Sashimi Girl is also a Supermarket Slut

Holy shit! That's the smallest freaking grapes i have ever seen in my life! See what fancy foreign supermarket can offer that you will never see in NTUC?? If the size is not that visible to you, I took the liberty of taking another shot, this time, with my finger next to a packet so maybe the small size is more visible this time.

One grape prolly has a diameter of 1cm each. There's this jap word on the packaging called 'Shi-ma-ne'. I am not sure if it refers to the brand or the variety this particular grapes is. And wait till you check out the price - 19 freaking bucks! Now why would i pay 19 freaky bucks for a handful of mini grapes when i could prolly buy 20 packets of normal sized ones with the same amount of money??? Then again, maybe it is purely from the view of poor churchmouse like myself *Blush*. This supermarket is crawling with wealthy-looking jap tai-tais who almost all spot the same latest fashion slightly curly hair-does that you see from jap magazines. They are mostly fashionably dressed (You will not see them in shorts and flip flops), glowing complexion (from the daily use of SK-II masks or the likes of it), and are incredibly slim (compared to Singaporean womens their age, to my opinion). Honestly, I must admit jap women are rather classy and stylish. Well, how could they not when they hubbies are all expats working in here, living the high life residing in Orchard condos etc, having nothing much to do except booking tennis courts and shopping with the wives of other expats??!!! LoL oh well..

So after spotting freaky grapes, I was like, what the hell, let's go take some pictures!

Wee! Strawberries! I dun particularly like to eat it but isnt it great to look at! Then I got bored with the fruits and proceeds to the vegetable (Jap: Ya-sai) section. Oh guess what I found!

Nope, its not watermelons. They are pumpkins. Damn. We singaporeans are so brain-washed into believing that pumpkins are orange on the outside, no thanks to halloween pix which show carved-out evil-looking orange pumpkin heads. Just the other day I came across a recipe in a foreign magazine about a yummy looking pumpkin soup and i tot to myself: where in the world am i gonna get pumpkin in singapore to cook that soup?? and there they were! ^&%^$#%#@$@@!!!!

TaDaaH! Took a general shot at the vege section while 2 jap housewives eyed me with suspicion... Everything here is nicely wrapped up and all so you can be sure whatever you wanna buy has not bee poked at repeatedly in a bid to confirm freshness. Next, I wonder into my fave section.. Meat meat meat! (Sashimi Girl is Carnivorous *wild laughter*)

I passed by the deli section on my way to the meat section. This is one of my fave sections as well. Many break times during my jap classes are spent here, walking up and down for piping hot, delicious displays of bbq meat, pasta, yakitori etc. The aroma is gonna overwhelm you! I used to buy Penne and Turkey Breast pasta but later gave in to other yummies. Try the Chicken Leg Yakitori. It comes in generous quantity of honey-glazed chicken thigh meat for only $1/stick! Or when I feel like dieting, the wholemeal sandwiches at $2.80 is a great buy. Try the Roast Beef one. Nutritious & Value for money!

This is where you can find me rooted to the spot for about 5mins which drooling at the beef. I am a sucker for beef. Heavenly delicacy! I am trying to learn how to cook on my own these days but my 1st attempt turns out to be rather....rubbery and bland. Damn! Unsure of what marinade is good to buy blah blah. Gosh I sucks at cooking!

This my my fave cut. Belly prime tender or something. My number 1 fave Yakiniku (BBQ meat) restaurant is Aochan at Le Meridien Hotel. It's rather pricey but the beef totally melts in your mouth and you proceed to float in the mid air a while... Bliss!

SASHIMI!!! This is the section which I get a little weak in my knees whenever I pass by.....

Sadly, the prices also give my poor heart a little leap just by looking at the tags.

Oh well, still, I had fun looking! ^_^"

Jap Curry! Yayyyy!!! These are ready-to-cook home packs which you can buy home and expertly produce jap curry like those shown on the boxes. I had tried cooking from these convenient packs and it is really quite fool-proof. Just boil, add potatoes, onions, meat and the curry cubes and viola! Traditional jap curry piping hot is ready! Jap curry is different from the local ones we have. Jap curry is sweet and mily spicy. Go try cooking if you are a curry fan but beware: it is seriously fattening so watch out for your waistline!

They are having this Hokkaido Fair now. There are shitloads of stuffs apparently from Hokkaido on sale now with the promoters stationed in various corners of the supermarket, offering you samples of they stuffs they are promoting. I swear if you are broke now, head down to Isetan Scotts supermarket now. You can simply go from station to station eating samples and save some lunch money!

Just checked out that 4 bloody huge boiling pots! This is of of the sample station lo! Do you get to see that in NTUC?!! NoOoOooo.. NTUC only has small little clear plastic cup around which is sparingly handed out.. Ok not that I hate NTUC k? In fact, I adore NTUC for their great variety and even better prices. But Honestly! Isetan really takes sampling very seriously huh! On the left is also another sampling station. Apparently they are promoting rice hence those 2 are rice cookers. I am say I am impressed by their sampling stations. Told ya u could fill your stomach just by visiting each station... LoL~

Some 'ben-to' (literally rice with side dishes in a box) are on sale at the Hokkaido Fair. Not really appealing to me though, and the prices are scary.

Croquettes fried on the spot are available too. This is much more appealing than the bentos but oh well, I will pass it up this time. I believe the original croquette is simply mashed potato dipped in flour then fried. As I snapped this pix, a staff suddenly appeared in front of me and told me 'No photos pls'. Bloody hell. Startled me. The staff looks and sounds japanese to me. For a while, I was tempted to sprout a few angry phrases like 'Shi-tsu-re ne! (That's so rude of you!) and proceed to start a 'I-am-customer-so-therefore-I-can-do-whatever-I-damn-well-pls! crap but instead I murmured an apology before scurrying away. Tmd. Oh might as well! I paid for my purchases and head for home. End of my Supermarket Adventure!

Tomorrow is yet another day. Hello Isetan Supermarket! I'll be back! Haha.. Sad!

Doreen @ 6:32 AM