My Starbucks Experience in Tokyo [SEASONAL SPECIALS]

1. American Cherry Pie Frappuccino 

Photo credits:  Muriel

The American Cherry Pie Frappuccino is actually a really controversial drink. Many people think that it was gross, while some people liked it. The Frappuccino was  actually a really unique drink that Starbucks introduced into Japan. It had a pie crust (never seen before) topping that you are supposed to break it when you insert the straw. The drink was filled with real cherry bits that I felt was pretty decent. The cherry syrup was kinda sweet in my opinion, so if you ain't a sweet tooth, maybe this is not for you. Overall, I felt that it is a decent and (kinda) innovative drink Starbucks have introduced into Japan's market. And it goes really well with the Cherry Blossom season. Though... I am not too sure if I will get a 2nd cup after this.

I was also too excited to try the drink I forgot to take more pictures of it. :/ Thus credits to my friend, Muriel for this beautiful shot.

2. Classic Tea Cream Frappuccino

As the name says, this is a ice blended tea topped with whipped cream and caramel cubes. It taste very usual though. A fragrant ice blended milk tea that is not too overly sweet. The caramel cubes are kinda hard..... and more like a hard candy than actual caramel bits. I would think that overall it is just an average drink and nothing unique, though it is worth the try. This might be on their permanent menu thus you guys can give it a try in Japan and you'll get what I mean.

3. Matcha Scone and Chocolate Cake Topped Frappuccino with Matcha Shot

The Matcha series just ended last week, and it left us a positive image. The Matcha shot frappuccino was overall an innovative drink I would say. My boyfriend loved it! Initially it was dumb of us to not mix the cake into the drink, thus we felt the drink was so-so. But after mixing the chocolate cake and crumbling it into the drink, its much better!!! The scone however was a little controversial for us. It felt a little dry, stiff and bland - as expected from scone, but we didn't really like it. But the matcha flavor was good though. I felt that the sugar blocks made up for the sweetness.

4. Lime cream and Yoghurt 

The Lime cream and yoghurt frappuccino..... we didn't like it. It was really different from the usual kind of drink starbucks makes. Though the drink sounds and looks like it was going to be sour because of the lemon zest bits, but it turned out sweet and kinda made of artificial lime syrup. I expected the drink to be more similar to a smoothie and would have a lighter and fluffier texture, but it turned out really creamy, heavy and sweet. I would not give this another try........ 

Nonetheless do try out Starbucks when you are in Japan! We cannot really find quality coffee in Japan, though they offer many canned and bottled ones. The better ones in the convenient store cost at least SGD$3. But if you top up another $2, you can get a decent coffee fix in Starbucks. Comparatively, its not a bad deal, as oppose to being able to get a dollar coffee in Singapore's coffee shop (its impossible here... almost).

HITOTSUBASHI UNIVERSITY FOOD RECOMMENDATION: THE HIDDEN TENDON PLACE

After being an exchange student for almost half a year, I think I've done a good job (as a typical Singaorean) in sourcing for best local food around the school. I've been told many time about this really good tendon place near Hitotsubashi University, but really never had the chance because we either couldn't find it, or were just too hungry and drained to hunt for it.

But 2 days ago, I was introduced to the place by a Thai friend that was a full year exchange student. Before I give my comments on what I think is an excellent tendon, I should show you how the exterior of the shop looks like.

The shop is located only about 5-8 minutes walk from Kunitachi Station and about 10mins from Hitotsubashi University.

This is the name of the shop! 

Its on the second floor. Who would have known they are located here? :/ 

Personally, I am really picky on freshness in seafood. I think many people are as well, but they give battered and deep fried an exception. For tendon, the batter have to be fragrant, and the rice needs be well savored in the tendons sauce! The shop owners were really nice and polite, and provided us with an English menu. And since everyone said the place was famous of the tendon, we decided to roll in with 2 tendons.

