligible to master. I saw shocked about how a term that criticizes the McDonald workers exists and how the Merriam Webster putted this term in their dictionary. They were sued by McDonalds however they were released with no charge since they stated how they are just stating a "fact" not a criticism. 

Second fact is the existence of a school called "Hamburger University". In this school, students are taught how to flip burgers and how to say "would you like flies with that?" in total of 28 different languages. 

In the past, McDonalds has been sued by their customers numerous of times. One of the famous case is when 79 year old customer at one of the McDonalds in the  United Stated spilled a hot coffee and caused her self to get a third degree burn. She sued McDonalds for her burn and as a result she was awarded half a million dollars. I thought this was ridiculous. Since it is not the company's fault that she got a third degree burn. It was her own action that led to her burn, therefore it does not make any sense that the McDonalds was charged for this.

Another fact was how the company makes some changes in their restaurant to adjust the environment of that country or a city. One of which is their famous logo. You may think that their logo is same throughout the whole world, however the company makes some changes in order to fit to the atmosphere of the city. For instance, the logo of the restaurants in Paris is white, the one located in Time Square is neon color and etc.  

Analyzing the blog, "Never Seconds"!

Howdy peoples!! :D

I can't believe the fact that its already mid-November.. Time flies soo fast. 
Next thing we know it would be already 2015.

When I was living in the United States, my family used to make a trip to New York almost every November to see the Thanksgiving parade and do some shopping :D

It was sooo cold that I thought I would freeze my butt off however it is one of the memories from the US that I cherish the most. 

It recently hit me that Christmas is just around the corner with all of the decorations done in Shibuya and all of the Tokyo. How are you guys going to celebrate Christmas?
I'm planning on going back to Shizuoka on the day the school finishes and spend Christmas with my family :D One of the culture shocks that hit me when I came back to Japan was how Japanese people celebrates Christmas. That is due the fact that "Christmas" in the US is a celebrated among families but in the Japan it is all about couples.. Like really what is up with that lol and oh yeah! There is no such thing as a Christmas cake in the US... 
So I'm planning on celebrating Christmas in the US way lol.


Recently (especially last week) i have taken a trip to a dream world where a word called "reality" doesn't exist... I went to Disney Land and Sea twice and to a concert of my favorite idol group in a week..
if anybody knows a great way to tackle with a reality pleasee plaeeaseee tell me...lol 

soooo to the main point..

What do you think of Martha Payne and what she accomplished?

I personally thought it is fascinating that a girl who is much young compared to us came up with an idea to start a blog as a way to make an action to make a change in her and also other school lunches among the whole society.  What she has accomplished through her blog is just remarkable. She just recently celebrated her 10 million access to her blog. That number just indicates how remarkable and fascinating this blog is, especially putting into a perspective that this blog and the charity was founded by a young girl's intention to make a change in her school's cafeteria food. 

What are your memories of your school lunches?

My view towards cafeteria food varies between which country you are referring to, Japan or the United States. A great term that describes my perspective towards Japanese cafeteria food is..... "DISGUSTING"! I don't have much memories towards cafeteria food in Japanese school since I moved to the US when I was in 2nd grade of Elementary school and my high school didn't offer cafeteria food. However, I was forced by my parents to attend the local Japanese school for two weeks when I returned to Japanese for a summer vacation. During those two weeks, what I hated the most was the lunch time. That is because the students were forced by the teachers to eat everything that was served or we weren't allowed to go to recess. To add to that, I just could not tolerate the food that was served. Especially the noodle that is like udon but not udon.. sorry that i forgot the name... But I clearly remember that I couldn't go to recess the half of the times because I couldn't eat all of the foods that was served. 

On the other hand, I have a great and positive image toward cafeteria food in the US. Cafeteria food in the US is completely different compared to the one in Japan. I am not sure that this is a case for all of the schools in the US, but in the school that I attended there were multiple options to choose from. For instance in elementary school we were given two options of cafeteria food or you could bring your own lunch. My favorite dish was Chicken fajita, BBQ chicken and mac n cheese. My favorite memory of cafeteria food in the US is probably in high school where students were given variety of food to choose from. For instance, they were a system similar to a Subway where we could choose what to put into a sandwich or fajita, two or three types of hamburger, salad, pizza, chilly cheese fries, chicken nuggets were served every single day. For the health purposes all of the french fries and nuggets were baked rather than fried. Also cookies, baked potato chips, and diet sodas were also sold. What I loved the most was that everyday during lunch, pizza hut came to our school and sold a piece of pepperoni pizza for a dollar.... 

↑Chicken Fajita

↑Chilly Cheese Fries

Did you feel that you had any input on the nature or quality of your school lunches?

I do not feel that I had any input on the nature or the quality on my school lunches. That is because we the students were not given any opportunity to state our opinions towards the cafeteria foods that were served to us. Even if we had a negative perspective towards the cafeteria food that was being served, we were not given an opportunity to make an action to make a change. We just ate the food that were served to us without telling the cafeteria staff about our feelings towards what the food we were served. Unlike Martha, even if we wanted a change we weren't given an opportunity to do so.

What do you think of the dining facilities at AGU and how do you think they can be improved?

I rarely eat at a cafeteria in AGU because I personally think portions of the food that they served are too much. I barely could eat it all or even if I did I get too stuffed that I get a upset stomach. I would appreciate if AGU cafeteria would put a student like me into a consideration and serve a dish with smaller portions and with less calorie. :D

What creative way(s) do you think we (individually or as AGU students) can help others in the world less fortunate than us...especially in connection to food?

