hokkaido heaven!

having caught a momentary glimpse and taste at last year's hokkaido fair, i immediately knew that a visit back to the atrium of tampines mall was a definite must-do the next time the fair was in town...so when the flyer appeared in the mail, g and i set our alarm clocks, got up bright and early, skipped brekkie and hopped on the mrt over to hokkaido heaven!

it was just 15 minutes past the fair's opening time and the place was already a buzz with activity! g and i wasted no time as we spotted queues beginning to snake around the ramen stall, mochi stall and butter custard bun stall.....after a good half hour weaving in and out of people and queues, sampling everything we could lay our hands on (the wasabi ika and wasabi top shell from the stall behind the sashimi one totally rocked!), we decided to skip the apparent crowd favorites and go with our gut...exiting mini hokkaido with 4 appetizers and 1 main. brunch started off with pullman bakery's famous curry potato bun and salted caramel croissants. fried and baked on the spot, the potato bun and croissants were really worth the wait as they were fantastically done - the potato bun had a nice thin crisp outer shell and enveloped classic, slightly creamy japanese curry. the croissants were literally to die for...with its salty buttery and hint of caramel flavour lining every layer of crisp pastry, these really melted in the mouth! next were the spring onion takopachi balls...slightly different from the normal ones with generous toppings of fresh spring onions and mayonnaise, these were not bad if you are into octopus balls...i'd save the calories though, for the salted caramel croissants any time! final appe were the classic japanese croquettes. another must try in my book...with sweet or creamy versions, these croquettes were definitely worth bending that diet for! the meal concluded with a classic bento bowl of sashimi....think fresh scallops, creamy uni, a generous spoonful of ikura and sweet king crabmeat. oishi!

this girl's definitely got the month of july marked on her foodie calendar as hokkaido heaven month..and yes, the battling of the tampines crowd is worth it!

hokkaido fair
3-12 july
isetan @ tampines mall