While on my maid of honour duties (bridal dress shopping for my sister), the bridesmaids, my Mum and I had an hour to kill in between appointments so I decided to introduce everyone to the $2.50 shop on Clarence Street. Yes, we Sydney-siders have our very own Japanese 100 yen shop!
Shopping at Maruyu's $2.50 (100 yen) shop at Sydney's Clarence Street, Town Hall
To the bemusement of my sister, who had never traveled to Japan and learnt of the treasures available for only 100 yen each, she squealed with joy. It was only my second visit and much like sharing good food with good friends, it was a very delightful afternoon, watching the girls pick up a heap of quirky must-haves which they didn't know they had needed. Let me assure you, any trip to the $2.50 (100 yen) shop, will be very satisfying.
They stock everything from kitchenware to tableware to gardening tools to underwear!
[Top left - Bottom right] Food serving tray (image source: fotobank.ru), onigiri punchers/cutters (image source: Just Bento), cute rabbit egg mould (image source: Just Bento), table ware: bowls, dishes, cups, chopsticks (image source: Chipango), fish shaped soy sauce disposable containers and gourmet toothpicks (image source: Lunch In A Box), the $2.50 (100 yen) shop at Maruyu in Clarence Street Sydney (image source: J Style), grater / multi-slice tool for daikon, ginger, cucumber or other vegetables (image source: Lunch In A Box) and lastly, a heart-shaped mini frying pan (image-source: catgirlpink)
Some of the cool and cute foodie things on sale include a pair of plastic egg moulds which let you transform an ordinary boiled egg into a work of art that any kid would eat, a star-shaped miniature frying pan for adorable pancakes, those serving trays you see at ramen joints like Ichi-ban Boshi or Menya, sake cup sets, a massive selection of graters and slicers in all shapes and sizes for daikon, ginger or cucumber, and yes, even those disposable sushi boxes and fish-shaped soy-sauce containers!
And what's best, is that shopping up a storm here won't hurt your wallet.
So what are you waiting for? Shop up & eat up!
Maruyu City Super
Basement & Ground Floor, 283-285 Clarence St., Sydney
Tel: (02) 9267 0882
Open Monday - Friday 10am - 7:30pm, Thursdays until 8pm, Saturday 12pm - 6pm and Sunday 12pm - 5pm
NEWS FLASH
Plus in other exciting news... guess who's going to be on stage at the Chinese New Year Festival Markets at Sydney's Belmore Park (12 - 14th February)? That's right - me, me, me!
I'm working with Asian Home Gourmet to present a line up of delicious kitchen demonstrations.
My book, I Ate My Way Through Singapore & Vietnam, will also be on sale so pop by and say hi! ;)
Event Details
Date: Friday 12 - Sunday 14 February 2010
Time: Friday 4.00pm-10.00pm & Saturday/Sunday 11.00am-10.00pm
Venue: Belmore Park, across Eddy Avenue from Central Station
Cost: Free
For more information: www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/cny/Events/ChinatownMarkets.aspx
Oh man I find it so hard to get stuff in there, even though I really want to.
I am a huge closet fan of weird japanese stuff.
Have you tried that similar one just off Dixon St. It's more cute overload - my daughters love it. Where else can you buy a cabbage soft-toy? Where?
Oh my, where's the one off Dixon Street? Which direction? Name it and I'm there ;)
It's on Dixon st I think on the east side towards the north end. It's not quite the same...
Could you possibly put an address up?
I wanna visit there!
I love that shop!
I love it too much as well. It's so much better than those generic $2 shops! It makes me really want to travel to Japan actually. But the funny thing is, I only just saw the Oprah episode on 'clearing our clutter', and I think I'm a bad case of hoarding anything that is weird but remotely functional :-\
Don't the Japanese have the weirdest and most useless things? LOL. A heart-shaped frying pan? Whatever next?
Love that they push everything to the limit! I thought the egg moulder was the craziest item I bought but it works!! Never again am i eating a round egg!
Love, love, love that rabbit shaped egg - Clarence Street here I come!
They come in a set of two so the egg moulders are essentially just $1.25 each! Bargain! Look forward to hearing about what else you buy there ;)
That is such a cute shop! I could never get out. And congras on the gig.
Thanks lovely! It will be my first time cooking to an audience! I'm doing rehearsals in a few days. Excitement!
Your Japanese 100-yen shop makes our dollar stores look like a roadside flea market! I sit here in envy.
And to think the Aussie version of the 100 yen store is only a snippet of what's really available in Japan! Oh how I envy everyone traveling to Japan right now! Wishing my credit card points would grow exponentially...
I work a few buildings down Clarence St and everytime I have a spare few minutes I head over to Maruya... and for some reason, I always end up buying different things that sometimes I've no use for. Ah well! I love this place!
Oh my! I used to work opposite Haigh's Chocolates and thought I was lucky, but working nearby Maruyu would be awesomeness! You've got both the Japanese grocery store and the 100 yen store!
awesome i always walk past but never go inside (knowing me id prob come out with a bunch of things ill never use haha)
Haha, well done on resisting temptation! x
This just blew my mind. I can't wait to visit. 100 yen stores were the highlight of my trips to Japan!
Yay! Hope you enjoy this Sydney version of it. I've been wanting to visit Tokyo Mart at Northbridge... have you been?
See you at the markets - how fun...!
Yay! Look forward to seeing you there! x
I didn't know we had one of those shops! I am definitely going to visit that shop (and probably hoard a lot of useless items. :D) This discovery has made my day!!!
I'm so excited thinking about your first visit to the shop. I spent so long just staring at the back wall of kitchenware. There are awesome things tucked away beneath other awesome things... Enjoy!
Ooh fab! I thought I had been to that shop already, but maybe not. I might be thinking of a different one. Is it a grocery store as well?
Yup! The ground level is the 100 yen shop and the basement level is a grocery shop. Win Win!
i'm so coming here!! and lol, at least when I've bought half the shop worth of stuff, I won't be too broke :)
And once you've bought half the shop, it'll keep you so busy at home that you won't need to go out and spend again, LOL, or so we hope!
Hi Jennifer,
We've been following your food blog for a while now and have been inspired to start one of our own!
Here is the link to our blog http://nomnomnibblies.blogspot.com/
Please pop by when you have time!
ps: we love 100yen shops too! always able to find random funny little gadgets there :P
Love, L & J xx