The elementary  and middle school that I attended in the United States held a very unique charity to aid the people/children who were not fortunate enough to be fed, which was by canned foods. Each class competed with each other by bringing canned foods from our house and the class that brought the most canned foods were awarded with an ice cream party. All of the canned foods that were collected where given to the people who were encountering with an economic problems. I think this is one of a creative ways to help people especially in  our local society. 

Analyzing an amazing professional food blog!

HELLOOOOO :D

How's everyone doing??? :) 

I'm doing,,,, okay I guess.. But it could be better 


I can't believe the fact that it is almost end of October. 
Time flies..

I used to loovvveee October when I was a kid.  
you know why??

Because of course, the day that every child loves and longs for,
HALLOWEEN!!!


I used to go trick or treating around my neighborhood with couple of my friends all dressed up until I was like 12 or so..  I remember I was a Cinderella one year and Harry Potter (or I can say a girl version of Harry Potter) on the other year.. 
and got a bag full of candy that lasted for like two months or so.. 
Also we used to have a Halloween party at my Elementary school, where we ate cupcakes and exchanged candies.. 

I miss Halloween :'(



sooooo to the main subject of this post..

My friend,Reika and I were given a blog called "Adventures in Cooking" to make an analysis. 


The blog is written by one lady name Eva. She is a photographer that is currently residing at Oregon living with her husband, Jermey and a cat, Germey. 


She has her own garden where she grows numerous vegetables. She also owns a cow and a calf, where she uses their milk to make a homemade cheese. 


☆Quality:
In my perspective, I thought this blog's quality is very high. Both in terms of recipe and photography. The recipes that she introduces in this blog are not a typical foods that are commonly eaten. For instance one of the recipes that she introduced was "Maple & Hazelnut Encrusted Pork Sirloin Tip Roast". By just looking at the name it can be implied that it is very original and unique. In addition, the pictures that are posted on this blog is just astonishing! Which attracts the reader to the blog and also makes the reader's mouth watered :D


☆Usefulness:
In terms of "usefulness" I think this blog is useful for anyone that loves cooking, especially cuisine that are very original and unique. She posts the recipe to all of the cuisine that she mentions on her blog, that are easy to understand and follow. She also posts a printable version of the recipe. 
Not only this blog is useful for the people who love to cook, but also to people who are interested in photography. That is because she frequently mentions how and which camera she used to take the picture of the food that she posted on her blog.  


☆Visual Attractiveness:
Like how I mentioned earlier, the pictures that she posts on her blog are astonishing. It attracts the reader's eye on the screen and instantly waters their mouth. Not only it has a power to attract the reader's eye but I thought it makes the reader want to look more of her photos. 


☆Accessibility of the language:
I personally thought the language that she uses on her blog are easy to follow. She even posts a picture of the steps of the recipe which makes it easier for the reader to follow. 


☆How interesting is it for you personally?
By considering about her photos and recipes that she introduces on her blog, i personally thought this blog is very interesting. One aspect that I thought was interesting about this blog was the cuisine that she introduces on her blog. All of the cuisine that she introduces are her original recipe and are very unique. 

About my book

Hello,Hola,Nihao, KONICHIWAAAAAA!!!
Mayumi here!!! 

What is up with these typhoons recently!?!
Like really, we had two big hurricanes in such a short period...

But oh well, at least last Monday's class and this Monday's fifth period class got cancelled so that was a good news, right?? But it would had been better if Tuesday's classes got cancelled but ohh well. 


Well for me, I LOVE AUTUMN.. Especially when it comes to limited edition foods :) 
Pumpkin, Maroon, 焼き芋  yummm yummm yummmmmm :D
So I'm currently cherishing my favorite season by eating my favorite flavored foods :D 


So... to the main point about this post..
The book that I have chosen is



"Fast Food Nation:The Dark Side of the All-American Meal"

This book was written by Eric Schlosser in year of 2001.

As how it can be implied from the title, this book examines about "Fast Food" that has become an integral aspect in the current society. 

McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, Mos Burger you name it, whether it's a rural or an urban city, you will find ATLEAST one fast food restaurant. 

Have you ever had a temptation where you wanted a food like french fries or a burger from a fast food restaurant soo badly?. That is probably due to the fact that these restaurant uses an additive which makes their food addictive. By considering this fact, in my perspective the current society consider fast food as one type of comfort food. Where we have an idea that no matter what place we are at on the Earth, the fast food restaurant serve an appetizing(or eatable)  food. 

One of the reasons why I have chosen this book is because when I was in High School I once watched a movie called "Super Size Me". 

This movie is about an experiment that was done to a guy name, Morgan Spurlock. The aim for the experiment was to examine the effects that fast food has on our body. Morgan Spulorck was only allowed to consume food that was served in McDonalds for thirty days. Therefore for thirty days straight, all of his three meals for a day was from McDonalds. I won't mention with a lot of detail, but of course the experiment proved the fact that  fast food has an negative impact on our body. Since then I tried to be cautious about what I consume and tried to avoid fast foods as much as possible 

So back to the book......

I haven't got a chance to read the book far enough to write something interesting or worth noting. So far the book introduced a guy name Carl N. Karcher, who is considered as one of the fast food pioneers. Who sold hot dogs in a cart and later opened a drive in BBQ restaurant in a period after the WW2. 

By reading this book I am hoping to widen my knowledge in fast food...