●Kibana

Omiyage from Hokkaido!
I found very Yummy Omiyage in Hokkaido, the name is

Kibana by Tsuboya

Maybe you all do not know it, oh i did not know either.
But after i tried once, i cannot forget the taste.....
i should have some boxes for myself!
Kibana is very sweet, so good to have with black tea or coffee.

Put White chocolate between almond galette, Kibana is very simple sweets but the taste is not ordinary. The chocolate is very elegant, and the galette is crispy but soft.
Well, i cannot explain! anyway try them!

Kibana has been won Monde selection, the world sweets contest for 25 years!! Now i can understand why....
Kibana is much yummy than you imagine. i promise!

Oh,, now i miss Kibana! Guys, please get them for me when you go to Hokkaido!

●Trip to Japan

Hello friends, how are you?

My husband and me went to Japan last week! hadnt back over a year....

We stayed at my parents house, really comfortable!

My parents and sisters, brothers in low, their 2 kids (my nephews) and gramma, all welcomed us and prepared good food as well.

Sushi, Unagi (eel), Gyoza, Oden nabe..... etc etc

Japanese Gyoza

Japanese Oden

We were very happy there!

And my husband and me had a trip to Hakkaido too, actually it was 3rd time for us to visit Hokkaido :p

My husband loves Hokkaido very much, because it is very cool or cold, completely different from Singapore!

In Hokkaido, we went to Sapporo first, stayed 2 nights and also went to Sapporo Beer Museum :D

The guide san is really kind and cute haha!

By the way, Sapporo beer is very famous all over the world, but have you ever heard a product Sapporo Classic?

Sapporo Classic is available only in Hokkaido!

Sapporo Classic - available only in Hokkaido!

We bought 1 box and sent to my parents :)

There is Sapporo Classic Furano Vintage version also, i heard it is very rare! we sent to parents also :)

Sapporo Classic Furano Vintage 2012 - rare even in Hokkaido!

You should try if you have chance to go to Hokkaido~!

After Sapporo, we flied to Hakodate and stayed another 2 days.

The hotel is named Hanabishi Hotel, high quality onsen (hot spring) hotel!

Hanabishi Hotel

Private Onsen in the room

We booked high class room, which has private onsen in the room hehe~

The bathtub is enough big, room is comfortable, and staff is all kind and nice.

The price is not cheap, but we want to stay there again some day. Ooh,,,, need to save money!

Hakodate is familiar with seafood, you can find a lot of fresh seafood around Hakodate station; it has morning fish market. 

We had kaisen don (seafood on rice) there- mine was ikura and salmon, and husbands is crab tempura!

Dinner at hotel, most of them are seafood like kani (crab), sashimi of tuna and salmon, also abalones, etc etc..... Wow, so happy!!!

i will introduce Omiyages on this blog soon, look forward to new updates!! 

●Hiyoko Manju

Do you like Japanese Manju?
(What is Manju? -- Click here to jump to wiki!)

When you hear Manju, the shape may round or elliptic.
But today im introducing very cute shaped Manju : Hiyoko !

Hiyoko

Cute isn't it?

Hiyoko means a chic, thats why this Omiyage named Hiyoko :)

Package

Bigger than normal Manju

White Filling from head to hip!

There are some flavors and variations depends on seasons;

Chestnuts flavor

"Family" Pack -Cute!!

Big Hiyoko (1 each in a box)

Right one  is normal Hiyoko and Left is Big Hiyoko

By the way, Hiyoko has long history, this year 2012 is 100th birthday!

Every Japanese must know this Hiyoko Manju, but there is a funny thing.

If you have a Japanese friend, try asking him/her "Hiyoko is Omiyage from where"?

Some people answer Tokyo, others Hakata (kyushu).

Hiyoko is originally made in Hakata (Kyushu area), and later they moved to Tokyo.

So there are "Hakata Hiyoko" and "Tokyo Hiyoko" and it caused confusion.

Still a lot of people do not know whether hiyoko is from Hakata or Tokyo, but actually both Hiyokos are completely the same, expect the package- well, package designs are also same, the difference is only that Tokyo one is written "Tokyo Hiyoko" and Hakata one "Hakata hiyoko".

Anyway Hiyoko is loved for 100 years in Japan, you should have them!

●Yatsu-Hashi

Kyoto is a place you must go in Japan! You can feel traditional Japanese town there.

But what to buy for Omiyage in Kyoto?

One of my recommendation is Yatsu Hashi!

Yatsu Hashi has 2 types, one is baked and the other is raw.

Baked Yatsu Hashi

Nama (Raw) Yatsu Hashi

Baked Yatsu Hashi is like senbei or crackers, but less salty harder than them! The photo above is a bite-size, but there are more longer type also.

Nama Yatsuhashi is not baked, very soft mochi like texture with an filling.

*What is AN? click here to wiki

I love Raw Nama Yatsu Hashi better! There are a lot of types of textures and an!

Nikki(Cinnamon) + Red Bean

White and Black Sesame Paste

Apple

This is Red Wine Flavor!

And there are also Yatsu Hashi without fillings.

Without Fillings

I will give you one advice.... Nama Yatsu Hashi's use-by date is really short, around a week, so you should get them slight before leaving Kyoto!

Hmm! Yummy anyway!