Chocolates with a "wa" twist - Salon de Royal Kyoto's pop-up store @ Japan Food Town

At the mention of chocolate, most people would probably associate it with countries such as Switzerland and Belgium which are well-known for their quality chocolate. This is intriguing in the sense that cocoa beans, the source ingredient for chocolate, are largely grown in Africa and South America and these countries famous for chocolate don't actually grow their own cacao plants. In the same sense, you might not associate Japan with this sweet treat, especially not when it comes to Kyoto, the old capital which embodies everything Japanese even in this modern era of speed and technology. Interestingly, there is a chocolatier from Kyoto which has been around since 1935 and is well-known for its amazing range of chocolates and by-products. This spring, if you are in Singapore, you should visit their pop-up store located at the event square of Japan Food Town (Level 4 of Wisma Atria) to find out what makes them so good.

I attended the opening day event on 18 April, thanks to the invitation of J Passport after I signed up for it on their website. Today's event was restricted to the media and invited guests (about 50 as per the website) but due to the size of the venue, it was a bit difficult to move around without running into another human wall. Coupled with the spot lights dotting the perimeter of the event square, I got rather hot and bothered especially after I had rushed to make it in time for the event. In addition, despite the fact that I had provided my blog URL in the application, I was classified as a guest rather than media which I can understand to a certain extent since I don't belong to a formal media outlet. The main differences between being a guest and media representative were that the latter got a detailed write-up about the company and the pop-up store and a bigger goodie bag.

Salon de Royal was founded in Kyoto on 1 April 1935 and combines the best of East and West influences in its products. As mentioned above, chocolate is usually seen as a Western product but it goes through an amazing transformation here which is quite unlike the chocolates you find in Europe. As explained by the company's representative during the event, it produces three main categories of chocolate i.e. chocolate bonbons, Hannari (Rinpa) chocolate and pecan nut chocolates. Not only does the company incorporate ingredients with a strong "wa" (Japanese) feel into its products such as matcha and arare (rice crackers), its packaging also embodies the deep Japanese influence due to its roots in Kyoto. For example, urushi boxes i.e. lacquer coating and Japanese tea bowls (chawan) are used as packaging for the chocolate bonbons. For its Hannari and pecan nut chocolates, the outer packaging is influenced by Rinpa-style paintings which is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting.

The highlight of the event would have to be the live demonstration by Chef Emori Hiroyuki who is Salon de Royal Kyoto's official adviser and the 2015 champion of the World Trophy of Pastry Ice Cream Chocolate. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good look at his demonstration because there were too many people crowding around the table. I couldn't help but think that it would be nice if there was a video camera hanging above to capture the process and project it on a TV screen just like what we see in a lot of those cooking demonstration videos online. This would ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to observe the demonstration. Otherwise, it might be better to reduce the number of people attending each demonstration because the venue is simply too small. If you are attending the event for the public held on 19 April, you might want to get near to the demonstration table before it starts so as to secure a good spot.

As it was too hot and uncomfortable for me to squeeze in, I ended up catching glimpses at parts of the demonstration through the mobile phone screens of those who took videos of it. This photo I have here was taken after the matcha ice cream cake was completed. Apologies for this unflattering picture which does not show the true beauty of this cake because I was standing too far back.

After the photo session, the participants were treated to samples of the matcha ice cream cake. In terms of taste, I think that it was pretty good especially the matcha layer which was flavourful and aromatic. However, it doesn't seem that the pop-up store will offer this item though so you might want to attend the public event to sample this.

In the goodie bag given to the guests, there were a pack of candy-coated pecan nuts and a piece of chocolate bonbon. I don't eat bonbons that often because they are usually quite pricey so I can't say that I know a lot about this type of chocolates. Nonetheless, the bonbon given to me was very smooth and the aroma of the chocolate lingered on my palate for a while. Impressive taste but I think I would need more convincing to actually shell out money for it. As for the pecan nuts, the package contains two small packs each with 3 pieces. Considering that you need to pay $7.50 for each package, that works out to about $1.25 per piece. The refined taste and texture you get definitely justifies this price tag but to be perfectly honest, this is probably something you would want to buy to indulge yourself once in a while or as gifts to people who matter most to you. While looking at the displays, I saw a few more flavours which interest me so I should be going back to the pop-up store to buy them.

