Our first adventure after arriving in Sapporo is to go in search of the famed Ramen Alley in Susukino. It took alittle effort to find it, and it wasn't our idea of an alley at all. It is sort of a hidden sheltered corridor on the ground floor of a building. Easy to miss if you are not observant enough.
At 4pm, not all the shops were open. We chose one that looked more cozy and friendly. The ramen there was not bad, but nothing special. My son commented that the Gyoza looked like straight out of a frozen pack, but they tasted quite good. The pork ramen was good, especially the pieces of succulent pork belly, were very palatable. The miso soup was also light and not too salty. The pork slices in the "Chyashyu" Ramen was huge but abit dry. The seafood ramen came with a clear soup which was refreshing. In all, it was quite a satisfying meal, but we would try the other shops before deciding which is the best.
For our first dinner, we went to the Sapporo Bier Garten, which is situated next to the Sapporo Beer Museum. The Kessel Hall on the upper levels of the great Genghis Khan Hall building was huge. Under the giant kessel, a cauldron that reaches towards the high ceiling of the beer hall, is the bar counter. Here, they serve the widely-popular jingjiskan meals, Hokkaido's original barbecued lamb and mutton.
There are various choices of mutton, chilled, frozen and belly, with or without vegetables. Coupled with the famous Sapporo beer, the meal was excellent. They even serve non-alcoholic beer. Special mention must be given to the very sweet slices of pumpkin, when barbecued, they are simply heavenly.
When in Sapporo, the one place you should not miss is the Nijo Fish Market which opens at around 7am, but closed on Sundays. Not only is it an eye-opening experience to see the enormous varieties of seafood there, you can also feast of them.
Hidden in the middle of the market is a donburi restaurant. And they have a menu in English, specially for tourists. There were many choices, and my son chose the Marusen-Don, a set of 4 luxurious small bowls and miso soup made from crabs, which is the most popular choice. Consists of Red King Crab legs, Snow Crab legs, Jumbo Fresh Shrimps, Tuna, Scallop, Fresh Sea Urchins, Salmon and Salmon Roe piled on top of sticky rice.
My wife settled for the Kitanozei taku-don, which comprised Fresh Sea Urchin, Salmon, Squid, Salmon Roe, Tuna and Jumbo Fresh Shrimps on rice. I had the Kani-suteki-Don, which is burnt-donburi garnished with crab roasts with butter and roasted scallop. Also ordered a bowl of piping hot soup made from dumpling fish paste. Another excellent meal. The seafood is so fresh and so sweet.
After a heavy breakfast, we continued to wander around the fish market and came upon the snow crabs. Just could not resist. Had to have some, so we picked a medium sized one and brought it into the cafe next to the shop, where the chef cleverly removed parts of the shell, and we happily devoured the crab. It was simply heavenly. The sweetness and freshness of the crab cannot be over exaggerated. Really worth the price of ¥8000 (about S$118).
Several days later, we had to go back to eat another snow crab. This one slightly smaller, cost only ¥6000 (about S$88). Just as good. Truly enjoyed it very much.
Another valuable find is this tiny sushi restaurant in the Nijo Fish Market that sits only 3 guests. But don't be put off by its size. The food is absolutely fabulous. I have never ever eaten such fresh, juicy and succulent sushi in my whole life.
All the attention of the sushi chef is on us. There are no other customers. Only 3 seats just for the 3 of us. Salmon, Tuna, Tuna belly, Scallops, giant Clams, Shrimps, Squid and others. No rush, no hurry, just eating at our own pace. Just excellent. Using the pickled ginger slices to cleanse our palate after each course, no need for extra wasabi and only lightly dipped in soy sauce, the sushi was so delicious. So fresh, so sweet and so juicy. Absolutely loved them. And the hot green tea helped to keep us warm. Even my son agreed it is the best sushi he has ever eaten. And it was not expensive, just about S$80 per person. Must not be missed.
For our Christmas dinner, we ventured to the Stellar Place Sapporo, a shopping mall above the Sapporo JR Station, which has a variety of restaurants and eateries. I selected to try Tonkatsu Wako, where they specialize in deep fried pork cutlet, a popular dish in Japan.
