Hi guys! Here's another super overdue but must-do posts about my trip to Hokkaido - Sapporo last year in September. Haven't gotten around to posting about it, but I really loved Sapporo in autumn with its perfect weather and awesome food like its distinctive ramen, beer, and soft serve! There's no japow though, so I got to go back when the famous Japanese powder snow arrives. While I don't profess to know a lot about the place, Google reviews have served us well in picking out places to eat and drink. So here's a list of places you can check out if you are thinking of heading there next time!
1. Garaku Soup Curry
Apparently a local delicacy that is less famous than its Hokkaido ramen brother, but no less delicious! Using their famous produce of corn, carrots, meat and cheese, the soup curry is like it says - a more watery curry broth that immerses soft-to-the-bite ingredients which were heavenly. I highly recommend you to either check this Garaku Soup Curry (20 mins wait on average), or Suage Soup Curry (next rec\omendation).
With my darling, Wing :)
We also ordered some cheese rice because it looked so irresistible!
And chicken kaarage as well....
2. Suage Soup Curry
Apparently they have a branch in Singapore, but honestly I did not even hear of it until after going to Sapporo! This Suage version is lighter compared to Garaku's but no less delicious. Must try!
After dinner we walked to get some soft serve which was surprisingly served with some Hokkaido potato chips, but I forgot what this was called!
3. ソフトクリーム「天狗堂」Tenou-bo Hokkaido Soft Serve
OK this is also random and this shop's soft serve is not really a MUST-HAVE but Hokkaido milk soft serves are amazing. So if you have the chance, eat one every day! So since we were on the subject of dessert..
4. Ramen Shingen
Any self-respecting foodie visiting Sapporo will need to make a visit to Ramen Shingen, an institution with its small shop with insanely delicious ramen. So delicious, they made it into an instant noodle!
When we went (it was situated in quite a sleepy neighbourhood, there wasn't a queue outside, but we stepped in and had to wait up to 30 mins for our ramen.
It was totally worth the wait though! And made us even hungrier just looking at the people slurping.
Every bowl is made fresh on the spot. Strangely mesmerizing to watch them methodically cook every bowl.
This was what we ordered. The original. Still can't begin to describe how awesome it was.
There's also some gyozas. These were really awesome as well. It was a fantastic meal!
5. Ramen Sora in Sapporo Ramen Republic 拉麵•空 札幌らーめん共和国店
Ramen Sora has another dedicated stall elsewhere, but we came to this "Ramen Champion" style food hall that specialises in different famous ramen in one place in a mall. I know this probably pales a little in comparison to the original branch, but its still pretty good!
The classic Sapporo ramen style comes with a pat of butter, their sweet corn and thicker yellow noodles compared to other regions. The broth was thick and rich, of course, flavoured by miso and the broth. Of course we had to get a glass of Sapporo biru to match!
6. Sandria sandwiches (24h)
This is completely random by the way, but I had really wanted to try out the famous cream sandwiches from Hokkaido (all the cream sandwiches in 7-11/Lawson were sold out due to the earthquake that happened recently, just our luck). So we made our way to this super random shop after taking a couple of buses and being a bit lost. With our breakfast in tow we then proceeded back to the Odori Park to sit and eat.
They were so freakin' good by the way. It was light and fluffy and everything I had dreamed of. Kinda regretted not getting a fruit version to compare!
7. Odori Park grilled corn and potatoes with butter from the carts
Well this link has a pic of the corn carts that are a specialty of Odori Park. While we were there though we chanced upon their Autumn Festival where you have beer and food stalls and even seating areas with stage performances on. It was super lovely because they couldn't have picked a better day with the weather. Sunny but cool. My favourite!
Keep a look out for these! Everything is locally produced.
The corn with miso sauce was FANTABULOUS.
Bonus - Trying Jimotoya Ramen at their pop up stall! Actually I forgot we have them in Singapore also but it was so good to taste the original, there!
It was super shrimpy - like how a good bowl of prawn noodles in Singapore will taste, except they have minced pork and cabbage in theirs instead. It was clean tasting yet rich.
Next up we move to the sushi/fish! And what better place to check them out than their local fish market. I had a great time looking at all the snow and king crab legs.
And after walking around, we went for lunch inside at this little restaurant.
They are known for their donburis, which is rice bowls topped with fish. It wasn't that cheap but for what you get - fresh crab meat and sashimi - it was quite fresh and delicious, plus value for money! However I don't think it is as good as the ones inside Tsujiki market in Tokyo so if you have no more stomach room, this can be skipped.
Side note: On our trip I couldn't resist a Nana Green Tea matcha dessert/drink. I love that this brand is also in Singapore!
9. Hanamaru Conveyor Belt Sushi (not the basement one)
So I had also wanted to try out a good sushi place so this was what we found. Apparently this chain's brand is ALSO in Singapore. We had to queue a good 40 minutes before it was our turn. Funny story was we walked into their more upscale omakase style restaurant in the basement and there wasn't anybody so we sat there but realised something was wrong (and prices were too high). And left without ordering anything.
Everything was so fresh there. It was difficult to hold back. Worth the wait - but get one of those cream sandwiches to tide you over first!
10. Sapporo Beer Museum
Of course a must-go for everyone to Sapporo! It was surprisingly difficult to get to though, we had to rely on a shuttle bus thing that took quite a while, and walk a long distance getting there. But walking was easy in good weather. There was also this interesting big mall nearby that we chanced upon after which has a lot of good shops inside like Uniqlo and GU (sister brand), without the crowds.
Got their tasting set to share. Their differences was actually discernible and fits the descriptions!
Cheers to that. Woots!
11. Bar Yamazaki
An institution and tribute to classic cocktail making was Bar Yamazaki, run by a 94 year old bartender which shows that age got nothing to do with anything.
We went there after shopping at Don Don Donki. It was located upstairs in one of the many buildings with billboards.
Our cocktails were so good we ended up after more than one! One thing to note though, it ain't cheap. There's a "entry fee" of sorts for the customers to buy the snacks but it was necessary to prevent overcrowding and weed out those who weren't serious. Since we were there, we paid up. After all how often is it we will be there, or even go back?
Their service was discreet but impeccable. Sadly our oldest bartender wasn't working that night.
12. 蕎麦紀行 Soba Noodle Shop
Another random find but this was just the right dish to hit the spot as we made the trip back to the airport. A soba noodle shop located conveniently at the Sapporo Station - it could only STAND up to 10 pax around the counter space and people slurp and go. That simple.
My dry soba with dipping sauce and a seafood fried pancake. It was simple but delicious.
13. Kinotoya Bake Cheese Tarts at the New Chitose airport
So even though they have this also in Sapporo Station (it is a huge place), we also saved some time to walk around the airport to do some shopping and snacking before our flight home. Their airport was fantastic for just that - there's even lockers for our luggages so we can walk around carefree!
There's also Pokemon souvenirs.. lots of potato and corn snacks, plus more Hokkaido soft serve.
We also took a pic with this friendly bear. Thanks Hokkaido for the memories and food!
OTARU Day Trip - in pictures
Took a train out to the quaint little town of Otaru, famous for their glass works, music boxes and distilleries. Here are some pics from it. We truly had great fun there just exploring everything by foot along the famous and picturesque canal!
More soft serve. I had two. Both excellent.
And some yummy matcha, which I love.
Also had some dessert in a cafe.
YUM. MISSING THIS SO MUCH!
Hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful in your trip planning to Sapporo!
Post a Comment