12 Food Emojis in the Wild to Hunt For in Singapore

food emojis singapore

Boy do I love emojicons. You know, those cute little icons that are all the rave these days – named after emotions + icons. Dare I say I even over-use emojis (sorry not sorry). They add a little pop and personality to any texting conversation or Instagram caption.

Sometimes you don’t even need to use words, you can just string together a line of emojis to get your point across. What a time we are living in…

With my deep love of emojicons, comes pure joy when I find them in the wild when out dining around town. Moreover, I get really excited when I have a meal and discover some obscure Japanese dish that the emoji is modeled after (I’m guilty of misusing some of them in the past). Food emoji hunting has become somewhat of a fun hobby and little challenge for me to discover them all.

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So behold, some of my favorite spots around Singapore for both indulging on food and emoji-ing some of the cutest little icons around.

1. Dango food emoji dango

Karafuru Desserts

Dango hails from Japan and is often eaten as dessert. The cute little green, white and pink dumplings are made of sweet gloutenous mochi (rice flour) and have a very mild taste with a bouncy texture.

You can find super cute tri-colored treat incorporated in the Hanami Parfait at Karafuru Desserts. The dango sits atop a bed of crunchy bits and served with a generous swirl of their homemade yogurt, vanilla pudding and sweet berry sauce – it’s as yummy as it is photogenic.

Karafuru Desserts: 8 Jalan Klapa, Singapore 199320 | Tel: 6291 4430 | Website

2. Matcha Tea Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.13.39 AM

miam miam - matcha

You know that little cup with the green liquid in it? It’s not regular green tea or soup, it’s matcha – a finely ground and specially grown green tea powder. Matcha is becoming very popular around Singapore being used in drinks, desserts and a variety of sweets.

The best matcha drink I’ve had in Singapore is the Matcha Hot Chocolate at Miam Miam. Using only Grade 1 Japanese matcha this drink is smooth, creamy and divine.

Miam Miam: #01-21/22 Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive, Singapore 608532 | Tel: 68370301 | Website

3. Cookies Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.13.10 AM

famous amous

How cute are these little guys? Famous Amous is a classic cookie institution that consistently turns out perfect looking and perfect taking cookies in multiple flavors. I remember eating little bags of these when I was in grade school and they are still just as good.

Famous Amous: 2 Orchard Turn, The Orchard Residences, Singapore 238801 | Tel: 6509 8891 | Website

4. Oden Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.12.08 AM

 Tomo Izakaya - oden

This was a tough one – it’s not every day you run into a steaming clay pot of oden, a Japanese style hotch-potch. It being a winter dish, it’s not overly common here in Singapore.

This dish is often comprised of tofu, radish, fish sausage, egg and octopus (and more) and served in a steaming broth. Personally it’s not my favorite, but I ate it for the love of emojis.

Tomo Izakaya: 3A River Valley Rd, 01-14, Singapore 179020 | Tel: 6336 0100 | Website

5. Narutomaki Fish Cakes Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.13.22 AM

 Tomo Izakaya - fish cake

This is one emoji that I see misused all the time (mainly by my dear friends back in the States *wink*). Confession: I myself was guilty of being clueless as to what it actually was before moving to Asia.

No it’s not a cutesy party decoration, no it’s not a cupcake, no it’s not a sugar cookie, it’s a Japanese narutomaki fisk cake y’all. Cured, pureed, steamed, MSG-filled, loaved, fishy goodness. It sure is cute though. At Tomo Izakaya it came atop my hot Tabuki Udon Noodles for added flavor.

Tomo Izakaya: 3A River Valley Rd, 01-14, Singapore 179020 | Tel: 6336 0100 | Website

6. Lychee Ice Cream Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.12.51 AM

Xi Yan Shaw - ice cream

I love ice cream and I love lychee. Add them together for a cold, refreshing dessert at the end of a spicy meal. While I admit the vanilla ice cream scoop emoji can likely be a variety of white desserts (did I mention I’m not a certificated emojiologist?), this dessert dish is the closest looking I have encountered to its viral counterpart.

This treat was a welcome finish to the traditional Chinese dishes we tried over at Xi Yan Shaw.

Xi Yan Shaw: 1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, #03-12/13, Singapore 228208 | Tel: 6733 3476 | Website

7. Glass of Red Wine Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.13.17 AM

O'Batignolles

If there is one place to go to sample a lot of good wines in a cute and cozy setting, O’Batignolles is the place. Their carefully curated, small batch French wines at affordable price points are a wine lovers paradise.

Instagram an entire row of wine glass emoijs during one of their monthly wine tastings featuring a different region in France. With up to 70 different bottle of wine to choose from at a time, you’ll have a field day with this one.

O’Batignolles: 2 Gemmill Lane, Singapore 069247 | Tel: 6438 3913 | Website

8. Sunflower Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.14.19 AM

Banana Tree - bingsu

I’m such a sucker for cute and photogenic desserts. The Red Bean Bingsu over at Banana Tree is an Instragramers dream. This trendy Korean shaved ice dessert is presented to look like a flower pot, complete with a bright yellow sunflower on top.

The shaved ice at the bottom is pleasantly milky and is topped with malt ice-cream and generous heaps of red beans and sliced almonds – almost too cute to eat.

Banana Tree: 26 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089133 | Tel: 6221 5020 | Website

9. Crab Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.19.34 AM

Forum Seafood

The fresh crab and fish tanks over at Forum Seafood in the heart of Boat Quay is a popular stop along the Singapore River for photographer and diners alike.

We all know that Chili Crab is one of the most notable and treasured dishes here in Singapore so stop in for a yummy meal and classic Instagram pics and crab emoji.

Forum Seafood: 42 Boat Quay, Singapore 049831 | Tel: 6533 0497 | Website

10. Caramel Custard Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.13.04 AM

BoCHINche Creme Caramel

If you like custard, the Creme caramel, Dulce de leche over at BoCHINche is top notch. It’s sweet, satisfying and wobbly making for the perfect dessert and matching emoji.

BoCHINche: 22 Martin Road #02-01, Singapore 239058 | Tel: 6235 4990 | Website

11. Slice of Pizza Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.13.30 AM

Osteria Mozza

I fancy myself soft of an amateur pizza connoisseur – I have tried many, many pizza places around Singapore and we all know finding this emoji is not hard to do, but it’s still fun.

The wood fire pizzas over at Osteria Mozza by Mario Batali are flavorful, thin, crispy and served small prefect for sharing. I heart pizza.

Osteria Mozza: 2 Bayfront Avenue, B1-42-46, Galleria Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore 018956 | Tel: +65 6688 8868 | Website

12. Ice Cream Cone Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 11.12.57 AM

Honey Creme

Have you tried the soft serve at popular HoneyCreme yet? If not, I suggest you do. During my emoji hunt I opted for a standard cone of the Original flavor, but the real deal here is their more involved creations that come in a cup and a variety of toppings.

Sometimes you just need a good vanilla soft serve cone, amiright?

HoneyCreme: 313@somerset, #01-37, 313 Orchard Road, Singapore 238895 | Tel: 6884 8468 | Website

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