Phineas & Ferb Vitamin Gummy / フィニアスとファーブのビタミングミ

Phineas & Ferb Plus Agent P Shaped Multi-Vitamin Gummy
フィニアスとファーブ、そしてエージェントPの形のマルチビタミングミ

(English follows. / 日本語は以下に続く)

Shopping at a grocery store, we found a cute and adorable jar of Agent P from "Phineas & Ferb" on Disney channel.
No reason to leave the shop without this jar, so we bought one.

And it as really easy to spot this face since I love Perry and Agent P, but personally I like the face of Perry.
Yet if the jar has this Perry face, the product wouldn't seem to be that efficient or reliable.
*This is Perry, when he's a pet.

According to the label, this gummy has fun shapes. 
And also 3 fantastic flavors; grape, orange and cherry.

On the package, it says,

These Gummies provide 11 vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin A for eye health, B Vitamins for energy metabolism and Vitamins C & D for immune function.

I guess it's not only a cute jar of Disney characters' gummies, but also it actually works.

Of course, the lid has "Disney" bold and the logo is surrounded by the direction how to close and open.

So many colorful gummies!!

Individual gummy.
I realized that the flavors and the shapes are always the same pattern.
Clockwise from the orange on the left top.
Phineas: orange
Ferb: grape
Agent P: cherry

To make it easy, this is what they look in the show.
On the top, it's Agent P, and a boy bottom left is Phineas and on the right, it's Ferb.

It was sour and sweet, and fun to choose the gummies.
To have such a cute supplement was always fun and we've been taking 2 pieces every morning, following the directions that suggest taking 2 gummies daily for those who are older than 4 years and adult.
*Minimum age who can take this gummy is 2 years old and 1 gummy a day.

<Nutrition> --- 2 gummies
Calories: 15 kcal
Carbohydrate: 4g
Sugars:　2g
Vitamin A: 1,500 IU (30%)
Vitamin C: 15mg (25%)
Vitamin D: 400IU (100%)
Vitamin E: 15 IU (50%)
Vitamin B-6: 0.5mg (25%)
Vitamin B-12: 3mcg (50%)
*% in the parenthesis is a daily value.

◎No artificial colors or flavors.



買い物中にかわいいマルチビタミンのグミを見つけた。
ディズニーチャンネルで放送されている
「フィニアスとファーブ」に出てくるエージェントPのパッケージ。
最近のお気に入りアニメ＆キャラクターなので、
買わずにお店を出るわけがなく、迷わず購入。
（ペットとして生活している「ペリー」の顔だったらいいなぁ、と思いつつ
ペリーの顔だと本当に効果があるか疑わしく見える気もする。。。）

パッケージによると、フィニアスとファーブのかわいい形をしていて、
3種類の味（ぶどう、オレンジ、チェリー）が入っているらしい。

キャップには「しっかり閉める」「キャップを押しながら回して開ける」と
説明があり、中心には大きなフォントのディズニーロゴ。

開けてみると、カラフルなグミが沢山。
何個か食べてみて気が付いたのは、
味と形が固定であること。
フィニアス：オレンジ
ファーブ：ぶどう
エージェントP：チェリー

どれも甘酸っぱくてとても美味しく食べられる。

4歳以上または大人は1日あたり2個摂取と記載があるので、
毎朝2個食べるのが習慣になりつつある。
*2歳以上4歳未満は1日1個。

また、このグミで
目の健康に作用するビタミンA、
エネルギー代謝に働くビタミンB群、
免疫疫機能を高めるビタミンCとDを含む
11種類のビタミンとミネラルを補給することができる、
とパッケージに記載があるので、
かわいいだけでなく、サプリとしてしっかり働いてくれそう。

◎人口着色料、人口香料不使用

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Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop in Gotham West Market / ゴッサム ウエスト マーケットにあるアイバンラーメン

American-Jewish Owned "Ivan Ramen" Opened Its First US Branch In Gotham West Market
アメリカ生まれのユダヤ人が経営する「アイバンラーメン」が、ゴッサム ウエスト マーケットに最初の米国支店を開店

(Japanese follows. / 日本語は以下に続く。)

One day, when we're watching a TV show called "The Mind of A Chef," David Chang visited a ramen shop in Tokyo called "Ivan Ramen" which is owned by an American-Jewish man.
While we're living in Tokyo, we intended to go and try, but unfortunately we couldn't get a chance to visit.
When we moved to NYC, my husband found out that he's just opened its first branch in Gotham West Market, a food court-ish complex opened in November 2013.

