Emporium Shokuhin's GYUU+ Yakiniku (焼肉) in Marina Square!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll undoubtedly have heard about Emporium Shokuhin. It's a huge, 34-thousand-square-feet-of-mall-space area housing a Japanese grocer with all manner of Japanese goodies, a seafood market both frozen and fresh (lots of premium choices like Japanese Hairy Crab and King Crab), a dry-aged meat butcher, and eight different dining concepts.

Of the eight different restaurants, GYUU+ is the Yakiniku (焼肉) eatery, serving up grilled seafood and various meats (some more premium than others). It's a tad bit disappointing that GYUU+ opted to go with gas-powered flame grills instead of Japanese binchotan charcoals; nevertheless we take our seats and start with some orders of salted pork belly ($15), scallops ($16 for a pair) and salmon fillet ($12).


When the Japanese eat Yakiniku, they typically "eat their way across a cow," trying different cuts of meat from different parts - including more exotic bits like the tongue and tripe (stomach). GYUU+, probably recognizing that Singaporeans aren't quite as adventurous, stick firmly to safer waters; for example these cubes of Miyazaki Wagyu ($23/100gm). The menu doesn't list where these cubes are cut from (or what the quality/marble score is), so one can only assume that they're from a less desirable part of the cow.


We also had an order of US Prime Striploin ($26/100gm) which, impressively enough, seems to hold its own against the Japanese beef in the marbling department.


Let's eat! We mentioned earlier that we would have preferred charcoal: It burns hotter (flame is technically hotter, but it doesn't transfer radiant heat to food well), thus you can get a nicer sear on your meat. Plus, as the fat drips off it hits the coals and vaporizes into flames which impart an aroma that you simply don't get over flame.


Flame, however, is still plenty good enough. We were quite impressed with the hot plates / grill that GYUU+ employs: It's non-stick and the gaps are small enough so we're never worried about losing a piece of meat.


Strangely, we ended up liking the USDA Prime more than the Miyazaki Wagyu. We thoroughly enjoyed the beefy flavours in the Sirloin more than the additional fattiness of the Wagyu. Don't get us wrong, though, both cuts of beef were delicious. The rest of the items (pork and seafood) were perhaps a tad bit pedestrian in comparison.


After adding in rice ($3/bowl), napkins, water and other taxes and fees, we ended up paying $61 per person - which we think is quite acceptable considering the ingredients used.

GYUU+ is located within the Emporium Shokuhin area in Marina Square, and is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Reservations +65 6224 3433 (probably not really required). Non-halal.

Scoot's ScootBiz ("Business Class") Review: TZ 201 from Tokyo to Singapore!

This is one post of a multi-part series covering our Two weeks Tokyo & Hokkaido Travel Guide:
    ▫ Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Singapore to Tokyo
    ▫ Three Days in Tokyo: Off the Beaten Path
    ▫ Sapporo, Otaru and Cape Kamui: Scenic Self-Drive Guide
    ▫ Furano, Biei, Sounkyou and Asahikawa: Amazing Autumn Colours
    ▫ Jozankei, Noboribetsu and Hakodate: Unparalleled Beauty
    ▫ Scoot's ScootBiz Class from Tokyo to Singapore

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If you've been following along on our Hokkaido trip, you might recall that we spent the night in a really tiny hotel room.


The bed itself was fairly comfortable, though, and after check out we catch the hotel's free shuttle bus back to Narita Airport for our Scoot flight back to Singapore. If you're doing last minute souvenir shopping in Terminal 1, the Akihabara duty-free, air-side departure (i.e. past immigration / customs) shop has among the widest range of goods and snacks from all over the country.

A word of warning if you're hunting for food: The tempura at Tentei (天帝) is terrible and is to be avoided at all costs.


Our choice of transport back home: A "business class" seat on Scoot's Boeing 787 Dreamliner.


We put "business class" in quotation marks because this cabin really is a Premium Economy product rather than a true Business Class product ...


... which is sort of okay, because the pricing is very attractive! During promotion periods you can get a ticket at around the same price as a full service carrier's economy class. As you can see in the photo above, the seats are wide and you've got a lot of legroom. More than enough for even my 6-feet-tall body to stretch out very comfortably.


As part of the "business class" differentiation: A 'welcome aboard' cup of water. If you want bubbly or even soft drinks you'll have to pay for it.


Each seat also comes equipped with 110V sockets to power your laptops or devices. I understand that on the B787, economy class seats are also equipped with the same sockets, but that you'll have to pay extra to use them.


Of course, the standard Dreamliner features are present, including the clear-to-dark-blue electrically controlled window 'shades.' It doesn't ever get totally dark, in case you were wondering.


There's also the rainbow-coloured cabin lights, which we found rather tacky.