Iroirona Tendon (Variety Tendon) 

Price: 1350 yen

Served with battered fried ebi, scallop, eggplant, potato, green pepper, sweet potato, carrot, onion this bowl is definitely worth it when it comes to the price! They also served tea, tofu, pickles and seafood miso soup. (The soup is bomb!!!!) 

Mixed Tendon

Price: 1300 yen

Cheaper and bigger portion???? How great can that be. 

Similarly, a fragrantly battered squid (x2), eel, potato, sweet potato, egg plant.

I guess the main highlight of this dish is the ginormous eel. It stretches across the bowl to the extend we felt so surreal. 

I should have gotten a picture with the bowl, but it was so huge I got too distracted and quickly dug into it. 

Overall, I felt that the freshness of the seafood could be improved. I personally am not a squid/octopus person because of the rubbery texture it gives (especially when it is not fresh). It was also slightly tasteless in my opinion and I kept wondering where all the flavor went. However, the dish overall was satisfying since they made the batter so fragrant. The portion was so huge we had difficulty finishing the entire bowl. Thus, damn worth the money spent. Sometimes I wonder how Japanese people stuff that much carbohydrates in a meal.

I am eager to return to Singapore now to try out the best tendon around and do a comparison. But I believe that the standard of Japanese food in Singapore is superb and comparable, just a little more expensive.

THE BEST OF JAPANESE FASTFOOD - WHAT TO ORDER

When people talk about Japanese fast food, it is nothing like burgers and fries. Go for their don (rice bowl) if you are looking for a quick fix.

Here are my top picks in order of my personal preference, and whats good in their menu

1. SUKIYA 

Cheese Gyu-Don

I am glad to announce that from everyone who had tried this, no one had told me that they didn't like it. This gyudon comes top on my list among all the rice bowl from Japan's fast food chains. It is basically a gyu-don topped with both mixed cheese and melted cheese. Remember to always top up your rice bowl with an egg to bring the extra creamy flavor. 

Tuna Bowl

Never would any Singaporean thought that a huge luxurious tuna bowl will be going at only $10. Load with a generous amount of seaweed, this bowl will definitely satisfy your tuna craves, though I would say that it is not the freshest and fattest tuna you can find. 

Mentaiko Gyudon (with mustard vege)

A fragrant bowl of mentaiko flavored mayonnaise beef rice bowl. This bowl is a good switch from the rest when I got bored from the overwhelming delicious bowl of cheese gyudon. There's a generous amount of salted vegetable (similar to those you can find in bakuteh). The mentaiko gives a good addition punch to the rice bowl, and every mouth is just fireworks in your mouth. 

Gyudon with Green Onion

With the entire bowl filled with green onion, this gyudon is among one of the top favourite among the locals. It is usually served with a raw egg.

SEASONAL SPECIAL (SUMMER): Spicy Eggplant Gyudon

This gyudon bowl is only slightly spicy. It is kinda like a Chinese dish with eggplant that seems to be only available during summer. I'm not quite sure if it is on a yearly basis, but I enjoyed it during this season nonetheless! 

In general, Sukiya gives the best gyudon among all the other fast food chains. The only tiny downside to this is that they do not serve miso soup with the rice bowl, but they serve barley tea free flow. 

2. Yoshinoya

Also available in Singapore, but i'll let you do the comparison... 

Cheese Gyudon 

This is my boyfriend's favourite in Yoshinoya, but he always complain how it loses out to Sukiya. The flavor is less intense and more focused on the quality of the beef. Yoshinoya's cheese gyudon is filled with only 2 kinds of cheese - I believe mozzarella and cheddar. They don't give the melted cheese like Sukiya, which I personally felt was the bomb.

Kimchi Gyudon 

Look at the beef! It is less fatty compared to Sukiya. Bigger and leaner. Top it up with a serving of Kimchi and you have a fusion of bibimbap gyudon. 