Today, we decided to try the ramen for the first time in the states, not in Tokyo, which may sounds silly but it's the closest for us now.

We got there around 7PM on December 30th, it had a long line to order.
But while we're waiting for my husband's friends coming, luckily the line got shorter for a bit.

To place an order, you have to come to the cashier counter where has a sign on the wall.
まず最初に、この目印があるところで注文。

This is the menu.

When your turn comes, you have to say your name so that they can call you when the food is ready.
注文をする前に名前を聞かれるので、英語圏の人にも分かりやすい名前を伝えると楽かも。

I ordered Classic Shio as I like shio ramen (sea salt soup ramen) the best.
My husband ordered Classic Shoyu without pork chashu (char siu), then the cashier 

I was glad to see they have roasted barley tea, but wish it was gratis like ramen shops in Japan.
*In Japan, water or sometimes tea on the table is free and it's in a big jar to pour into the glasses by ourselves.

A board of "Happy holidays!" and "Make sure to... eat it while it's hot!"

The kitchen.

After about 10 minutes, we got our bowls.

Sweet + Spicy Eggplant (an egg added for 2 dollars)
It was slightly spicy but also sweet.
The noodle tasted different from Classic Shio as the soup is so different, but I'm sure they use the same noodle.
The soup had diced eggplant and dried tomato.
Maybe the egg reduced the spiciness?

Classic Shio

The soup was transparent yet I could see fine powder on the inner bowl.
It had a light but deep fish flavor and sweetness from chicken, but it wasn't greasy so that it's hard to imagine it uses pork fat in it.
This soup was so good that I wanted to put Japanese rice into the bowl to make the rice absorb all the soup to eat/drink.

Rye noodle
You can see that it's not egg noodle (which is much yellower) and there're dots in the noodle.
This had far different ramen noodle that I've had and it was close to soba but slightly harder to chew off.

Pork Chashu (pork char siu)
Taking out from the soup made the char siu broke and I realized how soft it was.
It didn't have much flavor as if it's soaked into a broth or soup for a long time, and it was too fatty for me so that I had to separate the fat from the meat.
But some may like the simple taste, fatty pork, besides softness.

To make this experience better, my husband spotted Chef Ivan sitting and chatting at another table in Gotham City Market near us and I could talk to him!
And took a photo!!

アイバンラーメン (Ivan Ramen)は
アメリカ生まれのユダヤ人が経営するラーメン店で、
"The Mind of A Chef" という番組で見てから気になっていたものの、
NYに引越す前に訪ねる機会がなかった。

でも、幸運なことにNYのミッドウェストに11月にできた
ゴッサム ウエスト マーケット(Gotham West Market)に
最初のアメリカ支店を開店させたと聞き、
NYで日本のラーメンを食べることができた。

19時頃着いた時は混んでいたけれど、
少し待ってる間に混雑は治まり、
"Order Ramen Here" と表示がある注文カウンターへ。

注文する前に名前を聞かれるので、
英語圏の人にも分かりやすい名前かイニシャルで注文するのが良いかも。
ラーメンが出来上がったら名前を呼ばれるシステムなので、
席の確保もお忘れなく。

旦那はチャーシュー抜きで注文したところ、
レジの人が「スープに豚が入っている」と教えてくれたので、
ベジタリアン向けの「スイート + スパイシー エッグプラント」に変更。
私は「クラシック シオ」を注文。

麺はライ麦で作られているため、
普通の麺よりも香ばしく、蕎麦にも似たような香り。

スイート + スパイシー エッグプラント
刻まれた茄子とドライトマトが入っていて、
ラーメンの上には唐辛子の粉がかけられていた。
見た目ほど辛くはなく、ベジタリアンメニューでも
濃い目の味つけで満足。

クラシック シオ
魚介と鶏の味がする透明なスープ。
豚が入ってるとは思えないほどあっさり。
シンプルかつ深みのあるスープで
白米を入れてザザザーッとかき込みたいほど好みの味。