Food and drink is where Scoot's Low Cost Carrier roots really make themselves felt. A "business class" ticket includes baggage, an extra carry-on (two in total), and a meal with drink and dessert. There are four choices, all of which were so terrible that we can't be bothered to write about them in more detail.


The in-flight-entertainment is served up via the in-plane wifi. It's free for "business class" passengers, but you do have to bring your own device. We tried on iPhone, Android and Windows laptop and had no problems with streaming any of the (very limited) TV Shows and Movies. The Dreamliner also has Internet over the wifi; but as it was quite expensive we didn't pay and therefore don't know how fast (or slow) it is.


Scoot's Tokyo to Singapore service has a stop in Taipei (in both directions), so the total journey time is about 2 hours longer than a direct flight. Our flight was delayed by about two hours, which seems alarmingly par for the course according to FlightStats, which rates TZ 201 as only having an on-time performance of just 73%, with an 18 min average delay.

Having said that, we still do think ScootBiz fills a niche remarkably well. With pricing rivaling full service carriers' economy class, you get a vastly superior seat, with a lot of leg space and a seat that reclines far enough for actual comfortable sleep. Of course, Scoot is a low cost carrier, so you have to make do with sub-par in-flight entertainment and food and beverage. But we're impressed, and definitely wouldn't hesitate flying it again in the future - provided the price point remains roughly the same!

Giant Soft Cookie Recipe is similar to Subway Cookies (with different varieties ideas)

Getting your fresh baked soft cookie fix from Subway?

Hang in there. Why not bake some yourself! This is so much more easier then the Similar but better then Famous Amos Cookies Recipe

We're crazy Subway fans too, now I've found the recipe it's time to create all the flavors sold at Subway including new creations of ours!

This recipe yields 24 Giant Soft Cookies


Base Cookie Dough Ingredients:
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
2 teaspoons of Vanilla Essense
1 teaspoons of Coffee Emulco
170g Salted Butter
160g Brown Sugar (Sugar level suggestions in our creations listed below)
50g Sugar (Sugar level suggestions in our creations listed below)
0.5 teaspoon of Salt
150g All Purpose Flour
100g Bread Flour
10g Baking Soda

Step By Step
1. Beat Egg with Coffee Emulco and Vanilla Essence in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Sift All Purpose Flour, Bread Flour, Baking Powder and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat Salted Butter, Brown Sugar, Sugar and Salt until all the crystal melt and combine.
4. Pour in the beaten Egg mixture and mix well.
5. Pour in the Sifted Flour mixture and fold till well combine.
6. Pour in the ingredients you love (our suggestions below) and fold till evenly distributed.
8. Place in the fridge to chill for minimum 2 hours to let the flavor infuse.
9. Preheat the oven to Fan mode 160°C or Top Bottom mode 170°C.
10. Remove chilled dough from fridge and roughly roll the cookie dough and place on the baking sheet, leaving 2" apart. Do not press down, it'll turn out fine.
11. Place in the oven to bake for 15mins or until edges are lightly golden brown.
12. Cool completely before serving.

Some Extra Tips Below:
- Recommended to mix the dough and let it chill overnight in the fridge. This recipe the cookie dough must be chill if not the cookie will turn out flat.
- Shape and bake the dough immediately from the fridge. Don't Leave the dough on the counter top to bring it back to room temperature before baking.
- You can store the mixed cookie dough (well wrapped) in the fridge for up to 3 to 5 days.
- Bread Flour this an ingredient that will affect the structure and soft texture of your cookie.
- Coffee Emulco can be replaced with Vanilla Essence. However, this is the key ingredient that makes the cookie smell and taste better.
- If you're using a mixer, remember to do remove and manually fold in the ingredients you love (our suggestions below).
- Remember space it 2" apart to let the cookie have space to expand and brown evenly.
- To allow the flavor and fragrance to develop further, store cookies in an airtight container overnight before serving.
- Cookie Dough can last up to 2 months in the freezer.
- Store cookies in an air-tight container with a piece of bread or a slice of apple to retain the softness as the cookie will absorb the moisture from the bread or apple to stay soft longer.

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Below are my creations hopefully it'll inspire you. You may split the base cookie dough is 2 parts and half the portion as per suggested below for more varieties. Hope you all will love this recipe.

