For the first time ever, East Japan Railway Company (JR East), one of Japan’s most notable railway companies, has come to Singapore to present an exhilarating new project in the station retail facilities of SMRT Experience. The result is an interesting multi-sensory platform “Inspiration Store” over at  Orchard Xchange in Orchard MRT.

Be sure to watch out for renowned artists, craftsmen, and chefs from Japan who will make special appearances to share their inspiring insights into the art they create.

Every few weeks, the store will transform itself, showcasing different Japanese crafts and adoring different themes and displays. The event aims to provide an immersive experience and promote sustainability and community. The current theme for the second phase of the installation—that nicely ties in the spirit of Chinese New Year—is “Spring with Daruma”. Daruma dolls are traditional Japanese dolls that symbolise of perseverance and good luck.

If you’re someone who harbours a deep fascination for Japanese culture, this is one pop-up that you really need to check out to get inspired as well as to learn a thing or two about Japan and its rich heritage.

INSPIRATION STORE 

From now until 30 April 2019, they will have a special pop-up food store that sells local Japanese snacks, comforting bowls of dashichazuke and soothing cups of freshly brewed Japanese tea.

COMFORTING BOWLS OF DASHICHAZUKE 

For the unitiated, ochazuke is one of the most basic and traditional Japanese dishes out there and the Japanese consider this rustic dish an essential comfort food that they turn to when they need something light on the palette yet comforting at the same time.

It comprises simply of rice, various toppings such as meat, vegetables and seaweed and freshly brewed tea that is doused over, creating a porridge-like concoction with a pretty thick consistency. However, for the case of Inspiration Store, dashi stock is used instead of tea, resulting in a richer broth packed full of umami, hence the name, dashichazuke.

Their Onsen Egg Set (Dine-in S$11, Take away S$9) comprises of a bed of warm rice that is topped with seaweed, sakura shrimp and a plump onsen egg. After pouring in the rich dashi stock, we broke the onsen egg and let all that yolky goodness flow out.

The egg gave the entire dish an interesting thick and creamy texture that helped it glide down our throats with ease. The flavours here were simple yet they managed to hit all the right spots, resulting in a comforting dish that really warmed the heart.

For those of you who love seafood, you can opt to have their Shrimp and Scallop Set (Dine-in S$14, Take away S$12). Here, the rice is topped with juicy chunks of shrimp, succulent scallop bits as well as sakura shrimp and seaweed.

The shrimp and scallop give a nice, chewy bite to it as well as a delicate sweetness that was a nice contrast to the savoury and dashi stock. Though the flavours here were more pronounced than the Onsen Egg Set, the various components of the dish still managed to come together to create a soothing medley of flavours that was simply addictive.

Don’t let their Wasabi Set (Dine-in S$12, Take away S$10) scare you away; fret not as this dish is not one that will leave you in tears. Instead, the wasabi here comes in a small dollop that is placed at the side of the bowl, giving you full control over how much wasabi you’d like to have in your ochazuke.

Aside from wasabi, the dish is topped with a colourful array of vegetables. When mixed together with the dashi stock, everything comes together to create a light-tasting concoction with lots of crunchy components. The wasabi provides a heated punch of flavour and the seaweed gives the overall dish a deep umami flavour.

Sashimi aficionados will be thrilled to know that Inspiration Store also has an ochazuke option which features sliced tuna. The  Zuke Maguro Set (Dine-in S$15, Take away S$13) features rice that is draped with generous slices of fresh, tender maguro slices that come pre-marinated in soy sauce.

The maguro slices added a delightfully rich umami flavour to the entire dish and each perfectly sliced piece of tuna was a melt-in-your-mouth treat that definitely elevated the simple flavours of the ochazuke.

FRESHLY BREWED JAPANESE  TEAS

Just for this event, Inspiration Store has flown in a premium type of tea from Shizuoka, Japan called Gyokuro (S$8). This aromatic, high-grade tea is considered one of the most precious and noble types of Japanese teas out there and it has a sweet, soft marine-like flavour.

The optimum temperature of the water to be used in the preparation of the tea is 60 degrees as this brings out the tea’s true essence best. With its rich flavour and soft, delicate finish, the Gyokuro tea goes satisfyingly well with a piping hot bowl of Dashichazuke.

DARUMA CRAFT BOOTH 

Aside from all that scrumptious food, Inspiration Store has a crafts corner where you can get hands-on and decorate your own adorable daruma figurines. Don’t worry about making a mess because gloves are provided!

For the uninitiated, daruma dolls are traditional Japanese dolls that symbolise perseverance and good luck.

To get your daruma figurine, all you have to do is slot one of the provided token coins into a capsule machine that stands at the entrance of the booth, turn the knob and watch your figurine slide out—gashapon style!

The booth also provides a variety of acrylic paint and colourful markers that you can use to decorate your daruma. Once decorated, they’ll pass you a little bag to put it in to bring home. They make great decorations and if you have kids, you definitely should bring them down to let them try their hands out at making their own daruma dolls.

This daruma activity will be available until 18 Feb 2019, after which a new installation will be revealed to take its place.