チャーシューは柔らかく、簡単に噛み切れた。
ただ、長時間漬け込まれたような味や香りは感じられず。
私は脂身が苦手なので、3分の1ほどを占めていた脂を削いで食べた。

クラシック シオは一杯13ドルで、
日本の飲食店ではセルフサービスで無料の麦茶が3ドル。
やはり「輸入された料理」は高いのが全世界共通らしい。


Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop / アイバンラーメン スラープショップ
Gotham West Market
600  11th Avenue
44th & 45th Street, New York, NY 10036

Open: 11:30AM ~ 10:00PM

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Benihana in NYC / ニューヨークのBenihana

Benihana, A Teppanyaki Restaurant In Manhattan Was So Different From Authentic Japanese Teppanyaki

ニューヨークにある鉄板焼き「Benihana」は、日本の鉄板焼きとはかなり違った

(Japanese follows. / 日本語は以下に続く)

We saw Leonard DiCaprio's new movie called Wolf of Wall Street yesterday and the movie made my husband want to go to Benihana, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant.

He made a reservation for lunch today and we tried the teppanyaki.

About Benihana;

Benihana, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant founded back in 1964 by Rocky Aoki when he's 25 years old in Manhattan.

However, the original Benihana started as a sweet shop in Nihonbashi, Tokyo in 1937.

After WWII, they opened a restaurant Benihana and it was a big success so they started running a Benihana chain.

My husband loves one of the teppanyaki places  in Tokyo where he always says he wants to go back.

We didn't expect from the first Benihana would be the same as it's not run by or served by Japanese employees.

But more than I thought, it's a totally different "style" of teppanyaki here in Manhattan.

He booked a table for us at 1PM and the restaurant happened to be the original one in the states which is on West 56th.

We're a couple of minutes late when we got there but they didn't seem to care about it.

When my husband said reservation name, a waitress said, "What name again?" and I thought it's a bit rude of her to say that.

And she asked again how many of us is coming, which she could have known via reservation format.

It's not that busy at the first floor where is NOT a teppanyaki place, it's like a diner so that when you place an order, they'll bring you the plates.

We're told to wait at the sofa for a bit, yet as the reservation was made yesterday and the place didn't look that busy at all, we had no idea what we're waiting for.

The stairs on the left will take you to the teppanyaki floor.

The stairs.

Rocky Aoki

We're seated at a table for 8 people.

I thought they'd serve us plates whenever we're ready, but I was wrong.

They never started cooking till the table would be filled with 8 persons.

This also means, unless you book a table for a group of 8 or get a private room, you'll be seating with strangers.

All the employees were Chinese, Korean, Thai, Mexican, Mexican, and Indian so there's no single Japanese person working there (as far as I saw).

We ordered our lunch at 1:10PM but as I mentioned, the "show" wouldn't start till every single person at the teppanyaki table (a table holds a big and flat griddle in the center) sets own order, so we didn't get anything for a while except water.

It's so American that they leave a paper cover on the top of the straw.

口を付ける部分にストローに袋がかけてあるのがアメリカらしい。

I ordered Spicy Hibachi Chicken and my husband ordered Fillet Mignon and each of us ordered diet soda, however, the Chinese waitress didn't give me diet and provided me regular. 

I didn't know about the upgrade about the fried rice, but my husband somehow knew that it can be added chicken for 1 dollar more, so when a different waiter came to serve us water, my husband asked him about the upgrading the rice.

<Timeline>

1:10PM --- We ordered our food.

1:35PM --- Salad was served.

1:45PM --- The chef came and started cooking.

This is the salad.

When a waitress served salad, which was more like sliding to each of us from the other side, the bottom of the bowl had dressing and it ruined my napkin but she didn't give me new napkin. (Why!?)

When the salad was served to everyone at the table, a girl who was sitting across from me had trouble using chopsticks even though her mom was trying to teach her.

And I so wished that the bag of the chopsticks had instruction how to hold and use chopsticks with images on.

The chef started introducing himself and said "arigato (thank you in Japanese)" many times, however, whatever he said in English was hard to understand as he's got a very strong accent that I couldn't figure of which area or country he's from.

