Exploring The Convenience Stores and Bakeries In Tokyo, Japan

Whenever we travel to a country, we love to visit their convenience stores to see what special food/beverages or stuffs they offered in it. And since Korean, Japan and Taiwan all have convenience stores like Seven Eleven (7-11), Lawson and Family Mart it makes us thrilled whenever we visit these stores because we could often find similar stuffs that we tried and miss having it.

I am not sure about your habits, but for us we always like to stock up some bites and beverages from these convenience stores for our bus journey as well as supper in the hotel room. And as you view through this post, you could find all kinds of food and beverage they offer in the stores as compared to what we have in Singapore.

Assorted Onigiri (rice balls)

Most of the convenience stores has wide range of meals, snacks and sweets, such as onigiri (rice balls), sandwiches, bread, chips, candy, obento (lunch boxes), instant ramen and hot foods like steamed bun, oden and etc. Microwave is also available to heat up cold food like onigiri and microwave meals by the store staff.

We even bought raw eggs from the convenience stores to cook in the hotel room because my kid just simply love eggs. To our surprised their eggs taste different from what we had over here and indeed they are much fragrance and tasty too.

Array of Beverages

Some of our favourite beverage such as coffee and smoothie.

Nothing beats a bowl of hot Oden (おでん) which is a popular Japanese winter dish that consist of ingredients like hard-boiled eggs, daikon radish, konnyaku, processed fish cakes, sausages and etc in a light soy-flavoured dashi broth. You can also find similar things like this in Taiwan known as 関東煮. in my Taiwan travelogue here.

Mum loves their steamed bun and surprising it taste good like our Asian steamed bun which assorted fillings like red bean, chestnut, meat and etc.

Array for Waffles, Donuts and Snacks

Other than those bread that we usually grab from their bakery in the mall, these from the convenience stores also taste great for breakfast or supper too. My kid loves their chocolate swirl bread which is soft and fragrance.

BAKERY

I always heard good reviews about Japanese pastries and it's always my dream to try as many as I could if I have a chance to visit Japan. But when I was there last November (2012), instead of having cakes I ended up munching with their bread and pastry which I could not resists. And my favourite are their Japanese Steamed Cake, Pumpkin Bread, Curry Bun and etc.

SNACKS FROM JAPAN

Always love their packaging which makes it a great gift set.

[Must Try] Tokyo Banana (東京ばな奈)

[Must Try] Limited edition Giraffe Print Tokyo Banana

Tokyo Banana (東京ばな奈) is consider as number 1 souvenir choice when you are getting something back as a gift from Japan. These cute banana shaped sponge cake is filled with banana flavored custard which is sweet ans soft. The one shown above is the limited edition Giraffe Print Tokyo Banana which cost ¥ 1,050 (SG$12.80) per box of 8 pieces.

I also bought this Kyoho Cheesecake (¥550 / SG$6.70) during our visit to the Chateau Kastsunuma Winery (株式会社シャトー勝沼 ) on a day trip. Although it does not taste as good a those freshly baked cheesecake but it does make a decent gift with it beautiful wrapping and local flavour.

[Must Try] Assorted Flavour Crispy Rice Crackers from Nakamise Shopping Street (Nakamise-dori)

Yuzu Honey Sweet which I bought from 7-11 @ ¥198 (SG$2.40) per packet

[Must Try] Hokkaido Milk Candy

Okinawa Black Sugar Candy

As for local candy you could easily get it from any supermarkets or even convenience stores like 7-11 or family mart. You would be surprised with the varieties of candy available some are really too cute to be eaten too. For me, I love their milk candy and matcha kit kat, what about you?

Sakura Matcha Kit Kat @ ¥157 (SG$1.90)

[Must Try] Matcha Kit Kat is one of my favourite grab whenever I spot them in supermarket or convenience stores in Tokyo despite from wide range of kit kat they have in store. And before catching our flight back to Singapore, I was thrilled to spot the above Sakura Matcha Kit Kat from the Duty Free Shop in the airport.

When compared, the matcha taste was lighter and it was also infuse with a light Sakura fragrance which is something new and rare to find in Singapore.

Assorted Nama Chocolate from Royce @ ¥695 (SG$8.50)

[Must Try] Another must buy souvenir from the airport before flying off is their well-known Royce, Nama Chocolate. I bought the Nama Chocolate [Au Lait] which is a blend of milk chocolate and fresh cream that makes it rich and smooth and Nama Chocolate [Champagne Pierre Mignon] which are name chocolate with fragrance of Champagne Pierre Mignon. Each box cost around ¥695 (SG$8.50) with 20 pieces and it contains Liquor in it too.

