Mooncakes and Lanterns

I didn't have much chance to explore. But at the same time, I must say there had not been much hype about the lantern festival this season. Maybe it was the refllection of the state of the economy, and it may also be that with the Bersih and the “Red Shirt” rally, there is a bit of tension running around.

So, I only managed to catch one at Pavilion last weekend. Pretty straight forward, with mainly stalls selling novelty mooncakes from a host of local hotels and restaurants. We didn't catch any events at the time I was visiting, but there were plenty of people around browsing.

A group of my friends may be planning to hit Petaling Street this coming weekend - haze permitting. We night catch more fancy lanterns there then ….

Tokyo Street 2014

I used to feel the charm of the place in the previous visits. It was after all something quite different. Nice selection of Japanese food, great café and just chic ambience.

That was a couple of years ago. Moving on, there seemed the much of the same. Same shops and the quality of the outlets had pretty much deteriorated. A couple of new restaurants but they were non-halal.

I didn't mind the non-halal issue, but I would've preceded it to be segregated clearly. Had a separate wing where one could go and enjoy such food. Building the outlets together at one area just create confusion and for me suspicion as I couldn't trust the whole area to be halal as such.

That to a certain extend had put me off having meals there. I still loved the café but the numbers were dwindling. We were down to one at the minute withbanither Japanese-themed café located at the central walkway of level 6.

Down to the bottom line, Tokyo Street should be a themed outlet and should run around on that novelty, as an attraction of all things Japanese. There were promotions going on all the time but they were located outside the main area. Something of an afterthought and it was always business as usual for the vendors inside as if they were separate from the effort of the promoters of the event going on elsewhere. Things felt detached and disorganized.

I felt that those running Tokyo Street should look into this and tow all the vendors to be in line. When there were promotions going on, everybody should be involved. That was clearly not happening yesterday when I visited the place. Without this effort, Tokyo Street would lose its charm and turn into any other themed street stalls. And you could get that in Chow Kit...

Tokyo Street Anniversary

When I was at Pavilion today, I saw a commotion created by throng of photographers on the top floor. Apparently it was the second anniversary of Tokyo Street, and they had some events to mark that. Today, it was an Anime gathering. There were also competitions. But the whole place turned into Cosplay heaven.

And to that, also a photographer's heaven. I only had my hand phone with me instead of a proper camera. So, in just snapped away to what I could. Great fun though.

At one of the stage, there was an Anime character competitions being held. The participants would act their character and explain to the public what the character was about. Rather surreal to see that in Malaysia. I was sure in Tokyo proper, this would be quite a normal weekend activity.

Since I was rushing to get to Pasar Ramadan, I didn't have the time to find out what else would be going on as part of the celebration. Which was a shame. It would've made for a great photo opportunity.

En Ginza Cafe

Tokyo Street, on the Sixth Floor of Pavilion had been opened for more than a year. A nice area to loiter, and I was drawn there mainly for the food. It ranged from the quintessential Japan dining, to easy going cafe and bakery, all in a nice cosy ambiance. There were also plenty of titbits and ornaments to case the eyes on, for some light retail therapy.

I personally like the bakery by the entrance there, called the En Ginza Cafe. My children loved the wasabi and seaweed fries. They would mess up their faces, with their fingers turning green from the colouring. The drinks there were not bad either. But I love the ambiance, especially if you come in a bigger group when they would offer the sofa should it be available.

Idlan waiting for his fries.... and it was finally hereI told you it was cosy .....Well worth the time to explore the place actually. There were crepes and sweets aplenty, but Irfan especially loved the ornaments shops there.

Tokyo Street is on the top floor. You won't miss it if you venture around Pavilion.

Tokyo Street

I had read the posters about Tokyo Street every time I went to Pavilion but was never really bothered to ask what that was about. Finally, on New Year's Eve, after visiting the Buddy Bears, we all went up to the 6th floor looking for food. Finally, I found out what Tokyo Street was all about.

It was rows of stalls, Japanese-theme right at a corner of Pavilion where an interior design shop used to be. The stalls were arranged in streets with an open lighting system coming from the top for the spaces between the stalls or "street" giving the feeling that you were outdoor. It worked.

The cafe that we had some drinks in. Hmm! Can't recall what it was called.This lychee soda was heavenly!Something you would expect here - a ramen house ....The white light coming from the ceiling gave the impression that you were outdoors, much like in an open street.I couldn't help but felt that I was actually out and about in a street, going into one shop to another. And all these stalls sold food and ornaments from Japan. They had sushi and snacks of course, ramen, toys, chocolates and of course desserts. The staffs all wore kimonos and Japanese-styled costume. Nope! There were no anime characters on display.

Anita was hounded by this cuddly mascotThis was chocolate heaven!We soon settled at a Japanese bread shop, and had tea and seaweed potato chips there. It was nice and relaxing. For drinks, I had lychee and soda. On a hot day like it was, it really hit the spot.

I would definitely be visiting the Street again.