Chocolate Chips & Peanut Butter Chips Soft Cookie
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 cup Peanut Butter Chips
Sugar level suggestion:
150g Brown Sugar
50g Sugar

Chocolate Chips & 9 Grain Blend Soft Cookie
1.25 cups of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of 9 Grain Blend (Brown Flax, Flakes of Wheat, Rye, Triticale, Barley, Sesame Seeds, Spelt, Millet, Quinoa)
Sugar level suggestion:
160g Brown Sugar
40g Sugar

Ginger Stem with Chocolate Chip
1 cup of Chocolate Chips (White or Dark)
1 cup of Candied Ginger Stem

M&M's Soft Cookie
2 cups M&M's
Sugar level suggestion:
120g Brown Sugar
40g Sugar


Coming Soon~
Butterscotch Chips with Pecan Cookie
1 cup Butterscotch Chips
1 cup chopped Pecan

Blueberry Pecan
1 cup of Dried Blueberry
1 cup of Pecan Nut (chopped)

Blueberry Pretzel
1 cup of Dried Blueberry
1 cup of Pretzel

Butterscotch Pecan
1 cup of Butterscotch Chips
1 cup of Pecan Nut (chopped)

Cranberries Almond Cookie
1 cup Dried Cranberries
1 cup chopped Almonds

Chocolate Chips
2 cups of Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chips with Candied Ginger
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Candied Ginger

Chocolate Chips with Dried Cranberry
1/2 cup of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Dried Cranberry
1/2 cup of Cashew (chopped)

Chocolate Chili
45g of Cocoa Powder
0.5 tsp ground Chili (or 20ml Tabasco Chili Sauce or Chili Oil)
0.5 tsp ground Cinnamon
Sift together with the dry mix.

Chocolate Chips with Pecan
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Pecan Nut (chopped)

Chocolate Chips Walnut
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Walnut Nut (chopped)

Chocolate Chips Cashew Nuts Cookies
1 cup Chocolate Chips
0.5 cup of Dried Coconut

Chocolate Chips Coconut Cookie
1 cup Chocolate Chips
0.5 cup of Dried Coconut

Double Chocolate Chips (Chocolate base cookie and Milk + White Chips)
Add 45g of Cocoa Powder. Sift together with the dry mix.
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of White Chocolate Chips

Macadamia with Chocolate Chips Cookie
1 cup of chopped Macadamia
1 cup Chocolate Chips

Mango Cinnamon
1.5 teaspoon Cinnamon (Sift together with the dry mix.)
1 cup of Dried Mango (chopped)

Mango Cranberry Coconut Macadamia
Replace Vanilla Essence with Orange Essence (Optional)
0.5 cup of Dried Mango (chopped)
1 cup of Macadamia Nut (chopped)
0.25 cup of Dried Cranberry
0.25 cup of Coconut Flakes (chopped)

Mango White Chocolate Oatmeal
0.5 cup of White Chocolate Chips
0.5 cup of Dried Mango (chopped)
1 cup of Rolled Oatmeal

Oatmeal Raisin
1 cup of Rolled Oatmeal
1 cup of Black Raisins

Oatmeal Chocolate Chips Cookie
1 cup Rolled Oatmeal or Instant Oatmeal
1 cup Chocolate Chips

Peanut Butter
2 cups of Peanut Butter Chips

Raspberry Cheesecake
Add 100g Cream Cheese to the dough.
1 cup of Dried Red Raspberry
1 cup of White Chocolate Chips

Rocky Road
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
15-20 Large Marshmallows

Toffee Apple
1 cup of Toffee Chips
1 cup of Apple Compote

Triple Chocolate Cookie
Just add 30g of Cocoa Powder to the flour and sift to make the Base Cookie Dough Chocolate Cookie.
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 cup of White Chocolate Chips

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
1 cup of White Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Macadamia Nut (chopped)

White Chocolate Mango
1 cup of White Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Dried Mango (chopped)

Chocolate Ginger
1 cup of Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Candied Ginger

Click here for our blog page Baking Classes for more recipes. Hope you will be inspired~

Hokkaido Autumn Guide: Hakodate Sightseeing and Superb Seafood at the Morning Market!

This is one post of a multi-part series covering our Two weeks Tokyo & Hokkaido Travel Guide:
    ▫ Singapore Airlines Suites Class from Singapore to Tokyo
    ▫ Three Days in Tokyo: Off the Beaten Path
    ▫ Sapporo, Otaru and Cape Kamui: Scenic Self-Drive Guide
    ▫ Furano, Biei, Sounkyou and Asahikawa: Amazing Autumn Colours
    ▫ Jozankei, Noboribetsu and Hakodate: Unparalleled Beauty
    ▫ Scoot's ScootBiz Class from Tokyo to Singapore

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As a quick recap, we're starting the day with breakfast in Noboribetsu Onsen, before taking the 220-ish km drive to the port city of Hakodate! Annoyingly, much of the road has the same 50km/h speed limit as the rest of the island, so travel time is close to four hours.

Along the way, we take a lunch break at the Akaigawa (赤井川) branch of Hakodate's most famous fast food chain: Lucky Pierrot (ラッキーピエロ)!


While the food's the same across all fifteen or so outlets across town, each outlet has its own unique spin on the decor. For example, there's a Santa Claus-themed outlet and an angel-themed one. They're all a little quirky in that uniquely Japanese way.

