Isetan Japanese Fair At NEX Has Matcha Lava Cake, Strawberry Mochi Ice Cream And More

Isetan Sakura Matsuri is ongoing till 23 March 2025 at NEX

If you look forward to the Japanese food fairs that regularly happen in malls, you’ll be happy to know that there’s one at NEX right now! The Isetan Sakura Matsuri fair is back at the Serangoon mall from now till 23 March 2025. 

You can expect over 30 stalls hailing from Japan, specialising in a variety of snacks such as taiyaki, warabimochi, croquette, and tanghulu. If you have exhausted all the Ramadan bazaars this month, be sure to visit this one! 

We found that this year’s Sakura Matsuri fair was much more dessert-focused, though there were still a decent number of savoury options, including Ijima Shoten’s braised and deep-fried seafood, Feal’s warm pies, Nakayama Shokuhin’s takoyaki, and Kamata Ramen’s miso and shoyu ramen.

First, we made a beeline straight for Bashodo’s Warabimochi. 

ICYMI, warabimochi is a Japanese mochi made from bracken starch. The dessert features a stretchy yet silky mouthfeel, and is typically dusted with flavoured powder. These treats are priced at $24 for 400g. 

They have four varieties: Kinako, Sesame, Green Tea, and Cocoa. We especially liked the sesame, as we thought the roasted, nutty flavour of the powder complemented the soft mochi perfectly. 

Next, we visited Tokio, a stall that specialises in desserts made with Japanese strawberries! If you enjoy the strawberry-matcha pairing, you would love the Strawberry and Matcha Mochi Ice Cream ($12). 

The dessert sees milky matcha ice cream and stretchy strawberry mochi, topped with whipped cream, strawberry syrup, and Japanese strawberry slices. 

The star of the show was truly the fresh Japanese strawberries, which were extremely sweet. Overall, the stretchiness of the mochi, the creaminess of the ice cream, and the slight bite from the strawberries came together well. 

The fair’s matcha selection does not stop there: head to Matcha An for more delicious matcha-infused treats! For something simple, go for the Matcha Affogato ($9.50), a dessert consisting of vanilla ice cream drizzled with freshly whisked usucha or matcha straight tea. 

For something a little more indulgent, splurge on their premium Matcha Lava Cake ($39). The Matcha Lava Cake was perfectly fudgy, and came with a thick and bittersweet Uji matcha molten centre. Though on the pricey side, it is worth a try if you’re a big fan of matcha! 

Many of the stalls here offer sakura-themed snacks, paying homage to Japan’s cherry blossom season. For instance, there’s the Sakura Mont Blanc Cake ($10) by Stone River. 

This dessert sees a sponge cake slice topped with gyuhi mochi—a softer variety of mochi made from glutinous rice flour—sakura-infused bean paste, and whipped cream. For the uninitiated, sakura has a floral flavour with subtle hints of cherry. There are also Chestnut ($12) and Sweet Potato ($10) flavours for this dessert.

If that does not strike your fancy, Stone River offers a range of tanghulu AKA fruit skewers coated in Japanese sugar! Variations include Shine Muscat ($9), Orange ($7), and Strawberry ($5). 

The Japanese fair runs till 23 March 2025, so head down with the fam before it’s too late! 

In other food content in Singapore, check out our list of the best young hawker-run stalls for Thai-Japanese omurice, duck confit, curry prawn noodles and more. Alternatively, check out our Serangoon cafe guide for late-night desserts and more. 

Address: Serangoon Central 23, Level 1 Atrium, NEX, Singapore 55083
Opening hours: Sun-Thurs 10:30am to 9pm, Fri-Sat 10:30am to 9:30pm (12-22 March), 10:30am to 8pm (23 March)
Website
Isetan Sakura Matsuri is not a halal-certified fair.

Photos taken by Paula Formantes.
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg.