What's up, Hype Hunters?
So recently a 24-hour Japanese discount chain
opened its first Singaporean outlet.
The discount chain in Japan is called Don Quijote but
there's already a restaurant by that name in Singapore.
So over here it's called Don Don Donki.
And the store is so popular, people started queuing up hours before it opened on the first day.
So the Japanese stores sell everything
from snacks to beauty products
from electronics to even sex toys
so we're here at the Singaporean outlet
to check it out and see if it's worth the hype.
So let's just check out the floor map of the Donki in Singapore.
They span across two levels - B1 and B2.
And you can see like, all the different things that they have.
Actually what I'm excited about is the seasonal goods
because I don't immediately know what that is
and it might be special stuff you cannot get from elsewhere?
I'm excited about the souvenir part because
that's probably a lot of like, Japanese snacks
and souvenirs that you probably can't get outside of Japan?
Okay so I'm seeing one of my favourite Japanese snacks.
Jagariko - it's like really yummy?
This is the salad flavour, this is the cheese flavour.
And it's only $1.90 here.
I think if you buy it from Japanese supermarkets
it's definitely more expensive than that.
I definitely know that this is cheaper here
because I've seen it in Daiso?
And it's $2 in Daiso and it's $1.70 here!
$0.30 cheaper. Score!
Over there you have all the Japanese food
and you can just buy and eat as you go along.
It's actually like, really hectic? It's...
Kind of difficult to walk around because there are so many people.
I've definitely never seen this section in the Don Quijotes I've been to in Japan
where there's service staff serving you like, ice-cream and all that.
This feels very... more like a supermarket.
So you see there are so many things in that area that have just been wiped clean.
The auntie in me is actually getting very excited in this section.
This is konnyaku jelly,
and Yohei, when I first met him,
and had dinner with his daddy,
he told me that people would pop this in the microwave
use a knife cut a slit into it
and masturbate with it.
I don't know how true that is but...
Yeah. He told me that story in front of his dad
the first time we had dinner together.
I have never been able to eat this ever since.
I definitely like the fact that this place is decorated so fun?
The signs are really exciting,
they are like shouting at you,
they are like, this is really exciting and super delicious.
Then is like very enthusiastic you know?
Very different from FairPrice.
Oh! This is like the fish from Tsukiji.
It says "From Tsukiji to Singapore".
You know what? This is like a whole crab, a hairy crab.
My favourite!
The crab attacked me!
Look, my skin came off!
Stupid, stupid crab.
Egg!
Great.
I just cut my finger and she's like, "Egg!"
Egg!
I love Japanese egg!
So good! $3.90, is that a good price?
Oh shit, your finger is bleeding.
Now she notices.
Wait, wait, wait. I can fix this.
They sell ice pack at this location.
And people are going to use this ice pack to like...
you know, cool their food?
And it has been contaminated with my...
bloody finger.
Okay so we are done with B2.
We're just going to head up the escalator to B1 right now
to see what else they have?
Right. As we enter this is the cosmetics section.
As a young girl going into Japan,
this was my favourite thing to do,
to shop for Japanese cosmetics.
I'm very excited looking at it but
I'm also panicky because it's very crowded and very hectic.
So I feel that people are going to push me
to get to their favourite mascara or something.
What is this?
There's like a whole range of like... double eyelid glue
and it's something really popular in Japan.
For you to look like from this to like...
I can't do it.
This?
Is that a good look?
Uh... Sh...
You always look good!
Okay thanks.
It's like use your deeper crease?
Check out this wall of eyelashes.
How crazy is this?
The entire row is just eyelashes.
Okay I don't really stick like, falsies.
But I don't know. Is this... cheap?
$20 for that?
This is like $2 per lash.
So every time you stick them on, that's 4 bucks you're using.
Check out all the nail polish.
This part reminds me a little bit of Daiso?
I guess it's like a cosmetic store?
But like very, very large scale.
So it's like $7.20 for one nail polish like that.
That's not cheap right?
It's super tiny!
Yeah, no. That's not cheap? Yeah.
I don't know.
I think for something that's supposed to be a discount store,
I'm not finding all the things very cheap?
Like, seriously.
You can get nail polish like this...
for like...
I don't know, a dollar? Two bucks?
And if I were to buy a whole range of colours,
that's going to cost me a bomb.
I haven't found a product where I'm like,
Oh my god, I can't believe they're selling it...
Yet.
But let's see.
So far it seems like there are just a lot of things on display.
Lots of different brands
but a lot of them like, we don't have in Singapore
and there's no tester so we don't get to try.
I'm not sure I would like, take the leap to just buy something new?
Yep.
Pink paper towels. Someone needs to tag Wendy.
Should buy this for her entire house.
And does it smell like peach?
Yeah!
So if you use this, your bum bum would smell like peaches.
So I found my first thing that I haven't seen elsewhere -
it says Exclusive so you know they only have it here.
It's a nose hair plucker.
Pretty graphic.
You can see all the strands of hair being plucked out.
So I guess you just dip it in the wax,
put it in your nose then you yank it out.
You let it dry, harden,
and then you yank it out.
Sounds so painful!
Why, guys? Why?
The snacks section in Donki is just peppered everywhere.
So downstairs they have like a whole area selling snacks,
over here they also have another area.
I didn't see this anywhere else,
kind of like corn snacks.
I don't even know what this is, like mint?
I've not seen this before.
No it's like the sweet that fizzles.
Oh!
Like, it kind of tastes like 100PLUS.
This is a jumbo size caramel corn,
I mean usually we see it this size
and this one is like a bigger pack.
I think it's cool that the sweets are so cheap like
80 cents for a packet of candy.
If you don't want to commit to a giant pack of sweets,
you can just buy the mini size.