We tried the Chinese Chicken and Tonkatsu burgers (with chili cheese fries and oolong tea) and were pretty impressed: For a fast food chain, the burgers were pretty darn delicious.


Our hotel for the night is Hakodate Grand Hotel (formerly known as Chisun Grand). At ¥9,500/night + ¥1,000 for parking it's one of the cheapest hotels we've stayed in throughout this trip, but it's also one of the oldest. We did really feel that the hotel could use a nice refurb. View out the window was very nice, though!



With our bags safely stashed, it's time to hit the pavement and see what the city has to offer!


Our first stop for the afternoon is Fort Goryokaku. Initially built as a pentagon-shaped Western-style military fort, it's since been repurposed as a remarkably attractive botanical garden / park. One of its most imposing landmarks is the 107-m tall Goryokaku Tower. On this trip we decided not to go up the tower (¥840/adult); if you do decide to go up though there are observation decks with rather nice views of the fort/park itself.



Photo courtesy of Travel Hakodate.
We decide to use our time exploring and people-watching in the park. There are hints of autumn colours among the maple trees, but by and large this part of the island is still green. It probably won't be until a week or two later in the month before peak autumn colours hit.




We then head back closer to town; intending to walk and explore the areas between the harbor and Mount Kurodake ropeway (cable car station). Hakodate was apparently one of the first towns/cities to be opened up to gaijins (i.e. foreigners i.e. westerners) after the country's era of isolation; so there's a curious mish-mash of European and Japanese influences everywhere. For example, these red brick warehouses (which have now been converted to flea market-type shopping areas mostly for tourists).


Oh, did we mention we also randomly ran across this 'award-winning' rabbit? His name is Panda (パンダくん).


As the sun nears the horizon we start making our way up the Motomachi area to explore the varying architecture around the many sloped streets: Modern concrete buildings dotted with traditional wooden Japanese homes, European-style churches and an old Japanese temple-like structure.




To our horror, our final destination (Mount Hakodate Ropeway Station) is closed for maintenance!! Since the small, windy road up to Mount Hakodate's viewing platforms is closed to private cars from 5pm to 9 or 10pm (depending on season), our only options are to take a pricey taxi, or join the hundreds of people in the queue for the twice-hourly public buses.


We decide to do neither, and head instead to Hakodate's Morning Market for an early dinner. The market stalls are closed, but one legendary restaurant is open: Uni Murakami.


For a full review of the meal/restaurant do visit our guide to 8 foods you must eat in Hokkaido. In a nutshell, though, one cannot journey to Hakodate without having a bowl of uni (sea urchin) on rice at Uni Murakami. It is simply that good.


After 9pm the road up to Mount Hakodate re-opens to public car traffic, so we hop into our Toyota and up the hill we go! We're a tad bit disappointed that we couldn't get to see the city before sunset, but the night view's pretty damn nice as well.



Bring a jacket; it's windy and gets pretty cold up there.

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One last day, one last destination. Turns out we woke up too early (the trams hadn't begun running), so we decided to just walk to the Hakodate Morning Market.


Most people would say this is the best morning market in all of Hokkaido; We tend to agree. There are more stalls selling more stuff - there's the standard barrage of crab, scallop, salmon eggs and other seafood, but also other groceries, fruits, and even some souvenirs on display.



If you're in a decent-sized group (or have huge appetites), many of the shops have basic cooking facilities and will grill (or boil) a king crab for you. Or if you're more adventurous, do try one of Hakodate's specialities: The Dancing Squid. We decided to 'play it safe' and settled for a bowl of Bukkake Seafood Rice Bowl at Kikuyo Shokudo Honten.


Sadly, all good things must come to an end; the Morning Market marking the end of our vacation. The rest of the day's spent travelling: After returning our rental car (quick, uneventful, efficient), we take a 'Hokuto' JR Limited Express train to the New Chitose Airport. If you're also planning to take the train do take note that it's not very frequent (1-1½ hours per train), and the reserved seats can and do run out, so consider buying your ticket a day or two earlier.


After an evening JetStar flight to Narita Airport, we spend the night at what must be the smallest hotel room we've ever seen: APA Hotel Keisei Narita Ekimae. You don't get much real estate for just under ¥7,000, I guess.



Dinner was a simple affair at a random izakaya: Food was decent for a 'serve everything' kind of joint.

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With our bellies filled, we retire back to the hotel for a depressing night's sleep as it's the end of our holiday. It's not the end of this series, though. In the coming days we'll have a final post about our 'Business Class' flight from Tokyo back to Singapore on Scoot Airlines!

In the meantime, and if you haven't read it already, do visit our previous post in this series for amazing autumn colours at Hoheikyo Dam, Jozankei Onsen and Noboribetsu.