294. Hokkaido Fair 2009

The Isetan Hokkaido fair is here again. It will be at Tampines Mall from 3 - 12 Jul 2009. A total of 3 shopping centres surrounding the Tampines MRT station makes Tampines alive. N years ago, people would rather not live in Tampines but now, the opposite. Urban Development does makes a difference. I went to the fair just now and it was crowded, very crowded.



Crab Cream Croquette @$4

I caught sight of crab cream croquette and bought it without hesitation. Yummylicious! Creamy rich crab cream oozed out and filled my mouth. When I had it, it was already cold. I can't imagine what would it be like when it was just taken out from the deep fryer. Jeez.

Tarabagani King Crab @$128/pc

Your eyes are not playing a trick on you. It's a 3-digit priced crab. I had the impulse to get the seafood bento which had a small piece of the King crab's meat,prices of the bento ranged from $24 to $30+. On a second thought, I decided to go for the ramen which is only available for these 2-3 days throughout the whole fair.

Kelp/kombu. Wanted to get the kombu, the hard type, usually used for boiling soups. BUT, they were all sold! Any more stocks coming in? I asked. NO was the reply. The lady told me all of the kombu were snapped up by the aunties the moment the fair started in the morning. Wow...economic recession, huh?

Ichigo Daifuku Mochi @$2.30

Didn't really like it. The texture came a tad harder and drier than the dango.

Herb Dango @$2.30

Dango, Japanese rice dumplings made from michiko, rice flour. For some, they used potato flour. I guessed potato flour has a higher content of starch? The herb flavour was not strong, covered by the azuki (red bean paste). The rice cakes were very tangy.

Mitarashi Dango @$2.30

This is something unique. Its presentation has already captured the notice of many. Looks oiishi (delicious). Then, it was the taste that raised my eyebrows. It's savoury and sweet! I tasted shoyu (soy sauce) and when I searched for its recipe online, hah! I was right! Shoyu, starch and sugar was combined to make the syrup brushed on the dango. The taste reminded me of my Japan trip N years ago. It was the taste similar to the rice stick, where rice was pounded and made into a stick like the paddlepop. Then, they BBQ-ed it with repeated brushes of the syrup.

Hokkaido Melon Soft Ice-cream @$4.50

The melon ice-cream was delicious! Soft and it was not very sweet. I liked the mild melon taste. Thanks to the kind lady who held it for me so that I can take a shot of it.

Hokuyu - Butter Manju.

This was the stall with a long queue. Butter Manju cakes from Sapporo City, selling at $1.30 per piece & $12 for 10 pieces. Only my eyes managed to feast on the manju cakes and the Japanese young man working on them. It was way too crowded.

Hokkaido Char Siew Ramen (thick noodles) @$15

I was famished. A choice of seafood miso ramen @$16 or the char siew ramen. I chose the later because of the thick noodles. Wanted to try what it is like with the thick noodles. Well, I think the usual ramen (the thin noodles) we had was better. I felt the char siew ramen was too oily. I clicked with the auntie beside me. She was there the second time for their seafood ramen. She also agreed that the char siew ramen was too oily. And the auntie opposite us said the ramen was not authentic. What can I say?

The char siew slices were with a thick layer of fats which I didn't like. The soup became oil-laden but was very flavourful. Char siew was well-marinated too. They sliced the char siew a tad too thick. I think thinly sliced char siew would have been better.

The thick noodles, looked like our Chinese noodles, don't they? A tad different in taste though. It was tangy and I felt the noodles were with less lye or maybe not even added. Our Chinese noodles were lye-treated, that's why when we cooked the noodles in soup, the soup turned yellowish. My instinct tells me the seafood miso ramen tastes better! Argh.

The Isetan Hokkaido Fair will be held at Isetan Scotts from 19-29 Jun 2009. If you can't make it to the fair at Tampines Mall, be prepared for the one at Isetan Scotts. The fresh seafood like scallops, salmon, roe bla bla bla....came much cheaper than having to fly to Hokkaido to get them. There were many others which I did not try, the scrambled cheese cake, steamed squids, grilled scallops and etc so I will most probably go to the fair at Isetan Scotts. Till next fair, then!