Singapore’s Iggy’s is Asia’s best restaurant according to the Miele Guide which made its grand debut last week. The guide is claimed to be Asia’s first truly independent regional restaurant guide.
The Miele Guide 2008/2009 edition evaluates restaurants in 16 Asian countries… Brunei, Cambodia, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The top 20 restaurants according to the Miele Guide 2008/2009…
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A bunch of premium grapes were auctioned for 100,000 yen (~US$920) in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, on Monday (August 11). The bunch weighed around 700g and had 35 grapes, which converts to about $26 per grape.
These expensive grapes are a new variety called the Ruby Roman; nurtured by the Kaga Fruit Land in Ishikawa. It’s said to be the largest grapes in Japan, about 3cm in diameter. The average price for the Ruby Romans at Monday’s auction was about 27,000 yen ($248) per bunch. [via Nikkei]
Check out some other expensive Japanese fruits… the Yubari cantaloupes and the Densuke watermelons.
Nestle has introduced a new flavour for its Kit Kat wafer bar, filled with powder from the famous Yubari melons; and the company will donate 10 yen to the bankrupting city of Yubari from every pack sold.
Sounds generous, but there’s some catches as pointed out by Stippy… turned out its more of a brilliant marketing campaign by Nestle instead of a genuine effort to help Yubari city.
Still, if the product does provide a bit of relieve for the city, I don’t think the folks there would mind if it’s genuine or not. It’s probably easier though, to spend a cool two million yen to buy two of their famous melons instead.
Pepsi is planning to release a cucumber-flavoured soda drink in Japan this summer, and only for this summer…
I wonder how it would taste like… a vegetable juice or Pepsi soda with cucumber flavour? Doubt that I would fancy it either way; it’s not like I have any chance to try it anyway lol.
A pair of cantaloupes from Yubari, Hokkaido, fetched a whopping 2 million yen (over $16,000 USD) at the first auction of the season at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market.
The price paid by Marui Imai Inc, a Sapporo based department store, has broken the previous record of 800,000 yen.
The two melons were on display at Marui Imai’s flagship outlet; priced at 1 million yen apiece. A spokesman said that the cantaloupes were more for publicity in celebration of their 135th anniversary instead of profit [Japantimes]
Yubari melons are known for their high quality and sweet taste. The melons are popular summer gifts in Japan; an average Yubari melon could cost $50-100 USD.
Giving gifts to corporate partners and clients is a traditional custom; it’s usually done twice a year in mid-winter and in mid-summer.
[update] The record was broken again in 2008 for 2.5 million yen.
