While Harajuku 原宿 is widely considered as one of the ultimate places for teenaged fashionistas to visit, especially on the weekend, the hipster haven is also host to a variety of foodie gems. Whether it’s a sugary treat or a belly busting bowl of ramen, here’s a rough guide of what to check out if you’re feeling anything between peckish to ravenous:
Catch up on the rest of my Tokyo trip here!
Mention the words “seafood” and “Japan”, and Tsukiji Fish Market 築地市場 comes to mind. Indeed, the world’s biggest wholesale fish and seafood market is host to a gamut of fresh catches, and more importantly – sushi restaurants.
There are a couple of options when it comes to having sushi at this time honoured market. Sushi Dai 寿司大 and Daiwa Sushi 大和寿司 are two massively popular choices, thanks to the dozens of recommendations on TripAdvisor. But if you don’t want to burn the better part of your day queueing for three to four hours minimum, you can also check out Ryu Sushi 竜寿司 – or Ryuzushi as it’s known among the locals.
Read my other Tokyo posts:
I’ve recently gotten into the habit of drinking tea – just taking 5 minutes off my morning to brew a cup, and taking in that sweet, sweet aroma has become my little sanity fix amidst busy days at work.
Kittea began in 2016 with an intention to combine its founder’s love of tea and cats (hehe geddit geddit?). The result is 12 unique brews, each with its own take on the breed it was named after.
Update June 2020: RONIN has closed.
Here’s a cafe that’s relatively off the grid – at least by today’s standards where information about any and every business is readily available online.
When it first opened its doors, RONIN Cafe was one of those “hidden finds” with little to no reviews, and no website or social media presence to inform customers of its opening hours or menu.
Not that they needed that kind of publicity, though, as the 30+ seater cafe remains thriving in its cosy corner on Hong Kong Street to this day; the lunchtime crowd didn’t die down till well after 3pm when I re-visited.
Sunday brunches are made of these – long, slow-paced afternoons with your loved ones, your favourite dishes on the table, coupled with a picturesque view of the city on a weekend. Oh, and not forgetting a glass of bubbly in hand as you contemplate life’s simple pleasures.
Dubbed the longest brunch in Singapore (for the day long music and partying that commences after 3pm), Monti Festino is a new Sunday brunch concept by Monti, that aims to bring together the world’s finest ingredients, as well as smooth house tunes to create a feast for the senses.
If you’ve worked with me long enough, you would know that one of my greatest guilty pleasures is sitting down with a juicy meal and an even juicier drama on my computer during lunch time. Call me anti-social, but nothing should stand between you and a good, relaxing lunch on a hectic day!
A new mini series by DBS Bank really caught my eye a few months back. Played by an ensemble of local and regional actors, including theatre veteran Adrian Pang, SPARKS is a collection of stories about a team of young bankers and their clients across Asia.
Regular travellers to Bangkok would be familiar with Artbox, the pop-up concept which features an array of hipster food and goods in giant shipping containers.
For fans of this famous flea market, the Singapore edition, consisting of over 300 stalls (made up of approximately 500 vendors in rotation) spread across 50 000 square feet, will be held at Marina Bayfront event space for the next 2 weekends.
Given all that hype, is Artbox Singapore worthy of a visit?
Chue On It 