With this post, I conclude our travelogue for Japan trip and if you are keen to read more about our experience in Japan. You can refer to the links shown below.

Itinerary of our Japan travelogue are as follow:-

~ [Day 1] Our Family Trip to Tokyo, Japan
~ [Day 1] Exploring Harajuku (原宿) and Takeshita Street (竹下通り)
~ [Day 2] Day Tour to Katsunuma Winery, Lake Kawaguchi and Koyodai In Narusawa
~ [Day 3] Exploring Shinjuku (新宿)
~ [Day 3] RAKERU （ラケル） @ Shinjuku, Tokyo
~ [Day 4] Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド)
~ [Day 5] Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場)
~ [Day 5] Tsukiji Sushi Kiyoshi (築地寿司清本店)
~ [Day 5] Kaminarimon (雷門) @ Asakusa
~ [Day 5] Fujisoba (名代 富士) At Akihabara, Tokyo
~ [Day 6] Tokyo Ramen Street
~ [Day 6] Shabu Shabu @ Shabujo, Shinjuku
~ Exploring The Convenience Stores and Bakeries In Tokyo, Japan

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[Day 6] Shabu Shabu @ Shabujo, Shinjuku

Japan trip won't be satisfied if we did not try their sushi, sashimi, omurice, shabu shabu, takoyaki and etc. So on the last night of our trip, we decided to go for Shabu Shabu which was perfect for that  cold and wet evening when everyone needs some hot food to keep warm. So after searching around for a decent Shabu Shabu restaurant near our hotel at Shinjuku ( 新宿), we finally settled for Shabujo which is listed in their recommending food good guide. For your information, Shabujo is about 6 minutes walk from JR Shinjuku Station, East Exit.

Shabujo offers both ala carte and set menu for patrons to choose from and since we have 12 pax, we decided to go for their set menu which we ordered combo meat sets (¥6200 / SG$75.60) plus a meat set with seafood (¥9000 / SG$ 109.70).

For each set menu, it comes with the following items:-

- Beer/Wine/Plum Wine/Soft Drink
- Japanese beef on special breed (about 100g)
- Amakusa-plum pork meat (about 100g)
- Assorted Seafood (such as scallop, snow crab, prawns and etc depending on the set selected)
- Assorted vegetables and mushrooms
- Sliced green onion (leek)
- Pickles
- Rice/Udon/Dumplings
- Salad shabu-shabu
- Ice cream

Mum and I shared a glass of Japanese sweet plum wine to keep ourselves warm from the cold weather (about 8 degree that night).

Shabu Shabu Salad with Cucumber, Lettuce and Japanese sesame dressing

Dipping Sauce for Shabu Shabu such as ponzu, goma (sesame sauce), chopped green onion, grated radish, chili oil and etc.

Their delicious pork dumplings (水餃子) were made with yellow chives and dried shirmp from Okayama Prefecture together with the sweet and juicy pork. Each ala carte serving of the dumplings cost ¥530 (SG$ 6.50) for 5 dumplings.

While waiting for the vegetables and meats to be served, we started off with some pork dumplings and hot soup broth to warm our tummy.

Amakusa-plum Pork Meat (about 100g)

Amakusa Plum Meat Pork Loin is pricing at ¥950 (SG$11.60) per plate and it is also one of the popular pick among women who is after healthier choice of meat at shabu shabu. Other than pork loin we also ordered the Amakusa Plum Meat Pokubara at ¥850 (SG$10.30) which has a beautiful texture that you won't regret having those fat just for once.

Japanese Beef on Special Loin (about 100g)

Sorry for the poor quality photo captured on this Japanese Beef on Special Loin as it suppose to show the beautiful marbled Japanese beef that will melt in your mouth slightly. A plate like the above cost about ¥2800 (SG$34.00) which is quite premium for Shabu Shabu.

Our group of 6 pax are more of meat eaters so we choose the Combo Meat Set (plus additional plate of Amakusa plum meat Pokubara ) instead of the meats and seafood that the other 6 members ordered.

After meal, we were served with some ice-cream of our choice on either Matcha or Vanilla and it was indeed a great dessert to end our Shabu Shabu dinner.