First, he stared with vegetables.

This is called "Volcano" and you can see steam coming out from center of the onion.

To my surprise, the chef served rice first, which is totally opposite what I'm used to.

And the rice was poured into a rice bowl and he slapped the surface so that the rice was all squeezed and tight.

日本と真逆の順番。まさかのライスが先。

そして、ふんわりと盛り付けるのではなく、ペタペタ押し付けてお椀に入れていたため、表面が平らで固い。

Sauteed zucchini and onion.

When he was preparing rice and vegetables, he kept saying, "It's Japanese Pepsi" while using soy sauce.

However, it's not funny to me at all as he used the line so many times in a short time.

This is a pile of mushrooms served sort of over the sauteed veggies with oil.

This is my Spicy Hibachi Chicken.

The chef asked me how spicy I'd like it, so I replied, "Very spicy, please" and he poured a lot of hot sauce, but as I like spicy food, it didn't burn my tongue but it had a good spiciness and flavor.

The chef put the chicken over the veggies and mushrooms, so again, they didn't seem care how it looks on the plate or they didn't even intend to create an art on the plate with foods.

To summarize,  a strange accent chef cooking in front of you and serving the foods on your plate without a sense of art.

What good about going to restaurants in the states, whenever I see the menu with chicken, 99% of the time, it's white meat unless it says "thigh meat."

In Japan, it only says chicken and doesn't say the part of the meat.

And more, if you ask the waiter/waitress what part of the meat, they don't even know the difference between dark meat and white meat.

While everyone was enjoying the meal, the chef started cleaning the iron plate.

I understand that the grease and dirt need to be cleaned off when it's hot, but I felt a little bit awkward as all the steams and bubbles were spreading out from the griddle as there's no plastic wall around the hotplate.

Fork had "Benihana" logo on the back.

Japanese teppanyaki;

If you order a course in Japan, rice always comes after the main and usually it comes with miso soup.

And the rice in a rice bowl is softly served.

The chefs decorate the plate when they serve as if they're making an art on the individual plate for the customers.

Benihana teppanyaki;

Rice came first and the rice is squeezed in to a rice bowl and served flat surface.

The chef threw the foods on the plate without thinking the balance or the beauty of the foods on a plate.

Like the problem we had, I highly recommend:

(1) You repeat the type of drink (diet or regular).

(2) You reconfirm the order you made with another waiter/waitress again as the one you ordered first may not offer you a special menu or upgrade for the rice.

