Giant Japanese Food Mecca Opens In Singapore

Singapore is already a favorite culinary destination of chefs and food personalities (its hawker centers and food meccas have even inspired Parts Unknown host Anthony Bourdain to open his own Singaporean-style food hall in New York City). Well, there's a new addition to Singapore's culinary scene: Emporium Shokuhin. Though Singaporeans love their own cuisine, they also love Japanese food; which is why they are excited this new Japanese food hall has opened.

The 34,000-square foot space is located in Marina Square and has eight dining concepts including:  a Japanese-style bakery, a seafood and wine bar, water tanks filled with live seafood from Europe and Japan, a grocery area with produce and condiments; a temperature-controlled area for aged beef, and more.

There will even be a section of the emporium that will sell produce flown in from the Ehime prefecture in the northwestern region of Shikoku, Japan. Ehime is known for producing fruits like mandarin oranges and kiwis. This will be the first time that produce from Ehime will be exported.

"I didn't want to do another restaurant," Li-Wei Lim, CEO of Emporium Shokuhin and former chief executive of Shin Group, told The Straits Times. "I wanted to sell quality produce at reasonable prices. What sets us apart is our live seafood and aged meat options."

By the end of October, Lim also hopes to supply live seafood to businesses and launch an online platform for customers to shop.