Visiting Emporium Shokuhin in Marina Square

Back when Paul and I were still in Manila, we were pretty lucky to have spent the first few years of our married life with my in-laws first and later on, with my family. This means, we never really had to worry about the nitty-gritty of running a household as our parents got those covered. I remember one time, we were doing our weekly grocery shopping and we bumped into one of my colleagues. She curiously peeked into our cart and laughed while saying that it seems like we're two teenagers simply filling up our stock of junk food. Well, she was pretty spot on there. Looking back, our grocery shopping meant buying more junk food, cookies, juices and the most "adult" thing would be our personal toiletries.

I've always told people that moving to the Lion City has changed our lives in so many ways. For one, we have learned to "grow up". By this, I mean running and maintaining our own household, worrying about running out of cooking oil, rice or even the basic toilet paper roll. We have learned to prioritize shopping for our needs and a less of our wants. I remember once when I had to Facetime with my Mommy while doing my seafood shopping as I had no idea how to tell if a fish is fresh enough for me to buy. I'd say that we've learned a lot since then.

So, when we got an invite to check out Emporium Shokuhin in Marina Square, we made sure not to miss it. After all, it's the first integrated Japanese emporium where you get a live seafood market combined with 8 dining concepts and a Japanese grocery section too. We love all things Japanese so this was something we're so excited about.



First stop was the Live Seafood Market. It's just like a wet market with all types of seafood lined up minus the wet floors, the endless haggling, the leftover stocks, the fishy scent and the fact that you have to wake up so early in the morning to get the best deals. Here, you can actually drop by after work and you're assured of top quality seafood no matter what.

Look how HUGE this Alaskan King Crab is. Ohhh I so want to eat you! Mwahahahaha We also saw some big lobsters and the wide selection of fishes too.

Moving in, we stopped by this interesting glass display which has big cuts of beef. This, my friends, is Emporium Shokuhin's in-house beef dry-aging facility. Here you'll see the award-winning Japanese A5 Miyazaki Beef which was flown in directly from Japan. As they say, aged beef gives you that melt-in-your-mouth experience that will get you wanting for more.

my favourite chips! -- Tongari Corn and Chip Star ♥ 

We also checked out the Japanese grocery where you can have your fill of all-things Japanese! From chips to Japanese sweet grapes, the selection was pretty extensive and very impressive, I must say. As I was going around, I had this impression that Emporium Shokuhin was a franchise from Japan.

Well, guess what?!

It's not. In fact, it's owned by a local Singaporean making this a 100% Singaporean brand. This also covers all 8 dining establishments which are all original concepts too. This is such an amazing place to be especially if you love Japanese food and I'm glad we finally have something like this in the Lion City.

In my next blog post, I'll tell you all about that memorable meat lover's dinner that we had in one of their dining concepts -- Gyuu!

Check out Emporium Shokuhin at 6 Raffles Boulevard, 01-18 Marina Square, Singapore 039594. It's open everyday from 11:30AM to 9PM. However, the Seafood Market and the Aged Beef section is open from 8:30AM onwards.