昨日、「ウルフ・オブ・ウォールストリート」（日本では2014年1月31日公開）を観て、

1シーンにベニハナが出てきたためか、

夫が「ベニハナに行きたい」と言い、今日のランチを予約しお店へ。

アメリカで初の店舗となる、マンハッタン West 56st へ。

予約時間より少し遅れてしまったものの、店員はまったく気にしてない様子。

1階（レストランで鉄板焼きではない）は混んでいないが、

しばらく1階のソファで待たされた（理由が謎）。

2階へ通され、8人掛けの鉄板焼きテーブルへ座った。

席が埋まるまで料理は提供されないので、

(1) 8人で行ってテーブルを独占する、もしくは

(2) 個室を予約する

でない限り、相席は必至。

8人全員の注文が済んでからでないと調理が始まらない。

と言うか、シェフすら来ない。

そのため、すごくお腹が空いた状態で行くと正直しんどい。

注文を受けるウェイター、ウェイトレスによって

丁寧度、お勧めメニューの説明、正確性がバラバラのため、

一度注文した後に繰り返し確認するか、

別の店員に「注文の再確認をしたい」と伝えるのがお勧め。

私たちはライスのアップグレードについて知らされなかったり、

ダイエットソーダを頼んだけれどレギュラーが出されたり。

サラダが出されたのは注文後20分ほどしてから。

ただ、提供の仕方はテーブルの反対側から滑り投げるという感じ。

サラダボウルの下についていたドレッシングでナプキンが汚れても、

新たしい物を持ってこない。

注文してから30分後にシェフ登場。

自己紹介もそこそこに調理を始めるが、

アクセントが強すぎて何を言っているのか理解しがたい。

日本でコースを頼むと最後にご飯が出されるが、

なんとこちらでは最初。

しかもふんわり盛り付けずに、お椀に押し付けて出す。

お皿の盛り付けも、料理を盛る・お皿を飾るという概念はないのか、

単に投げ入れていくといった印象。

味は繊細ではなく、ダイナミック？

美味しいのだけれど、日本人には味付けが少々濃いかな。

お箸とフォークが出されたけれど、

中にはお箸の持ち方が分からなくて困惑していた子供がいたので、

箸袋に「箸の持ち方」が図付きで説明されていると良いかと思った。

鉄板が熱いうちに掃除をする必要があるのは分かるが、

全員がまだ食事をしている時にシェフが鉄板を掃除し始めたので

プラスチックのカバー等がないため湯気や泡が気になった。

ただ、鉄板でシェフのちょっとしたトリックがあったり、
話し好きだったりと、エンターテイメントとして楽しめばいいのかも。

と言うことで、日本の鉄板焼き・接客とは色々と違うBenihanaだった。

Benihana / 紅花

47 West 56th street New York, NY 10019

*Reservation recommended.
*予約がお勧め

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Pringles Cinnamon & Sugar / プリングルス シナモン＆シュガー

Pringles Seasonal Flavor "Cinnamon & Sugar"
プリングルスの期間限定フレーバー「シナモン＆シュガー」

(Japanese follows / 日本語は以下に続く)

The other day, we're at Target and found a lack filled with weird snacks for clearance sale.
One of them was "Cinnamon & Sugar" from Pringles and we're talking how disgusting it sounded.
Then, an employee who was sorting goods in another aisle said that it wasn't that bad as it sounded and he made a cream cheese frosting dip for the chips and they went great.
We decided to try one; not only because it sounds weird but also the employee kind of suggested.
It was 1.52 dollars but as it's on sale, it was 1.28 dollars.

This is the package.
There's a cup holding cinnamon sticks on the package.
I was already scared what it'd be like when we bought it.

According to some articles, this holiday seasonal flavor has been available from early in November for a limited time. 
As we're not in the states yet at that time, it's my first time to even know about this product.

On the lid, it says, "Bursting with flavor" and when I opened it, I could smell sweet cinnamon flavor.

Not only the scent, I could see brown powder on the side of the chips.

A single chip. 
You can see the dots with some crystal powder on it.

The other side, there're more powders and looked more brown on the edge.

When I tried a piece, I couldn't tell if it's good or bad.
And a second piece didn't give me any clear answer either.
To summarize the flavor, it's cinnamon & sugar indeed, and somehow it tasted similar to pumpkin pie but instead it's not pumpkin but it's potatoes.

It was not something I'd think a tasty snack, but on the other hand, I kind of "understand" the concept and idea, which I mean that not everything would be flavorful or pleasant to me but some would like it.

<Nutrition> --- per 1 ounce (15 chips)
Calories: 150kcal
Fat: 9g
Sodium: 95mg
Carbohydrate: 16g
Protein: 1g

ターゲットで買い物中にプリングルスの期間限定フレーバー

「シナモン＆シュガー」を発見。

「気持ち悪い、まずそう」と夫と話していたら、

隣の陳列棚を整理していた従業員が

「そんなに悪くはなかったよ。

手作りのクリームチーズのフロスティングをディップにしたら

美味しかった。」と話しかけてきたことと、

クリアランスセールで1.28ドルになってたので、

試しに購入してみた。

食べる前からドキドキしたが、

開けてみるとシナモンの甘～い香りがした。

ポテトチップス x シナモンシュガーは、

今まで食べたことがあるようで、

食べたことがないような味。

上手く表せないけれど、パンプキンパイっぽい味。

ただし、カボチャではなくジャガイモで作ったパイ。

そのため、カボチャ特有の甘さではなく、

シナモンシュガーが前面に出てきて、

そこにジャガイモ（ポテトチップス）の味が付いてくる印象。

美味しくはないが、不味くもない。

ただ、「ホリデーシーズン」のフレーバーという

商品構想は理解できる一品。

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Sarabeth's on Park Ave. South / サラベス パークアベニューサウス店舗

Tried A Different Branch Of Sarabeth's Located On Park Avenue South, NYC

昨年とは違うサラベスの店舗で、今回はフレンチトーストを食べてみた

Last time we're in NYC together with my husband, we tried Sarabeth's at Central Park South back in January, 2013.