Keep an eye out for the next instalment via their Instagram and Facebook pages. We already can’t wait for the next phase!

Inspiration Store
Orchard MRT Xchange, #B1-30/ 31
Singapore 238878
Daily: 10.30am – 8.30pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

This post is brought to you by East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

There are countless people in the world who admire the brilliance of Japanese food culture and there is no reason why anyone should not be. In Japan, food is not something to be taken lightly; farmers are extremely attentive to their crops, chefs are particular about their culinary techniques and the country is at the top of the game when it comes to innovative food technologies.

The increase of importance placed on Japanese food products has made it crucial for all restauranteurs and F&B professionals to keep up with the latest seasonal ingredients, innovative products, and new-to-market brands if they want to stay relevant in the industry. And there is no better place to do that than Food Japan 2017, which runs from 26 to 28 Oct 2017 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre Halls 401-402.

The sixth edition of Food Japan is where visitors can expect over 200 exhibitors offering 3,000 food-related products. As ASEAN’s biggest Japanese food and beverage event, Food Japan 2017 will focus on Functional Food and Elder Care Food amongst a myriad of authentic Japanese ingredients and food, masterclasses, unique products and specialties from over 37 Japanese prefectures.

Although this is primarily a trade show, Japan Food 2017 will open its doors to members of the public on the third day of the event (28 Oct). This is one Japanese F&B Fair which you do not want to miss out on! 

WHAT TO EXPECT AT FOOD JAPAN 2017

Similar to previous years, the sixth edition of Food Japan will serve as a connecting platform that will provide guests with opportunities to build connections and explore collaborations with other major players in the F&B industry.

Visitors have the chance to deepen their understanding on the versatility of Japanese ingredients, as well as get their hands on quality seasonal products, unique specialities from various prefectures and innovative machinery.

Half of the exhibitors at Food Japan 2017 are new brands so visitors will have first dibs on unique products that have not been launched in Southeast Asia yet.

FUNCTIONAL FOOD

Functional food is one of the biggest highlights of Food Japan 2017. It refers to whole or fortified food that provides you with health benefits. Fun fact: it was Yakult who kickstarted this functional food trend back in the 1950s!

Consumers these days are becoming more health conscious; they are putting in more effort to understand the kind of food they are eating and are willing to go for healthier alternatives.

A prime example is Mamenoka Paste which is considered to be a healthier substitute to butter and margarine.

FOCUS ON ELDER CARE FOOD

One similarity Singapore shares with Japan is our aging population, which is an indication of an increasing median age in a population. In other words, the proportion of elderly citizens is growing as a result of low birth rate.

The elder care food industry in Japan has seen plenty of developments in the recent few years, thanks to Japan’s burgeoning silver population. There are now food products in the market that cater specifically to senior citizens—that would mean aesthetically-pleasing foods that are safe for the elderly to swallow.

There is no doubt that this food trend is starting to pick up in Singapore. In fact, elder care food has already seen success in nursing homes that have started providing food imported from Japan. Gone are the days when our elderly have to consume mushy, inedible-looking food!

Some of the elder care food products you can find there include Amazake, a fermented non-alcoholic drink and brown rice granola. We highly recommend those who have elderly parents and grandparents at home to stock up on these delicious food products that are safe for them to consume.

LOOK FORWARD TO AN AMAZING ARRAY OF PRODUCTS FROM 37 JAPANESE PREFECTURES

Over the three days, there will be products imported from not one, not two but 37 Japanese prefectures! The Tohoku region, for example, is made up of six prefectures and there will be exhibitors offering high-quality produce from that region such as processed sanma, gluten-free pasta and premium jelly.

Other food products to expect are the Samurai Ramen Gold, Kura Single Grain Whisky, Burdock, Gluten-free Spaghetti, Soybean Dietary Fiber Conjac, Veggie Tofu Nuggets and Wheat Natto.

F&B operators who are keen on machinery can look forward to an exciting range including new pasta and ramen machines, sushi-making machines and cooking oil filter machines that will make work so much more efficient.

EIGHT MASTERCLASSES TO SHOWCASE THE BEST OF JAPANESE INGREDIENTS

Widen your culinary knowledge and rub shoulders with renowned chefs from the Singapore Chefs’ Association such as Chef Edmund Toh, Chef Eric Low and Chef Yew Eng Tong who will be leading eight masterclasses, using the best Japanese ingredients.

Some mouthwatering recipes they will be sharing are Lemongrass Glazed Chicken, Open Faced Spicy Tsukune Burger on Crispy Nori Maki, Umei Mayo, Pickled Scallions and Warm Olive-Miso Broth… and the list goes on. Just thinking about it is making us drool!

Judging from last year’s success which saw the masterclasses and workshops sold out ahead of the event, it is highly recommended to register early on their website to avoid any disappointment.

Food Japan 2017 Event Details
26 & 27 October 2017, 10am – 5.30pm daily (trade admission only)
28 October 2017, 11am – 4.30pm (open to public at S$4 per person)
http://oishii-world.com/en/