For those who are interested in attending the demonstrations open to the public on 19th April, the two timings are 12.30pm and 6.30pm and you would need to register through J Passport's website. Even if you can't make it in time for these, there will be five demonstrations daily by different patissiers and the pop-up store will still be around till 31 May.

Other than showcasing the company's products, there are also a series of events lined up during this period to introduce Kyoto's culture to Singapore. Do check these out if they interest you:
- Shakuhachi flute: 30 April
- Noh drama maskmaking: 6 May
- Calligraphy: 7 May
- Nishijin Ori Textiles: date to be announced

If you happen to be going to Japan, you can visit their main shop cum cafe which is located beside the Kamo River where you can sit outdoors during the warmer months from May to September. The shop offers a wide selection of the company's chocolate products along with desserts and beverages like coffee, tea and wine. Alternatively, if you are in Osaka, you can go to their shop at the B2 level of Hankyuu Sanbangai Departmental Store to buy their products.

Hanami in our forever tropical land - Blossom Bliss 2017 @ Gardens by the Bay

Thanks to Gardens by the Bay, you can indulge in the annual hanami every March without having to fly to places like Japan to view these little blossoms of pink and white heralding the arrival of spring. Having been to this event last year and this year, I noted that there were some noticeable enhancements in this year's edition although there were still some improvements to be made. In terms of crowd control, I can't really comment because I went to the 2016 event on a weekend (which was a really bad idea) while I went to the 2017 event on a weekday (crowded but still manageable). As for the condition of the sakura blooms, I noted that there were a lot of buds this year which were yet to bloom. It could be that there were some new sakura trees planted towards the end of the event to replace those which had too many wilted flowers so that was why I felt that the floral coverage was a bit sparse in some sections.

The first time when I went for hanami in Japan, the best shots I took were those with the cloudless pastel blue skies as the background or along a path with sakura trees lined up to form a natural tunnel of flowers. Unfortunately, due to the limitations we face in Singapore due to the sweltering weather and that the sakura trees were displayed indoors, these two settings are unlikely to be replicated here. Nonetheless, I still appreciate the effort in trying to showcase such a fragile flower here in unfavourable conditions. However, there were people who clearly do not appreciate this and do uncivilised acts such as tugging at the branches forcefully to take selfies with the sakura at close proximity or holding up the flow of human traffic by refusing to budge until they get their perfect selfie. When you come face to face with such behaviour, it no doubt affects the pleasure derived from the hanami experience.

Rather than using words to describe the beauty of these fleeting blossoms, I'll let the photos below do the talking ~

Showcasing Hokkaido's charms @ Japan Food Town

In recent years, there's been a significant increase in promotional events from Japan especially those organised by and featuring specific prefectures. During these events and exhibitions, the local companies come to Singapore to showcase their products and services which usually comprise of food & drinks, technological products, handicrafts and art works. It's a good thing that there are coordinated efforts now to promote these places and their specialties for the purpose of doing business and boosting tourism although the scale and content of these events tend to vary across a wide spectrum.

Currently, there is an event at Japan Food Town (Wisma Atria) featuring Hokkaido which is a place that's probably very familiar to most Singaporeans. At the event square, the crafts and cosmetics fair consists of a number of booths featuring such products from the prefecture. This fair will run until 8 March.

From what I observed, the brands and products featured are those which I've not seen before at other events such as travel fairs so it should be fairly interesting for most people. On the other hand, as the event space is very small, the variety of items exhibited is somewhat limited. In addition, it doesn't look like there is a lot of publicity for this event so unless you happen to be dining at Japan Food Town, chances are you might not even walk to the event space to look at what's on offer. In my case, I swung by after my meal and left in about 5 minutes or so as I was rushing elsewhere. If I had more time, I would have stuck around to talk to the exhibitors to find out more about the products. As such, my observations below were largely based on what I saw and what I gathered from the brochures given to me.

