I entered the elegant lady's lunch museum a little before 12 o'clock. It was steamy hot, and I was tired, so I decided to have a meal early. The restaurant was almost full, with mostly groups of women, but I enjoyed my meal alone. I had chilled avocado and pineapple soup, sautéed flounder, and braised black pork with bread and a drink. For dessert, melon was an option, although I did not order it, many others seemed to be enjoying it. It looked delicious.

One of my favorite painters, Gustav Klimt, has an exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum ♡ So, I decided to visit! When I arrived near the museum just before opening on a weekday, I saw a long line that I couldn't see the end of!! Oh no, I underestimated itーー!! ∑(ﾟДﾟ) But then I realized it was the line for Ueno Zoo! The "Shan Shan effect" I guess (lol). However, there were already about 50-60 people inside the art museum. Inside the museum, there are both a regular shop and a special shop, and the special shop has many goods featuring the artworks displayed in the exhibition. Of course, even the regular shop has a lot of Klimt goods during the exhibition period. And here it is! Klimt's golden jelly ♡ 500 yen ♡ Inspired by Klimt's artworks with gold leaf decorations. By the way, there was also wine imported from Italy with gold leaf in it (lol). Now, let's talk about the taste since this is a food review. The jelly, which seems to have a hint of pineapple flavor, wrapped in an edible wafer, is not sour but sweet. With each bite, you can feel a sense of ecstasy similar to the expression in Judith's painting ♡ (Not really) This jelly! Probably, the wafer was deliberately designed to not stick to the bag or fingers, so it was coated with something that resembles powdered sugar rather than actual gold leaf, to give it a glossy finish reminiscent of Klimt's gold leaf. It's easy to eat and seems to have been made with the intention of enhancing the image. That's how I interpreted it ♡ Klimt, who was said to have been a lifelong bachelor with only one woman he trusted, did not explain his artistic vision, art theory, or techniques, nor did he write diaries... So the feelings towards his works are left to the viewer's sensibility. I particularly find his works from the Golden Phase impressive, with their sensual and alluring depictions of women and decorative, flat designs, where the contrast between the rawness of humanity and the beauty of inanimate objects is striking, and I am drawn to it ♡・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ This is the 900th review here (´艸｀*) While the previous milestones included a lot of reminiscing, this time, I decided to write my 900th review during the opening of an exhibition of my favorite painter, in this shop. It may not get a high score as it's not primarily a food review, but I'd give it around 4 stars in terms of how I feel ♡ Looking back, I passed the 100th milestone without noticing, and since then, I've written each review with heartfelt thoughts, and I've always been full of gratitude to those who read and accompany me on this journey ♡ We are in the midst of the rainy season, so please take care of yourselves (*´∇｀*) By the way, from the next review, I will sprinkle in some pickled reviews, so I will close the comments section for a while ♡

In June 2019, due to various circumstances, I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, also known as "Tobikan." The fish market in Shizuoka is called "Aokan Suisan," but the link provided seems to be for Tobikan (as mentioned on the museum's website). They offer night tours led by art communicators, known as "Tobira," where you can explore the museum after dark. I purchased a Klimt gold jelly as a souvenir, and despite its design being the reason for my purchase, it tasted like pineapple-flavored gummy candy. The jelly was wrapped in a hard, chewy casing, and the overall size was satisfying. The packaging design might not be suitable for sharing at work, but it's perfect for individual consumption.

On December 2018, I had dinner in Ueno. From October 27, 2018 to January 20, 2019, I visited the "Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum" in Ueno Park for the exhibition "Munch Exhibition - The Scream of Resonating Souls." Unfortunately, the museum's closing time is early, usually at 5:30 pm, so it's hard to visit after work. However, on Fridays, the closing time is extended until 8:00 pm, so I took advantage of that. Currently, in Ueno Park, there are other exhibitions such as "Vermeer Exhibition" and "Rubens Exhibition - The Birth of Baroque," featuring works by famous artists. Munch's works are familiar from textbooks, but most of his works are housed in the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, so I have probably only seen them at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In that sense, this opportunity was very valuable, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After the exhibition, I went to the usual "Museum Shop." I found something interesting and purchased it that day: 1. "Moocho's Scream - Caramel Moocho" for 880 yen tax included. The naming and packaging, a play on Munch's famous work "The Scream," was funny, so I bought it. It contained 6 small bags, so I could enjoy them over several days. 2. "Moocho's Scream - Sour Moocho" for 880 yen tax included. I also found the packaging funny and bought it. The playful aspect of the products in a serious exhibition was interesting and enjoyable.