Compared to the Don Quijotes in Japan,
I think the selection here is pretty much about the same.
This is like, another jumbo size pack of Japanese snacks
I know you can get jumbo size snacks in let's say, Giant.
Or Sheng Siong or something.
But this is like a Japanese snack!
I'm going to look for this cookie that I love,
I absolutely love, and I can't find it here.
And every time I go to Japan, I need to eat it.
What does it look like? I help you look for it.
It's called Country Ma'am.
Oh!
I found it!
This is my favourite cookie.
I can eat this whole thing in like... one sitting.
What's so good about it?
I don't know, it's just the texture of it,
the... I'm going to buy one and then we can eat it later.
This moment is the moment
where I can tell you why people come to this place
specifically to look for that one thing
that they can't find in other places.
And when they find it...
like even if I walk out with just this thing,
I'm so happy!
Now the question that I have is -
You know how when you travel to Japan for holiday
and then you buy all these snacks
and you come back, go to give it to all my friends,
and then now you can get them here?
I know!
You can fly to Japan,
and you can come back
and then you can buy the snacks over here,
and pretend that you bought it for them over there
but then you save luggage space!
Idea!
Okay so we've reached a section where I see a lot of traditional Japanese snacks.
You know like when you go to a Japanese supermarket,
you see like, premium Japanese snacks
but over here it looks like you can get all sorts.
There's some sweets in these little tins
that kind of resembles snacks that you could get at a mama shop.
I would assume that these are snacks...
from like, a Japanese person's childhood?
The people behind us are saying like, "Natsukashii"
which means it's very nostalgic.
So definitely these are snacks that they do eat when they were younger.
I was right!
This is interesting.
It's like, clear water that tastes like things.
That's like the worst description ever.
Recently there's been this trend -
tea-flavoured water that's clear.
This is like yoghurt-flavoured water.
These are like my favourite things to get when I land in the Japanese airport.
Like just Japanese tea?
Yeah!
Okay so these are things that are very Japanese-y...
Toys? I guess?
I bet this is just like a pair of stockings
but then you add a picture and people would be like,
Ooh! This is a toy, I can now buy it, go home,
put it over my head and pull it and look like this picture!
But actually it's just a pair of stockings.
See?
Hey Roz, Roz,
would you wear that leopard print bodysuit for Halloween?
For Halloween, I would.
And they are selling yukatas,
I'm going to wear it to your wedding.
Okay...
So you wanted to wear this to my wedding?
And I was like...
Because it's actually a sex yukata.
What?
It's a sex costume, Jem.
How do you know?
Look how short the skirt is.
Is that what you want to wear?
No I change my mind.
So I guess you have all these knick-knacks for you to like...
dress up as different characters.
Like I guess you can cosplay a little but
I won't say this is like real cosplay.
This is just like Halloween costumes.
I want to ask you something - Yeah.
Can you tell me if this is a man?
That is a man. It looks like a man to me, right?
So this is a costume for a man
to be dressed as a woman. I know, isn't that amazing?
And there's a whole line of costumes for men right here.
It's all the same man.
This is underwear that has bells
so when you walk -
Here we are at the seasonal goods section,
which means just Japanese...
Christmas...
things.
Things.
Now it's Christmas so they will sell Christmas things,
then Halloween would be Halloween decor but -
I have to say, I am a little bit disappointed.
Because when I saw on the map
I thought seasonal is like
March is the season for cherries!
So we're going to sell all cherries!
But... No!
This one is a bit underwhelming.
I think this is like my favourite section so far.
This is like a... I don't even know what it is.
It's like a mini pool for you to put your noodles in
let that swim around and then you just eat off it.
And then you can put the condiments in the middle,
that's so cool!
Exclusive only at Christmas.
Then there's another sign here that says
Only at Don Don Donki.
So it's exclusive to this store.
Here we are at the souvenir section
and it's half empty!
I guess the souvenir area is like...
not little knick-knacks like fish magnets or whatever,
it's actually like the Japanese food souvenirs
that you can actually get at the airport itself before you fly out of the country.
They've actually brought it here!
This looks so good!
Should I get it?
What is it?
It's a green tea red bean tart,
and this one it says Hokkaido Rare Cheese Cake,
I really wish I knew what it looked like
so I could buy one?
This is the queue to the cashier
and all I want is to buy my cookies.
And I was thinking of...
coming back to get it another day but I...
I already opened it.
So I have to pay for it today.
Really long queue.
But actually I have to say the line is moving quite fast.
Like we literally take a step every second,
so at least we're not like, stuck in the line?
Okay Roz, you queue here.
I'm going to show them how long the queue is.
Actually everyone's basket is so full.
Roz should definitely get more things if not she queue, it's not worth it.
Tada!
It's like...
it's like a really long queue.
I thought it was really fun?
And if you've never been to Japan,
that is like a peek into the world of crazy, appliances and snacks
that Japan would have.
Actually for me I felt very panicky when I was inside.
Because there were too many people everywhere.
Claustrophobic.
It's very claustrophobic.
Maybe you should go when it's a little quieter?
Yeah I think I would go at like 2, 3am when there's like, hopefully nobody.
I'm going to eat my cookie now.
That I've been dying to eat.
And still as fantastic as I remember it.
Don Don Donki in Singapore has a great selection,
I think it's very exciting that
in one shop you can have so many different things.
As for prices some things are a little bit more expensive,
some things like the snacks are cheaper.
So I think it really depends.
The thing that really differentiates it is like the atmosphere?
That made you feel as though oh,
it's not just another supermarket.
It's like, really Japanese and really different.
Okay so I think we can both agree that this place is definitely worth the hype!
I'm just happy they have my cookies!
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