One common grouse about Japan's products is the high price tag which is understandable to a certain extent due to import costs and of course, exchange rate fluctuations. Much as we all know that their products are of a certain quality, we can't deny that the price tags do intimidate consumers especially those who may not understand the value of the products fully or cannot reconcile the price with their assessment of the item's value. This is like a chicken-and-egg issue where if there is a larger quantity circulating in the market, costs may be driven down but Japanese products tend to be in limited quantities here so there won't be significant cost savings. Ultimately, this cements the impression that Japanese products are good but pricey.

Besides the fair, there are also dishes using Hokkaido's products from the restaurants at Japan Food Town so you can give these a try while you are dining there. I had the Hokkaido deep fried potatoes at Rang Mang Shokudo which tasted good as expected but I didn't quite like the taste and smell of the cod roe sauce that was poured onto the potatoes. The dishes featured in the poster will be offered by the restaurants until 8 March which is the same date as the end of the fair. As such, if you are keen to check this out, you probably need to arrange a visit this weekend or anytime soon. There is a promotional campaign where you can take a photo with one of the photo boards there and upload to your social media account. Upon doing so, you will be given a free gift by the exhibitors.

Here are some of the items showcased at the fair which you may want to check out on your own:

Here are some art and craft works from the Ainu people said to be indigenious people of Japan and Russia. According to the brochure I got at the fair, the town of Nibutani in the Hidaka area (Hokkaido prefecture) has a number of Ainu households, some Ainu-owned craft shops and two Ainu museums i.e. Nibutani Ainu Cultural Museum and Historical Museum of Saru River so this is a place for visitors to interact with the Ainu people. The items featured here include the Nibutani Ita which are wooden trays with spiral Moreunoka patterns and Ramuramunoka fish-scaled patterns and Nibutani Attus which are textiles made from tree barks. These two categories of works were designated as Traditional Craft Industries by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on 8 March 2013.

For those who like ornaments and items made of wood, this corner features trays, wine bottle holder, photo frames, clocks and even a handphone holder with rather simple designs and clean lines. Although these products have a feel somewhat similar to Muji (no frills and a simple design) and I must admit that they look rather nice, the prices are pretty steep in my opinion so it may be that you have to find out more from the exhibitors why exactly these products are priced at these levels. On a related note, most of the items I saw had a tag saying GST included but you may want to ask about the price again just in case what's displayed does not include GST.

This brand Sucremor offers a range of skin care products using beet sugar from Hokkaido. Apparently, the inspiration of their name came from the French word sucre which means sugar. The founder of the brand got the idea from a colleague when she was working in New York about using sugar for moisturising purposes and it turned out that this brought about an improvement in her daughter's eczema condition. From the company's brochure, it was said that the company compared and analysed about 200 types of different sugar before deciding on the sugar made from Hokkaido-grown beets for its moisturising and anti-bacterial properties. There are five aromas to choose from i.e. citrus, lavender, rosemary, hakka (Japanese mint) and vanilla. For babies, you can get the organic sugaring massage scrub which is supposedly gentle enough for their delicate skin. I'll probably go back before the fair ends just to know more about the product and get one to see if it's as good as it claims.

For those who like Japanese traditional artwork and dyed products, you would probably be interested in what Mizuno Somekojo has to offer. This dye-printing factory from Asahikawa, Hokkaido, has been in business since 1907 and specialises in dye printing of various products such as noren (the curtain used outside Japanese restaurants), clothes for the Yosakoi festival, flags and curtains. Even if you are not visiting Hokkaido anytime, you can head to their shop Some no Anbo in Asakusa, Tokyo, for their products which should be quite accessible. Although I find their designs and products very attractive, I was deliberating for a long time whether to buy anything because I struggled to think of a place at home where I can hang it up! Perhaps I should just go back for a second look and get the snowy scene item which I saw yesterday?