On November 7, 2018, after a doctor's appointment at the hospital, I felt a bit down. I thought about heading back to Ikebukuro, but I was intrigued by the "Oyster Fry" at the "Dobasaka Shokudo" restaurant. If I was going to eat, I also wanted to have some "Pork Miso Soup" - feeling like a hungry demon. So, at the "Dobasaka Shokudo" restaurant, I expanded my stomach but shrank my wallet. After leaving the restaurant, I took a bus to Ueno in search of the "Munch Exhibition" at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Despite the dark and mysterious atmosphere, the exhibition was quite impressive. However, I was surprised that there was not a single piece from Munch's "Puberty" series on display. It made me wonder if there was some sort of censorship or consideration involved. In the end, I reflected on the importance of respecting different perspectives and the freedom to choose what we want to see or not see.

"Sweet potato sweet beans for 500 yen (including tax)" This is a shop located inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, known for various stationery items inspired by art pieces. They also sell snacks and sweets as souvenirs. I bought a souvenir for my daughter and wife who love sweet potatoes. This one is "sweet potato sweet beans" as it looks, packed in a square box, giving off a stylish vibe. Checking the back of the box, it was produced in Yamanashi Prefecture. Ueno is a traditional area, so I'm happy if the products are locally made. On this day, I also purchased magnets for holding papers on the fridge, featuring "The Scream" by Munch and "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh. When I showed them to my family at home, the magnets received good feedback, while the sweet potato sweet beans were just okay. Surprisingly, the art pieces were more popular than the sweet treats, which was a bit of a surprise for me."

I visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno over the weekend for the "Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston" exhibition. While there, I decided to buy some sweets from the museum shop in addition to the official catalog. One was a set of red bean paste and cookies from Ginzakuya's new brand "Aiiro" for 1400 yen. The other was a new product, Pecan Nut Chocolate, from the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum's original brand "PALLET" for 540 yen. When I opened the Aiiro package at home, I found a jar of red bean paste and spoon-shaped cookies inside. The cookie was named "Spoon" and the red bean paste was named "Hoshi", and they seemed to be sold separately but combined in this set. The concept is to scoop the red bean paste with the spoon-shaped cookie, but it was a bit difficult due to the small opening of the jar and the lack of a hollow in the spoon. I tried putting the red bean paste on the cookie separately and found that the red bean paste had a great flavor of azuki beans, while the cookie had a hint of cinnamon. Both were delicious on their own, but I couldn't quite understand the purpose of combining them. The Anniversary Pecan Nut Chocolate was coated with chocolate and sprinkled with cocoa powder, creating a delicious blend of nuttiness and cocoa bitterness. I ended up finishing the whole box in no time. I never thought about buying food from museum shops before, but it seems like many other museums and galleries also offer unique food products. Trying them out once in a while might be a good idea. Note: After posting, I confirmed that the Pecan Nut Chocolate was made by Anniversary in Aoyama, which explains why it was so delicious.

This is a shop located inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. The product being reviewed is a snack called "Tengu no Hana Stick Karinto" which is a karinto (deep-fried dough) with chestnut flavor. It was sold as a commemorative item for the El Greco exhibition held at the museum from January 19, 2013, to April 7, 2013. The packaging features a painting by Francisco de Goya, along with El Greco and Velazquez. The snack itself is made with wheat flour, fried in oil, and coated with syrup. It is a popular local treat from Takao Mountain, with this version containing chestnut paste from Koganei. The chestnuts from Koganei were famous as offerings to the shogunate during the Edo period. The reviewer found the snack to have a pleasant crunchy texture, although the chestnut flavor was not very strong.

Calbee collaborated with the world-famous painting "The Scream" by Munch. At the Munch exhibition in Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, there was "Munch's Scream Calbee Hot Chili Flavor" at the exit. There was also a sour version, but I don't like it so I only tried the chili flavor. The Munch exhibition had a long wait of 40 minutes to enter, and it was very crowded inside. The taste of the chips was normal, but the collaboration with this world-renowned painting was really amazing!

I feel like I read an article about Pikachu collaborating with Munch's The Scream for an anniversary, but now even the old lady from Munch's painting has collaborated with Calbee's potato chips. I managed to get my hands on the Calbee and Suppa Munchos with the old lady from Munch's painting on the packaging. The contents are just regular Calbee and Suppa Munchos. The Calbee has that familiar spicy chili flavor that is rich and delicious. It was hard to stop eating once I started. The Suppa Munchos, on the other hand, doesn't have a strong plum flavor and has a light taste, but I didn't really like it that much. The crispy texture of the chips is still great as always.