Ikoi Japanese restaurant review

Ikoi Japanese Restaurant

 One of the most interesting things about Japanese food is the way its prepared, and this AUTHENTIC 

Japanese restaurant is no exception. Who gets to drink soup from a teapot? or slurp down a bowl of  green tea rice? (Which is really Rice in green tea) Seriously! The minute you step into the place it feels like a transportation to a whole other country (Perhaps japan).  Ducking under the Noren Curtain hanging in the doorway, you're immediately greeted with shelves and walls full of cute japanese ornaments and pictures of other guests who've stepped through the very same path. 

     The waitresses are all in their Kimonos and you are immediately greeted with a high chorus of irasshaimase! The place is relatively small in size, but it just adds to the warm and cosy charm of a small shop in Japan. Now, the restaurant offers an all you can eat ala carte buffet, of which food items consist of everything in the Menu. I'll leave the items on the menu as a surprise, though you might have to ask the waitresses about what some of the food names mean (Since its all in japanese)

     

Mystery of the day:
Green tea? Seafood soup? WHAT IS THIS?!

The first thing they'd serve you would be a pot of what looks like green tea, which is already confusing on its own. But on a closer inspection, you'd realise its a different thing altogether. It's Seafood soup! as the waitress told us, Its a broth made of seafood and honestly, it'll be one of the best soups you'd ever taste. The flavours are clean and not overpowering like how some other seafood soups are like. One word sums it all up - Pleasant. 

Chawanmushi that's so soft you could die.

Fried everything that's nice

Okay, this I gotta say. It looks unoffensive enough, and sounds normal. Wild Japanese Yam? sure. no problem. It comes in tiny, tiny slices, topped with crisps of seaweed. Delicately pick one slice up with chopsticks and take a small chunk of it, and you will experience the strangest thing EVER. Its slimey, even though it has the texture of a chinese yellow pear. As in, the thing OOZES with slimey stuff with every bite. seriously!

Looks like the waitress blindfolded herself and poured
tea in the wrong place

What do you get when you cross Matcha, salmon slices and rice? THIS. I was actually pretty disappointed with this one. I thought it'd be more of an interesting, pleasurable experience, but this just goes to say that Things DO taste as weird as they sound. It was waaaay too salty, and bitter. The green tea mixes horribly with the rice, and there's a really weird aftertaste that stubbornly lingers on your tongue. Although I guess the risk of the adventure proved to be kind of fun. I mean, No one, and I say no one, would have ever eaten this for dinner. (Unless it was an accident of course.)

Alright, so that's the end of this review, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for today. If you ever want a nice, exotic, non-cliched restaurant to take all your rich friends to and show off, here's the place for you.  You can find this place located at a cosy corner in Hotel Miramar, Singapore. Good day to you!

Hungry bunny over and out!

Weird Japanese sweet #4 (Puccho white strawberry)

Does this not pull on your curiosity strings or what?

     Yes, another Puccho candy that's as ridiculously flavoured as its other relatives. Now...in white strawberry flavour (Or pineberry as some people call it) I had to get it the second I laid my eyes on the thing.
   So, anyway. This does taste like strawberry, but its slightly more sour and has an interesting citrus taste to it-which is really quite uncommon in normal strawberry flavoured candies. Initially, I had thought it to be some sort of gimmick, that it was really just plain ol' ordinary strawberry flavour, BUT NO! A glance at the ingredients list told me otherwise. For there, printed in the tinniest black font was the words ' White strawberry puree'. Really, this company goes all the way to get you a unique treat. Go on, get it if you've seen it on the shelves but doubt its tastiness.
   Or maybe you're one of the people who walk past it thinking its ordinary strawberry. If so, well, there IS a slight difference. Slight. But it is there, so why not add it to your collection of Pucchos?? Mine's growing bigger and I have not regretted any of it yet.

Hungry Bunny gives this a 7/10 for its intriguing quality. Or maybe an 8/10 for tasting really good. ah whatever, get it and see for yourself!! Over and out~

Weird Japanese Sweet #3 (Puccho Soda and melon gum drops)

Puccho puccho puccho~!

What sweet sounds like a pokemon name? It's Puccho of course! well, yeah, you could get any other old normal flavour of high-chew-like sweets from 7-Eleven, But hey, Melon soda flavoured? I just had to buy these.
  BTW, I got this from a shop in Malaysia, so it's not exactly a common find.
  Not only is the packaging totally cute and awesome, the flavours are SUPER addictive, and you can't ever bring yourself to stop popping a few of these gum drops into your mouth. Seriously! This is something you do not want to miss out on. If you see this, get it at once. Though I could mention that they should have made the gum drops bigger, but oh well, all the more cuter it would be if they looked like little wine gums.

P.S. Okay, so I finished the whole thing before I could take a picture of the sweets, so yeah, the bottle's empty.




Hungry bunny Over and Out-

Weird Japanese Sweet #2 (Japanese Cigarette sweet)

hmmm...influencing on little girls to smoke?