新宿歌舞伎町 しゃぶしゃぶ専門店
Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo 2-22-5
2nd Shinjuku Building 1F
Telephone: 03-5272-8817
Website: http://www.shabujo.com

Capacity: 88 seats

Operating Hours:-
Monday - Thursday: 5:30 - 11:00pm (LO 23:15)
Friday, Saturday and PH Eve: 5:30pm - 3:30am (LO 2:45)
Sunday and Public Holiday: 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm (LO 22:15)

Itinerary of our Japan travelogue are as follow:-

~ [Day 1] Our Family Trip to Tokyo, Japan
~ [Day 1] Exploring Harajuku (原宿) and Takeshita Street (竹下通り)
~ [Day 2] Day Tour to Katsunuma Winery, Lake Kawaguchi and Koyodai In Narusawa
~ [Day 3] Exploring Shinjuku (新宿)
~ [Day 3] RAKERU （ラケル） @ Shinjuku, Tokyo
~ [Day 4] Tokyo Disneyland (東京ディズニーランド)
~ [Day 5] Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場)
~ [Day 5] Tsukiji Sushi Kiyoshi (築地寿司清本店)
~ [Day 5] Kaminarimon (雷門) @ Asakusa
~ [Day 5] Fujisoba (名代 富士) At Akihabara, Tokyo
~ [Day 6] Tokyo Ramen Street
~ [Day 6] Shabu Shabu @ Shabujo, Shinjuku
~ Exploring The Convenience Stores and Bakeries In Tokyo, Japan

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Singapore Navy Open House 2013

Over the weekend, I believe many of us has visited the Singapore Navy Open House 2013 (NOH) at Changi Naval Base. The open house starts with long queues over at the Singapore Expo Hall 3 where visitors go through some security screening before boarding the free shuttle bus to NOH. Even though we were there early like 8.10am on Saturday, 18 May we still waited for about 30 minutes before we get into the bus. But thanks to the well-organized queuing system (to and back from the open house) as well as the navy staffs who help up to maintain the flow, the queue do move pretty fast and in order too.

The crowds at Singapore Expo go through the security screen and waiting to board the shuttle bus to the Navy Open House on Saturday, 18 May 2013.

K-Ster expendable mine disposal system (EMPS) on display

Navy Open House held at Changi Naval Base

With the given brochure(s) at the entrance, visitors would be able to redeem a limited edition Navy Open House Badge plus submit a slip to join their ballot cruise ride on one of their display warships too.

There are a few zones to explore at the NOH like Mission Zone, Heart Zone, Experience and Family Zone.  In the Heart Zone, there are many navy personnel around to share they stories as well as a photo booth to provide free photo taking and instant print for visitors and after which these photos would be uploaded to their Facebook here.  

Souvenirs and information booths are also available in Heart Zone too.

At the open house, visitors could also experience ear-bursting dynamic display on how the members of the elite Naval Diving Unit dropping into the water from hovering Chinook helicopters to overcome terrorist threats at sea as well as conducting a hostage rescue.

Rescue in process.....

RSS Valiant from 188 Squadron

Ships at Navy Open House which opens to public access where visitors could go for an on board tour.

RSS Swordsman at the Navy Open House. Too bad submarines are not open to public access and viewing.

Thanks God, we won balloting tickets for a 60 minutes cruise ride on board the RSS Vengeance from 188 Squadron.

We sail off from the Changi Naval Base and start with an hour of exciting cruise ride along the coastal line.

On board we get to experience the Corvettes travel at amazing speed of 30 knots which is about 50kmh. And during the ride, we also given opportunity to understand the function of the warship and the life of the crews on board through exchange conversations.

Beautiful view along the coastal line while on board the RSS Vengeance.

At the open house, there was also an Food and Beverage Zone where you could take a rest, have some bites and occupy yourself with performances that are prepared by the navy staffs and school students.

As you could see from the over, the food zone was over crowded even before the lunch hours which I think they could have bring in more stalls or bigger area to cater for the crowds in future events. For us, we just grab some pastry which has the shortest queue of all but I think it would be good to bring along some bread or sandwiches which would be great in term of cost and quality.

RSN S70-B Seahawk naval helicopter

Other than the naval ships, visitors also has the opportunities to see other assets from the Army and Air Force too. For example, Seahawk naval helicopter, Tankers, Top Gun and etc.

Out of all the exhibit warships, the queue to visit the RSS Endurance [207] never seems to get shorter than the 90 minutes wait. This ship is fitted with a well dock which can accommodate four landing crafts as well as a flight deck which can accommodate two medium lift helicopters too.

Lastly we also explore some of the foreign warships that participate in this year Navy Open House such as the :- ) USS Freedom [LCS-1] – Freedom class Littoral Combat Ship from United States of America; INS Satpura [F48] – Shivalik class Frigate and INS Kirch [P62] – Kora class Corvette from India.

Although the weather was pretty hot that day, but I am sure all those who went definitely had an enjoyable time with the cruise ride, warships tour, experience at shooting range and etc. We shall look forward for the next Navy Open House in 2016.

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