Love Japanese Foods? Head to Sakura Spring Celebration at Takashimaya (21 Feb – 1 Mar)

“Feast from Japan at Sakura Spring Celebration 2015”

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If you are as much a Japanese follower as I am in terms of food and culture (I have to date watched hundreds of Anime titles ahem), the Sakura Spring Celebration Fair happening at Takashimaya Department Store will be an event you won’t want to miss.

The inspiration of this fair is to bring the culture of O-hanami 花見, the Japanese traditional custom of viewing the transient beauty of flowers with friends and family, especially during the cherry blossoms ‘Sakura’ blooming season- an activity accompanied by various light refreshments and gourmet foods that will make its first appearance in Singapore at the fair.

Sakura Spring Celebration Fair will bring together an assortment of specialties from all over Japan such as Grilled Scallops from Hokkaido, Jako-ten じゃこ天 (Deep fried Kamaboko) from Ehime and Authentic Maccha soft cream from Fukuoka.

I’ve been given the opportunity to have a prelude of what you can expect at this upcoming fair, which I will be attending as well of course. Japanese treats are always a pleasure to taste, and I’ll introduce some of these exclusive foods you can purchase at the fair.

Rosemay 口一ズメイ – Orange Slice Jam ($28 / 280g)

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From the Akita 秋田 prefecture, slices of Japanese navel oranges are boiled in Japanese honey and compactly jared slice by slice. Having watched quite a few sports animes, I always see something similar being consumed as a sports refreshment, but it uses lemon slices instead of oranges.

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You can actually eat each orange slice by itself as a snack, which might be a bit sweet for some, but I find that the orange itself lends some sourness while the left-on peel has that hint of citrus zest and bitterness which neutralizes the overt honey sweetness.

It is probably still most recommended to enjoy this orange slice jam with bread, like a soft croissant for a refreshing sandwich snack.

Each  product  is  made  by  hand   at  the  factory  in  Akita,  from   carefully  selected seasonal fruits, and its no secret how excellent the fruit quality is in Japan.

Oyakiya  Sohonke おやきや 総本家-Monzen Oyaki ($4 / pc)

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The Shinshu/Zenkoj Monzen  Oyaki 門前 おやき  is a baked Japanese dumpling made with fermented rice dough stuffed with seasonal vegetables within, and is a longstanding local  food  eaten  in  Shinshu  (Nagano).

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This Oyaki from Sohonke comes in 4 flavours: nozawana 野沢菜 (a Japanese variety of mustard leaf), spicy nozawana, eggplant and pumpkin.

With a chewy dough and lightly crisp pan seared top, my favorite was the pumpkin filling which was creamy and sweet, complimenting the dough well.

Sanpo Foods – The Sanpo Ramen [$33/685g (Noodles 75gx4)]

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I love ramen and even as a pre-packaged noodle solution, the Japanese take their ramen very seriously.

The noodles of Sanpo Ramen are not just fine; they are extra-fine at just 1mm in diameter. These extra‒fine  noodles  use  100%  wheat  from  Fukuoka 福岡市 Prefecture and  the soup is made from three different types of pork bone extract and three types of lard, blending together to create an authentic tonkotsu 豚骨 pork bone soup famed in the city of Kurume 久留米市, which is widely considered the ‘original Kyushu ramen’.

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Kurume ramen is actually pretty similar to Hakata ramen both utilizing thin noodles, but the tonkotsu soup from Kurume is richer and considerably more rustic in nature without a refined finish.  Amazing umami flavours punch through while the thin texture of the noodles is something I much personally prefer to thicker varieties.

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The ramen is also accompanied by Marutoku  Nori Seaweed 丸徳海苔 – Hiroshima Oyster Flavoured ($3.90/3packs). The rich, oceanic body of Hiroshima oysters are infused in this seaweed for an unrivaled quality of seaweed.

Kobe Cherbourg 神戸シェルブール-Kobe Maron ($8/pc)

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Kobe Cherbourg or  神戸シェルブール roughly translates to ‘Kobe Pastry Craftsmen’, and you can guess what they specialize in.

Using gigantic candied chestnuts (marron マロン in French), the entire sweet chestnut is wrapped within a light paste and a puff pastry, then baked individually one.by.one. The paste filling comes in 5 flavours: Marron, Wine, Maccha, Sakura and Black Sesame. I only got to try 3 flavours though, and I’d definitely recommend the Maccha flavoured Marron which provides layers of flavour that is so distinctively Japanese.

Gelateria MISAO ジェラテリア・ミサオ- Gelato Parfait ($6/150ml)

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Milk workshop Gelataria MISAO (ミルク工房 ジェラテリアMISAO) uses fresh milk and eggs produced on their own natural farm back in Okayama 岡山 Prefecture. The freshness of this milky gelato is evident that no time or effort was spared in the production of these desserts.

I tried a mango and blueberry gelato which was clean, simple without any artificial stabilizers to corrupt the taste of the all-Japanese milk and cream.

Umenoseichaen 梅野製茶園-Yame Tea ($39 or $99 /100g)

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Cultivating tea for more than 80 years, Umenoseichaen carefully picks its tea leaves by hand from the city of Yame 八女市, Fukuoka Prefecture and processes it with laborious, traditional techniques which are then distributed to the world.

The tea is picked in the high mountains of Yame where thick fog is a frequent sight, making it even harder to select the quality leaves.

A mild fragrance with a supple body, there is nary a hint of bitterness in this tea that reflects a calm sweetness Japanese green tea is famous for. There are 2 varieties available: Sencha 煎茶 ($39/100g) or the exquisite Gyokuro 玉露, ‘jade dew’ ($99/100g)

But wait, that’s not all there is to it. Here are some other items you can expect to try at the Sakura Spring Celebration fair.

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Boiled King Crab Leg ($177.70/1.3kg)

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Freshly Grilled Natural Scallops from Sarufutsu ($6.50/pc)

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Fried Kamaboko of small Fish from Uwa Sea ($3.80/pc)

All food products brought in for this Sakura Spring Celebration fair are popular items in Japan and never before exported to Singapore. As I’ve had a small tasting of their wide selection, I can confidently say you won’t be disappointed by the quality.

One item I’d definitely look out for is the Hokkaido seafood – Expect freshly grilled scallops and squids from Hokkaido along with other cooked specialties from regions all over Japan, which will be available for sampling before you purchase. Try it before you buy it!

Spend more than $50 as well and get a chance to win a trip to Tokyo sponsored by global online shopping site, VIA TOKYO (www.viatokyo47.com) and ANA airways . You’ll also want to like their FB page at the site to receive a small gift of original wrapped chocolate.

The Sakura Spring Celebration fair will be held from Sat 21 Feb to Sun 1 Mar 2015 at: Food Hall, B2, Takashimaya Department Store391 Orchard Road, Singapore 238873

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This post is brought to you by VIA TOKYO (by 47Club Inc.)

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