I came across this peculiar looking box while I was 'sweet hunting' at a small convenient store. Honestly, it didn't look that appetizing, but the cute packaging got to me. See, these are really old childhood sweets here in Singapore, and are kinda plain and boring, being chalk-like and white with no colours and everything, but they do give a sense of nostalgia in some way. Why not? a nice road trip down memory lane with only the cost of 30 cents. Don't hesitate to pick these up and be a kid again, you know, holding the white stick between your index and middle finger, 'smoking' your lungs out while enjoying a nice strawberry taste on your tongue. Well, of course, being me, I just chewed the whole thing up as I couldn't be bothered to wait out half an hour sucking on the thing.

Saba fish(Grilled mackerel) at Holland Village

Oily deliciousness

If you're a huge Saba fish fan, my advice to you is to head on to Holland Village's coffee shop for a nice, cheap good meal. I mean, seriously, would you look at the grease on that fish?Perfectly fried to a crisp golden brown, this dish is the best saba fish I've ever tasted that comes at a reasonable price

Bubble tea

I thought this was sooo cute. Awwwww...

One of the many favorite past times of the average student in Singapore would be none other than spending a few hours, chewing on the deliciously addictive pearls of a bubble tea drink.

Why, you ask? Well, being a bubble tea addict myself, I can say that these things are not only enjoyable to drink/eat, they come in all sorts of flavours and it's always a joy to pick out a new one for an adventure.

From pudding milk tea (yes, real pudding in your drink, I haven't had the luck to try that one yet), to Matcha milk with red beans, you'll never get tired of anything! Most stores have a wide selection to choose from, BUT beware: The pricing can also be a challenge. Some drinks can amount to $4, or even more if you allow it.

Oh, but one of the best things about bubble tea would be the cheerfulness of it all. Don't you just feel so much happier after chewing up everything? In my experiences, drinking Bubble tea has always been a festive occasion. "We ran around the school 2 times today during practice, we deserve bubble tea!!" That would be the usual thing a friend would say to me after a sweaty CCA practice. And what better way to celebrate a day's hard work with Bubble tea? doesn't that just sound so great?

Three cheers for Bubble Tea!! Since it cheers you up too.

Weird Japanese sweet #1

Fish eggs? Red beads? NO! It's prune flavoured balls!

As I walked down the confectionary aisle of Cold Storage, I spotted this strange looking sweet that looked like tiny red beads. Of course, I was very much intrigued. So, being me, I got it at about a dollar eighty and brought it home in excitement to try this interesting looking snack. I did hope I wouldn't get cancer or anything, because it really looked like something that might.

    So anyway, I tore the bag open only to find a ziplock seal. Interesting...the Japanese are very kind to take into consideration the fact that I would never down the whole pack.

     Okay, I admit I had my doubts. The small ball was only about the size of caviar eggs, and looked like it would fit well into a necklace. I can read some of the japanese on it, and apparently, its prune flavoured. How Odd! I'd never seen such confectionary before, needless to say prune flavoured ones. I wondered if these were popular among the teens in Japan.

   Anyway, back to the taste. When I first popped it into my mouth, it felt odd. Like as if I shouldn't be swallowing any of it. But I finally forced myself to bite into its hard surface, and with "crack!", there was a burst of flavour and the stuff inside the ball immediately dissolved. It tasted refreshingly of prune, and I took another one with great pleasure. These were really REALLY addictive! Honestly! If you ever find these in your supermarket, I'd say give them a try. I suppose that's the fun of food. You never know what you're gonna get - especially if it looks as odd as these prune balls.

hungry bunny, over and out.

  

Chocolate frogs:Harry Potter

Okay, So i'm a huge Harry Potter fan and I've finally made the plans to see "Harry Potter: The Exhibition" with my friend and her family. They'll be staying here in Singapore until 30 september, so I'll have plenty of time to restock! The Exhibits were brilliant!! Most importantly, we got to see the actual clothing and props used by the stars themselves, and one can't help but feel the itch to touch the sleeve of Professor Snape's Cloak, or caress the silky dress worn by Emma Watson during the scene of the Yule ball. Of course, It wasn't actually allowed, but oh well, no harm done.

The Gift shop was far by THE BEST attraction since you could actually bring home the stuff, and there were so MANY things on sale that were also TOO EXPENSIVE to get. Here's a list of some of the stuff I saw sold in the shop, just in case Your country's gonna be the next in line.

1)Plain Black/White T-shirt with 'Muggle 'printed in gold
2)Quill Sets
3)Maurader's Map (It Folds out!~!)
4)All the wands
5)Assorted House printed shirts
6)Hedwig plush Puppet
7)Toy Broomstick for kids
8)Wand chopsticks (Real Cute)
9)Chocolate Frogs
10)BB every flavoured beans
11)House Scarves
12)House Beanies

And So much more. But these were the ones that really caught my eye. So, Being me, I got the chocolate frog, The Jelly beans, and The house scarf (Gryffindor, of course.)

Chocolate frogs you'd expect to jump straight out the window!

