MANNISH is a restaurant chain with branches mainly in the Tokyo area specializing in ramen with salt ginger.

As revealed in a recent Tweet by the Awajicho branch (@MANNISH0307), a staff member working there was suddenly stopped by police when he was walking in the street.

He wasn't doing anything wrong, so he was initially puzzled when the police officer came up to him.

However, he quickly understood the cause for their suspicion. He was carrying a plastic bag full of chopped parsley as a garnish for ハヤシライス Hayashi Rice, also known as "hashed beef rice," a staple of Western-influenced cooking in Japan containing beef, onions, and mushrooms in a thick roux usually made with demi-glace sauce, red wine and tomato sauce, and served over rice.

He was checking how well the parsley was thawing, repeatedly squeezing the bag as he was walking.

When he approached him, the police officer asked:

Without knowing the context, it's not difficult to see how someone carefully holding and caring for a plastic bag full of some kind of chopped-up greens might seem suspicious to the police.

However, when the restaurant staff member told the officer that it was parsley and let him sniff inside the bag, the officer completely changed his attitude and said:

Online, many people were amused by this episode, leaving comments such as:

The lesson to be learned here is: If you want to save yourself some time and trouble with the police, (carry your ID at all times) and don't carry around clear plastic bags containing things that could make you look suspicious.