Ichiran in Brooklyn

Ichidna's opening; might be a big news somehow among ramen lovers and some Japanese residents.

Dropped by the restaurant, finally.

The restaurant was newly opened, it would be acceptable that work flows in the restaurant were not efficient.
They seemed like to stick to the way to serve in the original restaurant in Japan.
However, it's ok I'm not critical to the service.
The staffs were nice, making efforts a lot.

The system is a little unique.
Once you take a seat, you're provided a piece of paper.
On the paper, there are several options to make your ramen, like firmness of the noodle, richness of the soup and toppings like scallion or mushroom.

*The mushroom is called "KIKURAGE". I really love its texture.
It is must-topped ingredient for Tonkotsu ramen.
It is a variety of mushroom, but looks like Jelly fish. And texture is also similar to Jelly fish.

I made it with firm noodle, normal richness and toppings of stallion and mushroom.
The ramen was good, though I don't remember what it was like in Tokyo.

No tip is required.
The price is higher than other ramens, but with no tip, total price is same as others.

Jado Sushi in Harlem

I haven't talk about sushi.
I really like sushi in New York, that's real one.
I suppose I have a good sense when it comes to sushi or sashimi, as I was born and raised in seaside town in Japan.

Jado Sushi in Harlem : Frederick Douglass Blvd & between 114t 115st

I ordered omakase though I forgot the precise menu.
In the menu, there were some american-style dishes, I prefer normal NIGIRI Sushi.

The sushi was beautifully located in round plate.
I sensed the fish are really fresh and good ones.
I was right.

What I liked the best was Mackerel and Aji.
Both are very popular fish in Japan, fish like blue fish.
Some people don't like those blue fish saying it has strong flavor.
However, my the-most-favorite fish is those kind.
If the fish is really fresh, it doesn't have strong flavor.

I have a strong belief, that if the blue fish sushi is good, the chef is capable.
They are certainly worth a try.

They're shining!!

Mackerel or Saba(Japanese name)

Macha place: Greecologies in NOLITA

I've left from this blog for so long time.
It's time to resume.
I forgot to write about Greecologies in NOLITA.

Greecologies; a nice cafe on Broome St in NOLITA.

I really like this place as they have a nice back garden, good coffee, Greek yogurt, and MATCHA ESPRESSO along with relatively large and clean space.

Greek yogurt
When I first came to this cafe, I tried Greek yogurt, which seemed to be their featured menu.
It was served in nice terra-cotta dish which made it fancier.
You can add jam, honey, and berries.
I added cherry jam and rose petal jam.  The rose petal jam really matched the rich yogurt.
I've never known this kind of Greek yogurt when I was in Japan.
I got into it, actually.

Matcha espresso
On my first visit, I wasn't aware of the menu, or it hadn't come yet.
A nice sunny day, I came across this green liquid.
On a menu board, there were multiple matcha drink menus.
I ordered the matcha espresso with a little skepticism.
I mean, not only products in the U.S., but also in Japan, there are so many "not-matcha" products being just green colored. I need real matcha with real flavor of green reaves.
As the staff handed me a cup of the espresso, I felt "it might be a real one" , and I was right.

The not-large cup held a green liquid with a little foam.
It was not sweet with slight bitterness. Great!
The foam's creaminess is important, as it is for draft beer.
It reminded me my grandma who makes matcha for me anytime I visit her.
If they have Japanese sweets, it would be perfect.
For now, it's No.1 favorite matcha served by a cafe in NYC.

Japanese sweets & Matcha : Minato Kiccho-an in Midtown, Manhattan

Minato Kiccho-an on Madison Ave.

I enjoyed a cup of Matcha for the first time since I left Japan.

I stopped by a Japanese sweet shop on the Madison Ave. in Midtown.

I was thinking about getting some Japanese desserts.

As long as I knew, this is the only high-end authentic Japanese sweets shop in Manhattan, New York.

When I entered the shop, the shop staff wearing kimono spoke to me to enjoy complementary mathca.

As she said, there was a table and chairs for tea ceremony, and pots and bowls on the table.

Two women clad in beautiful kimono was serving matcha to guests.

Why not? Of course, I sat down to wait for the tea.

After sitting down, the women offered me a Japanese sweet on a piece of paper.

Tea ceremony 

I have no experience to study the tea ceremony, but I know some tips with tea ceremony.

As far as I know, the paper is used as dish even for the authentic tea ceremony. 

(It's ecological rather than using plastic dish, right?)

At first, you’re offered a piece of sweet, then you may finish the sweet. 

After finishing the sweet, a bowl of matcha is going to be served.

That is the order to enjoy tea. 

(It's said that you eat all of sweet at first in order to enjoy fully the relatively bitter tea.) 

At the shop, there were some guests who were not Japanese guys next to me.

Of course, they looked like they didn’t know such a custom. The shop staff explained that to them as she found them waiting for matcha without eating the sweet.

I enjoyed the first time good matcha for a long time.