CHOCOLATE FROGS

These little critters were simply divine. Of course, No one cares much about the frogs, More importantly - Trading cards! And I got Albus Dumbledore, Lucky me!
Okay, so they tasted really good, not too bitter. And there were little chunks in the chocolate that made it have a texture similar to Toblerone chocolate.
I devoured it within seconds. Honestly.

Poor Frog got a leg amputation!

Chocolate frog Trading Cards!!

Popin' Cookin' review

What's more fun than defying the phrase, "Don't play with your food"?
Nothing. That's what. So, for those of you who have absolutely no idea what japanese sweet wonderland is, Here's the link.
Now, I'm a HUGE fan of Japanese stuff, so Me and my friends got the Sushi candy, The hamburger set, and the Nerunerunerune Ramune(soda flavoured) ones.
Of course, It's best getting together with friends who wanna have a laugh to do this. It's really more fun with people you can share this fun experience with.

Sushi

Here's how the front of the box looks like-yes it looks like
a 4 year old's play toy, but I kid you not. It's serious business.

Unlike most other reviews, I personally find this to be quite tasty. Well, let's start off by rating the individual pieces, shall we?

RICE: 
Texture: ain't too bad. If you like those kuehs from Malay cuisine, you know, the spongy one, you'd like this.

Taste: It tastes grapey, a mild sweet grapey flavour. and kinda Cakey too.






TUNA/TAMAGO:
Texture: It's like jam but firmer, very mushy, and not at all chewy as I expected from the picture.

Taste: Okay, honestly, it tastes exactly like the grape flavoured Jellies you can get in a tube.

EGG ROE:
Texture: It's exactly like Egg roe(!!!). The grape flavoured liquid enclosed in the thin skin of jelly imitates the real deal so well it's hard to tell the difference. Besides it...being...grape flavoured and not at all fishy I guess.

Taste: Grape (Yes it's all grape if you haven't realised by now) but slightly more tangy than the others.

SEAWEED:
Texture: Believe it or not, the seaweed was my FAVOURITE. It's gum (I LOVE chewy stuff), and really sticky and chewy, and if you live in a hot climate like me, It's gonna end up a black sticky melted mess if you don't deal with it soon. plus it sticks to your teeth so watch out for that. No one wants a black mess stuck in your gums.

Taste: It's slightly sour (Grape) but it doesn't make you squint your eyes in its sour-ness or anything. And I love sour stuff. really!

SOY SAUCE:
Texture: as liquid as soy sauce can get, and the colour's really real too.

Taste: It's like grape flavoured drinks.


Here are some more pictures:

Makin' the egg roe

Alright alright, I know it's not top-notch quality work, but hey-try
it yourself and see how hard it really is.

Hamburger set
Here's a video if you wanna watch it

Hamburger Set. You'll need a microwave for this.

BUN:
Texture: hmm...it's hard to describe this one. I guess it's like really really soft cookies. The ones that have been left out in the open for a very long time.

Taste: It does taste like bread, just that it's got a hint of seasoning so it's not too close to the real thing.

CHEESE:
Texture: Exactly like cheesey, just not stringy or chewy. It breaks up really easily.

Taste: As AWESOME as cheese can taste.

MEAT:
Texture: This one feels like the hamburg you get in a quarter pounder in Mcdonalds, just without the juices. It's really crumbly and not at all chewy.
Taste: Very heavily seasoned. But all in all not bad for meat that comes from powder.

FRIES:
Texture: Crunchy on the outside with something like instant mashed potato on the inside
Taste: REALLY REALLY GOOD, it's all starchy and potatoey.

COKE:
Texture: believe it or not-Fizzy!
Taste: It's not that bad, though it tastes like the liquified version of cola hard candy-and a little too sweet for my taste.

TIP: See, we didn't really have a microwave at home. So i'm here to tell you that it's actually Okay using an oven to cook the stuff. Just make sure you watch it properly so that it doesn't burn and that the plastic doesn't ruin your oven.

Here's the finished product:

YUM YUM! Burger set for one

It lost all its bubbles by the time we were done :( 

Nerunerunerune Ramune
Video link here

Some sort of alien gooey foam?

FOAM THING:

texture: Foamy. Gooey. Sticky.

Taste: Okay, It wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be really tangy and refreshing, and maybe even carbonated, but no. It's really sweet, and tart, and it does taste like soda. And when I say soda, I mean like the Japanese kinds like Calpis. not sprite Soda.

HARD ROCK CANDY:

texture: Hard. Rocky. Okay okay i'ts a joke, but it ain't wrong. It's like the texture of mints, the kind that breaks without any protest if you bite into it. It won't make that "C-Rack!" Sound, so that's good for your teeth.


taste: Sweet, and slightly tangy actually.




Seriously Get it, it's not too expensive, and I guarantee you the FUN Factor. If you live in Singapore, You can get it in Jcube and Marina Square('Cactus' lvl 2)


Hungry Bunny - Over and out.

Coming up next...!

1) popin cookin review 2) lemon meringue cake at ion orchard 3) Bertie botts every flavour beans 4) chocolate frogs