One booth which I found quite interesting was Date Yasai which introduced the vegetables grown in Date City, Hokkaido known for its warm coastal climate and volcanic soil. In its brochure, there is an extensive list of vegetables from the city with the names in English and Japanese. This should come in particularly useful to those who are learning Japanese or those who want to know the names of the vegetables in case they want to buy them in Japan. There is also a calendar indicating the harvesting periods for each type of vegetable so depending on when you visit the city, you are aware when is the best season to eat what vegetable. Perhaps the only thing which was lacking was that the booth was too small and there were no "real" vegetables showcased there. When it comes to promoting foodstuff, seeing and being able to taste it would be essential in helping to build awareness and demand from the customers. If there is a future opportunity for the vegetables to be showcased in Singapore, having some food samples would definitely attract more attention and interest. It was also not apparent if the vegetables from Date can be bought here so I suppose that they are here to build awareness for a start.

And last but not least, here is the main stage where you can take pictures with the photo board and upload to social media so as to earn the free gift.

On the whole, I think the fair is well-intended to inform the public about what Hokkaido has to offer. However, due to the nature of the location and limited event space, it is a bit lacking because it feels like you are just getting a small sample of what each of the brands have to offer. In future, they can probably do more to get a place with more human traffic which will allow them to bring in more vendors with a wider variety of products and services. Considering that you have to go all the way up to the 4th floor to get to Japan Food Town and walk inside to the event square, having a place where passer-bys can be attracted easily might be something to consider next time.

Review of Teochew Festival Singapore 2016

Teochew Festival is back this year, literally with a bang. Since its inaugural edition two years ago, the organisers seemed to have gained some insight from the experience then and made several improvements to this year's edition.

If you've read my review of the 2014 version, these were the points which I highlighted as being lacklustre then:
- the lack of air-conditioning at certain parts of the small festival area
- the use of coupons which was a huge inconvenience and necessitated "spending exactly the same amount as the value of the coupons you bought"
- the festival being more like a trade fair rather than a cultural event

This time, the venue has been changed to the larger, posher and definitely more comfortable Sands Convention Centre. As such, despite the sweltering weather this afternoon, I could enjoy the event in cool comfort without having to sweat literally. Coupled with the fact that it was a weekday, the crowds were not as intimidating as they could be during a weekend.

With more space, the stalls and booths are spread out compared to when they were squeezed into that small tent two years ago. This allows the businesses and exhibitors to showcase more of their stuff without having that cluttered feel. And I do notice that the staff and shop owners seem more open to the idea of visitors taking photos of their booths, displays and merchandise which I suppose could be due to the prevalence of social media these days and any form of publicity would be welcome. As a visitor, I don't have to look over my shoulder and worry about being told to stop taking pictures so it is effectively a win-win situation.

As a result of the expansion of the event space, the food street is so much bigger now and I think there are more stalls this time, of which a number of them are rather famous names in the Chinese dining scene. Compared to last time when I had to stand to eat and squeeze in just to queue for my food, the experience this time was definitely more enjoyable.

The second issue about the coupons last time has been resolved with the advancement of new electronic payment methods such as Nets FlashPay. This is possibly why the Teochew Festival has chosen to use Nets as the default payment mode to eliminate the need to carry cash and the hassle of having to exchange for cash coupons like what was done in the last edition.

Note that there is a booth within the exhibition hall which sells a set of special edition NETS cards with designs of some famous Teochew operas on the front. To buy the whole set of 6 cards with no cash value in them, this would cost $50. On the poster shown on the left, the cards with the values indicated are those with cash already preloaded into them so you can buy them individually and use the value to purchase food and merchandise. If you happen to run out of cash in the NETS card, you can use the machines on site to top up accordingly.

With each entrance ticket, there is a discount voucher of 3 dollars included which can be used to offset against your purchases. To utilise this, you would have to surrender your entrance ticket to the cashier so if you would like to take a photo of your ticket, be sure to do so quickly before you start buying food or things.

Last but not least, the cultural aspect of the festival seems to have been greatly enhanced this time with a section devoted to showing how the Teochew ancestors came to Singapore and what kind of lives they led. The content is presented in both English and Chinese and substantiated with artefacts from the past to make the historical information easier to understand and relate to.

At the exit of the cultural gallery, there is a stall where a calligraphy master is writing couplets for the visitors on red paper. With the upcoming Lunar New Year in a month's time or so, the couplets would come in handy as decorations. It doesn't look like any purchase is needed to get the couplets so the queue seemed to be going on endlessly every time I walked by the stall.