We happened to remember that I wanted to try the Fat and Fluffy French Toast last night so that we decided to book a table for today.

Unfortunately the same branch was full till January 2nd, so we searched different branches and could get a table for two for today, December 28, 2013.

The one we booked for today at 12:30PM was the one on Park Ave. South, where the interiors looked very different the one we went to before.

So we knew what it'd look like inside beforehand via internet, we didn't get surprised when we got there.

It's near the 26th Street station on the subway line 6.

The outside of the restaurant was different like it's a bank building (just my personal opinion).

See? Like a bank.

And I realized the color of the textile for the windows and signboard were different.

The one on Central Park South is using dark green, and here, they use blue.

We got there earlier than 12:30PM as we booked, but they lead us to a table by the window.

The interior was far from the one we went to, and this place was more like bar.

No wonder this branch offers "Happy Hour" every day between 4:00 ~ 7:00PM.

Not in the photo, but on the corners, there're flat TVs showing sports and news and the tables in this area was high.

The other section was more like regular family restaurant as there're bigger tables and regular height chairs.

Napkin and cutlery looked the same.

When we sat at the bar table, as it's a tiny circle table I call it this way here, a waitress in white shirt and black pants with black tie provided two menus and a slip of today's special including alcoholic beverages.

The waiters and waitress here were wearing the same attire like bartenders.

And there're some men who were in black suits but with colorful ties. Maybe managers???

I knew what I'd get (Fat and Fluffy French Toast) and my husband got Buttermilk Pancake that I got last time.

After setting our order, we waited for approximately 15 minutes.

Tataaaaaaan, my French Toast.

The way they cut the strawberry was different.

Here, they just cut into half instead of quarter like Central Park South did.

And the French Toast is fluffy indeed.

Butter and organic maple syrup in separate cups.

Like always, I used all the butter and maple syrup they gave me.

The bread was similar to baguette but I could be wrong as the crust was shiny and soft.

The thick slices of bread which were holding eggwash were soft and moist.

However, there're some white spot where the eggwash want't absorbed so it had different texture. --- Not sure if it's supposed to be leaving some white spot in the bread or not though.

This is my husband's Buttermilk Pancake.

The numbers of the pancakes were the same, 5 pancakes and the strawberries were cut into half like my French Toast.

The pancakes looked a little bit too brown for me.

And when I had a bite, I could taste some burnt flavor and also it had a weird crispy texture which the other branch didn't have.

My husband couldn't finish all the pancakes so I finished one and half pancake besides my French Toast (without problem).

And the pancakes I destroyed weren't cooked and had nice saltiness from buttermilk.

Inside was soft and slightly gooey in a good way.

We thought the quality of the plates were decent but I thought the table needed to be bigger than the bar tables, or at least it could have been a square-shaped.

Two glasses of water, salt and pepper, two giant plates of French Toast and Pancake, a tea pot, and a cup and saucer.

It's obviously packed on the table and I worried if the plate would lose the balance and fall while eating.

The receipt = the horror.

It's not reasonable to go back there every day like the pancake of McD.

French Toast and Buttermilk Pancake are 17 dollars each here.

*Buttermilk Pancake was 15.50 dollars before at Central Park South but as it's Saturday today, the prices/breakfast time period is different from weekdays and it's 17 dollars at Park Ave. South while Central Park South charges you 18 dollars. So the prices differ from branch to branch and between weekdays and weekends.

And "Harney & Sons" is the name of tea brand my husband ordered and the tea leaves were English breakfast.

Interesting fact; they put 3 popular gratuity portions on the receipt for the "convenience."

Sarabeth's on Park Ave. South

381 Park Avenue South
(between 26th St & 27th St) 
New York, NY 10016

*Pancake is available for breakfast and brunch period only, and the price differs between weekdays and weekends.

*Reservation recommended. 

*If you're ordering more than 2 plates, you might wanna ask them to give you a big table.

*予約をお勧めします。

*2皿以上注文するなら、予め大きなテーブル席をお願いする方が良いかと思います。

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