This is the best thing about Yoshinoya -- the cod roe. It translate to about slightly less than $3 for this. Not too bad right? Most importantly, it is fresh.

 3. Matsuya 

Lastly, Matsuya is another popular chain in Japan, and my introduction to you and the bibim bowl. It is slightly sweet and spicy. It usually comes with an egg. This is a must try if you have a meal in Japan and have not tried Matsuya. You get a good portion of beef, beef sauce, sweet kimchi and fragrant spring onion.


That's all from me! Hope it is informative enough. I garnered this from my 3 months in Japan and I hope all you enjoyed it.

オリジナルス リュック バックパック [ADIDAS MESH BACKPACK ROLL TOP 3D]

GOLDEN WEEK DAY TRIP TO KAMAKURA [TOKYO]

Kamakura is a small town which was strongly associated with Kyoto. It is described as the Kyoto of Tokyo because of the huge amount of Temples, Pagoda as well as Shrines located all around. 

It took us about an hour from shinjuku to get to Kamakura station. Right at the exit of the train station was the famous street, Komachi-dori.

Komachi-dori

It was a really crowded day to be at Kamakura I must say. But there's no other way to indulge in Japan's Golden Week like this.

Entrance to Komachi-dori 

Komachi-dori

As you stroll along the street, you will see people queuing up for famous street food stalls. You should jump into the bandwagon and try. Here's a list of things we managed to get!

Mashed potato Croquette -

The queue for the croquette may seem pretty intimidating, but it moves really fast. There are many flavours to choose from - chocolate, plum, black sesame, beef and red bean. 

The famous must have mash potato Croquette ¥200

Chocolate Croquette (mashed potato)  ¥200 

Black sesame Croquette (mashed potato)  ¥200

Beef Croquette (mashed potato)  ¥200

Inarizushi - sushi wrapped in tofu skin

Inarizushi - sushi wrapped in fried tofu skin  ¥250

Inarizushi - sushi wrapped in fried tofu skin  ¥250

Inarizushi - White bait egg roll

 From the same stall, you can also get the egg roll. Kamakura is known for its

White bait egg roll  ¥250

White bait egg roll  ¥250

Soy sauce Rice Cracker

Along the way to the great Buddha, you will also find more street food. 

It was the first stall we saw as we walked out of Komachi-dori and we thought it looked really huge and great so there we go ~ 

Soy sauce rice cracker  ¥300

Soy sauce rice cracker  ¥300

Soy sauce rice cracker  ¥300

Floresta Donuts

And....

We passed by Floresta Donuts and decided to got something sweet. Look how adorable they are.

Floresta mini donuts  ~¥200

Cremia Ice Cream

Cremia Ice Cream can be found almost everywhere in Japan. But it was nonetheless my first time having cremia and i loved it!! It was super creamy and the cone was unique. 

Cremia Ice cream  ¥500

Octopus Cracker

Last but not least, the famous octopus cracker at Kamakura!

I'm not sure if we can find this anywhere else in Japan, but it is my first time encountering this. Basically its a really thin sheet of freshly squashed octopus with some flour. It tasted like prawn cracker but I would say slightly better and more fragrant?? 

Tako senbei (Octopus cracker)  ¥350

Tako senbei (Octopus cracker)  ¥350

 This is them squashing the octopus in high pressure and heat.

Tako senbei (Octopus cracker)  ¥350

 You can literally see the tentacles of the octopus.

My boyfriend excited to eat his cracker

Tako sembei (Octopus cracker)  ¥350

and finally, the Great Buddha

The Great Buddha @ Kamakura

The Great Buddha @ Kamakura

The Great Buddha @ Kamakura

The entrance fee into the Buddha Temple is ¥200. You can also get under the Buddha for an additional ¥20.

Overall, Kamakura is a really nice place to add to your itinerary if you are coming to Tokyo. However we do not need the entire day at Kamakura, so I would suggest only an afternoon there, and could possibly be paired with Enoshima or Yokohama.