We ordered different sets which included breaded pork cutlets, oysters, chicken pieces and shrimps deep fried and served with shredded cabbage, miso soup and pickles. The fried pieces were not too oily but a bit dry for my taste.
On Christmas Day itself, we went to Mt Moiwa and so decided to have our Christmas Lunch at the restaurant on the top of Mt. Moiwa, Jewels Restaurant. The sides of the restaurant are made up entirely of glass, and we had a beautiful almost 270-degree view of the stunning scenery around the mountain.
We chose the set lunch but did not know what to expect as the menu was in Japanese. However, the meal turned out to be rather pleasant. We had a salmon vegetable salad for starters and spaghetti with mussels for the main course, while my wife had the seafood stew with puff crust. It was a nice lunch and the snowy scenery outside made it extraordinarily enjoyable.
While searching for a sukiyaki restaurant, we stumbled upon this cozy restaurant on the 2nd level of a building filled with restaurants around Susukino. 038 serves shabu-shabu. We even had Japanese sake with the meal. Another dish we ordered was the grilled pork served with cabbage. Later, the leftover soup in the pot was mixed with rice and egg to made into a sort of gruel and eaten. It was delicious.
After reading about Sapporo "soup curry" in some other blog posts, we decided to try it out. Very near to our hotel, just the next block actually, we found the Samurai Soup Curry Restaurant. The ground entrance is rather inconspicuous and can be easily missed. The 2nd level is a bar counter and the dining area is on level 3. There is a normal dining area with tables and chairs; and there is sort of a private room where you had to sit on the floor.
As the normal dining area was full, we had to dine sitting on the floor. It was actually really uncomfortable for me to sit on the floor. The table was low and I could not stretch my legs. But despite the discomfort, we enjoyed the dinner tremendously.
My son selected the special for the month in coconut based soup, while I chose the simmered pork and vegetable in tomato based soup. We also decided on the degree of hotness to be No. 4 and medium rice. My son decided on the Yuzu Citron & Honey lassi, while I settled for the Blueberry lassi.
The drinks were quite refreshing but the soup curry was simply fabulous. The spices in the curry were not overwhelming, and it is quite different from the Indian curry that we are so used to. The gravy is not thick, and feels more like soup than gravy. The vegetables were fresh and juicy and included carrots, pumpkin, broccoli, peppers, beans, potato, eggplant and some others. The pork was succulent and cooked just right, which allows it to melt in your mouth. All in all it was another excellent meal. A must try when you are in Sapporo.
We also ventured to try the MosBurger restaurant there, which serves French Onion Soup and Braised Pork Rice Burger. The latter was actually quite good. We even bought a Chocolate Christmas Cake from them for our own little celebration back in the hotel on Chistmas Eve.
Another snack that I would like to recommend is the Panju and the Baby Castella. Found at a counter shop along the Tanukikoji Shopping Street (Section 6). The Baby Castella is something like the egg waffles (้่ไป) in Hong Kong. The Panju is a larger version filled with custard or red bean paste. Do try to buy the Panju when it just comes out of the oven, and eat them hot. Very delicious when hot.
At a corner around the hotel, we found a quaint little bar on the 2nd level of a US Lab shop. The owner keeps souvenirs that he brings back from his travels to different countries, including Singapore. It was relaxing to just sit there with a cocktail and chit chat. And the gyoza was good too.
Finally, this is one gem of a place that we discovered quite accidentally, and I would like to share it with you. It is called a Coffee Guide Home (Kyu Oguma Tei), and it is housed in a quaint little cottage which is marked as an "Important Scenic Property City of Sapporo". It is located on the way up the slope to the Ropeway Station of Mt Moiwa.
It is not a big cottage, but is converted to be a cafe serving coffee and some light snacks. We ordered the cinnamon toasts and coffee. So much attention is paid to the decor and the whole concept, I loved it. Sort of a mix between a Japanese and English tea house.
The snow and the fragrant aroma of freshly brewed coffee just combined to give me a wonderfully peaceful feeling. Just look at the scenery surrounding the cottage. Isn't it lovely?
I am really very glad that I had this wonderful experience in Sapporo, with the cold weather, the white powdery snow and the awesome food. It just proves how wonderful life can be if only you know where to find it. And I found it in Hokkaido in winter.