At the main stage area, there is a wide range of performances and activities every day. While I was there, a Teochew opera performance was going on with the seating area fully occupied and many others standing by the sidelines watching intently. To help those who may not understand the language, there were Chinese subtitles flashed on the screen which helped the audience to understand the opera lines better. However, it would be even better if there were English translations shown together for the visitors who don't know Chinese or have a weak command of the language so that they can understand the meaning of the opera lines which tend to be in the traditional form of the language.

During a subsequent Teochew talk session, there were no subtitles though so it was more difficult to understand what the speaker was talking about.

As for the food selection on offer, there is a wider range this time and the large number of seats around makes it easier for the visitors to buy their food and find a seat. Teochew signature dishes such as braised duck, fishball noodles, fishball dumplings, orh nee, oyster omelette, bak kut teh, shuijingbao, chwee kueh and pig trotters from various famous restaurants can be found here. My only grouse is probably the higher-than-usual prices which I suppose should be due to the costs involved this time at a better venue and the scale of the event which has been upgraded. The saving grace is that the quality of the food I tried this time was better than the last edition so I didn't feel that bad about having to pay so much for the food.

With regard to the festival-related merchandise range, the items on offer such as the notebooks, umbrellas and cushions seem to be largely the same as the last edition's range so it was a bit disappointing not to see new stuff being developed and released to the market.Surprisingly, at the stall which sells traditional oil paper lanterns, there are some soaps and candles made in the shape of Teochew kueh as shown in the photo on the left which look quite nice and smell good so you may wish to check these out. Honestly, for this type of special-themed items, they tend to be priced slightly higher than the norm and not readily available in shops so it will be good if they can be purchased more easily e.g. via online and priced more competitively to attract more buyers.

On the whole, I think this year's festival is a marked improvement from the inaugural edition but that is not to say that it is perfect as yet. Hopefully, when the next edition comes along, there will be further enhancements to make it even better.

A preview of Food Japan 2016 happening this Saturday, 29 Oct 2016!

Last year, it was the first time I had visited Oishii Japan. As I had arrived pretty late on the public day, I didn't really get to see and taste a lot of things or even buy much because a lot of the booths had already sold all their stock or it was too crowded for me to take a good look at what was being offered.

This year, with a rebranding and name change to Food Japan, I was intent on making my trip count for what it's worth thus I registered for the media accreditation which could give me access on the trade visitors' days on 27th and 28th October i.e. Thursday and Friday. Thankfully, I succeeded in getting the media pass despite being having such a small presence online (thank you Asia PR Werkz!) so I could see every booth in great detail and at my own pace. Phew!

For those who aren't aware of what Food Japan is, it is ASEAN's largest dedicated showcase on Japanese food and beverage, with an array of authentic Japanese ingredients and food, culinary techniques and equipment, plus demos and classes. Serving as a bridge for F&B businesses between Japan and ASEAN, Food Japan provides visitors with valuable opportunities to understand, explore collaborations and learn more about the versatility of classic Japanese ingredients, quality seasonal produces, unique prefecture specialities as well as innovative technology and machinery. (Portion in italics from the official website)

In its 5th edition this year, Food Japan showcases over 1,000 items from 304 exhibitions from 40 prefectures so this is a must-see if you are into Japanese food or would like what are the latest food and drink products out in the market. For the first two days, it is open to trade visitors only while the public gets to visit on 29th October which happens to be a Saturday and Deepavali. Prior to the opening of this event, you could pre-register for your tickets so this would have helped you to save some time in the queue. Although the pre-registration is closed by now, you can still get your tickets outside the exhibition hall at Suntec Convention Centre Halls 401 and 402.

Other than seeing the latest in F & B products and services from Japan, you can also take part in the workshops. You can either reserve a seat via this page or visit the registration counter in front of the workshop area which is located right at the far back of the exhibition hall. If you are choosing the latter option, I suggest that you go to register and make your payment first upon your arrival before touring the exhibition or else you might not be able to get a place. Here are the three classes on offer tomorrow:

11.30am - 12.30pm
Temari Zushi & Matcha Tiramisu Workshop
60 mins SGD 20

12.45pm - 1.45pm
Temari Zushi & Matcha Tiramisu Workshop
60 mins SGD 20

2.00pm - 4.00pm
Polkaros Café Presents - Mini Teishoku Workshop
120 mins SGD 45

One other tip that I would like to share with you is that you should bring ample cash if you are planning to buy any of the products sold by the exhibitors. Most of them only accept cash so it's only a few who accept Nets or even credit card for items which are more pricey. It's also better if you can prepare small notes if possible or else you may have to wait a while for your change especially with the crowds around.