The sweet was small ball made with Mochi(Rice cake) and Pearch filling. Its peach flavor was so flesh that it made sense that its relatively expensive price was reasonable.

This is another sweets I bought at the shop. My favorite. 

kusamochi

daifuku

The Louis Vuitton America's Cup in NYC, 2016 : 2nd day

It turned a beautiful day with good winds on Sunday, May 8^th.

I hadn’t thought I would go to the race on both days until the Saturday.

I had thought that it’s enough to just see the real America’s cup boats.

But, it was not enough.

My excitement got bigger and bigger, I found myself go to bed earlier on the Saturday night to prepare the race on the Sunday.

When I got to the place, there were already amount of people.

The rim of the harbor was already taken.

I needed to find a good place, but before that I should have gone to the restroom.

So I headed to the restroom walking behind the stage at which a show looked to be going on.

When I approached the backstage, I stopped walking.

I recognized some helmet-and-lifejacket styled guys behind the stage.

I could not help excited. Yes, they were the America’s cup top-racing crews!!

I saw team NZ, UK, SWE, and JPN guys.

They were waiting for their turns to show up on the stage.

I was so lucky to see them in such close distance.

Soon after I saw the top athletes, I went around the front of the stage.

Then, I caught a sight of the “cup”!!

Yes, that is “America’s cup”!!

The silver cup was shining brightly for its century old age.

Luckily, I found a small space on the edge of the boardwalk.

Though the place was a little bit backward than my place yesterday, still I have my own view in the front row.

The wind was stronger than yesterday, all flags from the official competition flag to national flags were flapping.

I felt north wind, which was different from yesterday’s south-southwest wind.

Today, the race began at the northwest side on time.

They were coming down with spinnakers.

In this distance, I had no idea how fast they were sailing.

3 races finished.

The team New Zealand got the 1^st place on the today’s race in New York City.

It was a pity that I had to leave the place without watching the prizegiving ceremony.

The team Japan finished at 4^th place, and the oracle USA was 2^nd place.

All teams gave me a lot of excitement, and impressed me.

Next race will take place in Chicago in June 2016.

The Louis Vuitton America's Cup in NYC, 2016 : 1st day

The racing was supposed to begin at 2 pm.

I could see the tiny shapes of 6 teams’ racing boats on the opposite NJ side.

Around at 1:30, finally they came out to this side from NJ side.

They were approaching towards us under tow.

Finally, the super yachts appeared in the front of me.

Mesmerizing!!

They were foiling even under tow, looked like flying.

Of course, Oracle team USA was welcomed with the biggest cheer.

My excitement was getting bigger and bigger.

The big clock set on the coast of NJ turned 2 pm.

The racing yachts moving around, some staff boats changed the locations of buoys.

Sometimes we had a perfect silence in the ready for the start.

Noise of hovering helicopters seemed to be the only sound despite of those huge spectators.

But.

Nothing has happened.

Before I became completely bored with just standing in cold and cloudy weather, we got a good news.

The race looked to be held somehow.

According to the announce, the wind wasn’t adequate to have race, but they were holding a substitute race.

Anyway, I was excited and relieved not to waste my Saturday.

And finally, the starting horn was blown. It was 3:45 pm.

Honestly, I didn’t get what was going on on the water exactly.

I could see the boats, but because of the nature of sailing, it was difficult for me to see who was in good or bad situation unless they are far ahead or behind.

However, I got a super excitement on the Saturday.

The goal buoys had set right there in front of me.

Besides, the goal line was set with some diagonal angle against the coastline, which meant all boats were rushing towards us.

It was so dynamic.

What is more, Softbank team Japan got 1^st place.

When the team Japan crossed the goal line, I was really pleased with the win  but also cheers from spectators who were supposed to be American people.

Second place was Altemis team Sweden, 3^rd place was Emirates team New Zealand, and 4^th place was Oracle team USA.

They gave us great excitement and joy!!

It was worth standing at the cold harbor for almost 4 hours.

The Louis Vuitton America's Cup : J-class exhibition

This was what I’ve looked forward for several months.

The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup in New York.

I’m very lucky to get to watch the race during my stay in New York.

The event took place on May 7^th and 8^th.

The place was the Brookfield Place in financial district, Manhattan.

On the first day on Saturday, May 7^th, I was already there at 10 am, since I checked the website which said that a show would start at 10 am.

As I got up a little bit late, I was in a hurry.

When I arrived at the place, the atmosphere was strange somehow.

There were not so many people, shops were still closed and I felt no wind.

I checked the website with my phone, and figured out 2 hours delay.

I know sailing depends on winds, nature.

After I walked around the place, found nice restaurants, I put myself on the edge of the harbor that has a good view around at 12 pm.

At noon, a show finally started.

It was an exhibition cruise of J-class sailing boats.

Two huge sailing boats docked out, and turned gracefully in front of the harbor.

As far as I learned, J-class boat used to be racing yacht in the past, which was maneuvered by more than 30 people.

It looked so massive compared with the tall buildings standing on the coastline.

The line of sail that was holding wind was so beautiful.