As the rainy season in Singapore gradually trails off, it’s time to embrace the freshness of spring – in spirit at least. If you were one of the 691,100 Singaporeans who visited Japan in 2024, you’re probably dreaming of yet another sakura getaway as we approach the season of all things floral. And while we may not have cherry blossoms swaying in the breeze, there’s a Sakura Matsuri food festival that’s bringing Japan’s hanami flavours right to Singapore this March, featuring cherry blossom-infused treats, street food, artisanal matcha desserts and more.
Organised by Isetan, this gastronomical pop-up spanning almost two weeks is a paradise for both foodies and avid Japan-lovers alike. Show up hungry, or in fact, make a whole meal out of it, because there’s a range of both sweet and savoury delights in store. These are all specially flown in from the Land of the Rising Sun itself, and you typically won’t be able to find such brands in Singapore on a regular basis.
In the savoury department, there’s a special focus on nosh from Shizhuoka Prefecture – think a Mount Fuji wagyu menchi katsu burger ($8), Mount Fuji wagyu rice bowl ($18), yakisoba ($8.50), and smaller snackables like sakura ebi onigiri ($3.50). Seasonal seafood like jumbo ikameshi ($17) – rice-stuffed squid – are also on the menu.
But it’s the sweet-toothed that will have the biggest field day here. We know that plenty of you are matcha fans, and you’ll be glad to know that there’s also a whole line-up of matcha desserts in store – with the main highlight being The World’s Richest Matcha Fondant Chocolate Cake from Matcha An. This oozy, rich baked confection uses a high concentration of ground matcha from Uji, Kyoto, and comes dusted with gold flakes for an exquisite finishing touch. This usually retails for JPY3,800 in Japan (around $34), and will be going for $39 at the Sakura Matsuri pop-up – which isn’t exactly cheap, but at least it’s not marked up by a crazily exorbitant margin.
While you’re there, try the Uji matcha affogato ($9.50) from the same brand, or get some matcha powder ($45) or matcha milk base ($14) to whip up your own green tea beverages at home and save money on visiting matcha specialty cafés.
Other sweet bites include mini taiyaki with eight different types of fillings (from $10 for 16), tri-coloured dango (from $3), ningyo yaki in the shape of Kumamoto’s cute bear mascot Kumamon ($5), honzukuri warabimochi ($24 for 400g) from Bashodo, and strawberry kakigori ($12).
Of course, it isn’t a sakura matsuri without cherry blossom-infused items that you’ll only encounter during the season; Savour the delicate floral flavours of sakura mochi ($4), sakura mont blanc ($10), sakura and matcha mochi ice cream ($12), and L'Orient sakura wine ($29 for 500ml, buy one get one free).
Sakura Matsuri by Isetan is running from March 11 to 23, 2025 at Nex’s Level 1 Atrium. Stay tuned for more updates via Isetan Singapore’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
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