If you are feeling peckish, you can head to the J Food Court area at the back (left side of the hall) to sample the selection from some of the well-known Japanese restaurants in Singapore. There's also a lot of food and drink sampling going around so your taste buds will be treated to a feast fit for a king as you go around the exhibition hall.

Over the next few days, I will be sharing more details on the booths I visited and the products which caught my eye. Nonetheless, I have a few observations on this event which I would like to mention here that may be of use to you too:

1) If you like something, you might have to make a decision on the spot to get it.
Based on what I gathered after talking to the exhibitors, quite a number of them have not entered the Singapore market yet so they are looking for distributors and importers. For those who have already done so, their presence is largely limited to the Japanese supermarkets here such as Meidi-ya and Isetan. And even if that's the case, some of them are only featured during special events so they are not available all year round.
As such, what this means is that, if you like something which you've tasted, you might have to consider making a decision to buy it on the spot or go to Japan to do the same if the product is not sold in Singapore.

2) The exhibitors are very proud of their products and more than willing to share with you on what makes their products so good or special.
Save for a few exhibitors who were seemingly more concerned with talking to people who looked like they would bring business to them or their phones were more interesting than the visitors in front of them or perhaps they were not very keen on talking to people like me who wore a media pass, the rest of the exhibitors I came across were very friendly and enthusiastic about sharing their products with me. Of course, I think the fact that I could speak Japanese helped a lot in breaking the ice between us and I really appreciated some of them willing to make an effort to talk to me in English even though they may not be that fluent. When you want to break into an overseas market, initiative is really important since you can't be sitting there to wait for business to come your way. If you are willing to approach them, they will reciprocate. And if you have any problems communicating, there are the interpreters who can help in bridging the gap.
During these conversations, I was really impressed by some of these companies and their products so that's why I want to write a detailed post and do some free PR for them. I'm not a bigwig from some established media company so it's inevitable that some people do not really take you seriously and wouldn't want to talk to you. However, since I'm already promoting J-ent in general, there's no reason why I can't do the same for Japan's F & B industry especially since I love Japanese food too. As such, do keep a lookout for these posts coming your way!

3) Learn from the experts, first-hand.
I'm sure many people like Japanese food but may not really understand or know the details or the profound knowledge that goes into making them. Besides learning through the workshops, talking to the exhibitors will definitely be an eye-opening experience. I learnt something new from everyone I talked to so it was a truly enriching day I spent at this event. Some of the information I got is not something you can easily find online or in books.

If you are keen to check out this event, do remember to head there early and hope that you'll have fun on your Saturday!

Review of Singapore Garden Festival 2016

I really dislike going to crowded places and try to make an effort to avoid going to such places or attending events or exhibitions during peak periods. First of all, it is difficult to move around due to the crowds. Secondly, when I want to take photos of things such as exhibits or flowers in this case, it irks me so much when I have to keep waiting for people who like to take selfies or wefies in a variety of poses while the rest of the visitors are waiting around impatiently for them to move away. It makes me wonder why they are so oblivious to their surroundings and don't seem to think that they need to move a bit more quickly to make it more pleasant for everyone. Coupled with the sweltering weather and my inability to get into Flower Dome due to the snaking crowds, the visit to this year's Garden Festival wasn't very pleasant for me after all. Fortunately, I managed to see some really nice exhibits so that helped to salvage the less-than-ideal experience.

One thing to note, the lighting in the sheltered areas can be improved especially in those sections which were deliberately dimmed. The direction of the small lights need to be adjusted a bit as they cast shadows or cause reflections e.g. in the terrarium section so it was really difficult to get good shots on some of the nice exhibits. I thought that it was a pity.

Here are some of the pictures I took during my visit: