Cheap Japanese snack shops in Koenji

Japan has many awesome snacks. They produce different seasonal snacks and sometimes also collaborate with popular characters to create packaging that is irresistible.

I’m a fan of white chocolate and nuts and when I was in Japan during summer, I just couldn’t help but grab a box of this. It says on the box ”冷やしてもおいしい!” (hiyashite mo oishii), which means that it is delicious even when chilled. 

My question was, “Why wouldn’t it be?” 

Haha! 

Anyway, chilled or not, this was yummy. 

I go crazy when I see shops like this in small towns like Koenji (yea, this was in Koenji. haha!). You can often find many snacks you love at very low prices. 

I once bought my favourite Japanese snack at only 100 yen each! My country sells these too, but at 3 times 100yen!

This is the one I’m talking about!

My mother introduced this to me when I was a kid. It was love at first bite!

Sekai no Yama-chan

We met up with Hikari after we returned from Yamanashi.

Hikari is a really fun guy. We first knew each other through working in a ramen shop. He was so full of nonsense and laughed really easily, so I liked him immediately, and we pretty much hit it off from there.

Through the many meetings we had in Japan and the places he always brought us to, he also struck me as a guy with pretty good taste! Through him, we got to go to various izakayas and one of my most memorable outings with him was him driving Summer and I to Odaiba at night. I really enjoyed that night. It was really too funny!

Anyway, this time he brought my boyfriend and I to Sekai no Yama-chan, which serves delicious marinated fried chicken wings as the specialty! We talked and laughed a lot as usual. He loves Singapore and I love Japan. I’m really looking forward to him coming to Singapore again. We also made a promise to either conquer Mt Fuji together or spend a day at Fuji-Q Highlands the next time we visit Tokyo. I’m really looking forward to it! It’s always fun with him around, so arigatou ne, Hikari~!!!!

And everything was delicious at Sekai no Yama-chan if you are wondering! The chicken wings are of a salty, peppery taste. Very crispy too, so it’s really addictive. XD

Houtou

When we were at Yamanashi, in almost every shop, there would be this noodle stew dish with lots of vegetables inside. While waiting for the bus to bring us back to our hotel, we decided to try it.

This is called Houtou. The noodles are flat, and it is served in a miso-pork broth, and it is topped with vegetables and some meat. This cost us 930yen. It’s quite expensive, considering that it looks AND tastes like what my mother likes to cook at home on rainy evenings.

So, anyway, there was nothing spectacular about this dish. I’m just writing this to let you know that if you have some money and there’s a lot of food you want to try in Yamanashi, you can spend your money on the other more interesting food you see.

My memories of good food in Yamanashi were mostly Tori Karaage. Haha! It’s not a specialty of that place but I had some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten over there. XD

Kawaii Animal Donuts at Floresta

Yesterday, my boyfriend and I went to check out Floresta at Koenji.

They sell these donuts at 350yen each. They are tiny but filling, and extremely well-made! They were really delicious too~ XD

Not all Floresta bakeries have these animal donuts, and I’m really not sure which outlets have them besides the Koenji branch, but Koenji is pretty worth a visit. They have many cute cafes there for one~!

Of course, Floresta has the usual donuts like these too. They are really yummy as well. They taste healthier than your usual donuts. I think they use some kind of wholewheat flour? The insides are not your usual white pastry.

Floresta Koenji opens from 9am to 9pm.

Directions

 

Gion Tsujiri

I had the best matcha sakura parfait at Gion Tsujiri!!!!

It was a special limited edition parfait for Spring! 1300yen.

Look at its irresistible toppings~!!! XD

It was really really good!

Gion Tsujiri serves hot food as well, and has a range of green tea desserts. The queue during lunchtime and dinnertime is always long. I went there just after the dinner peak hour so I didn’t have to queue.

Gion Tsujiri
Kyoto City, Gionmachi-Minamigawa 573-3)
Opens from 10am to 10pm daily