Restaurant #09: Coco's, Sapporo

Tea Selection

Coco’s restaurant is known as a chain of casual dining restaurants operating in California and some other states in the U.S.A.. It seems that one Japanese company bought a franchised license from them, and started Coco’s Japan. Now different Japanese company bought out, and Coco’s Japan established an original brand. Anyways, I thought it is interesting that they have their own menu for Japanese people, so I went there with my family to check things out.

First of all, the branch that I went had a good atmosphere. Wide windows welcome the sunshine. They have a drink bar; tea selection is gorgeous! Tea lovers, like me, can stay there all day. Of course, they have some coffee and cold drinks. Drink bar, I believe, is 320 yen.

Soup

All lunch menus come with a cup of soup, unlimited refill. Taste was okay.

Coco's Beef Hamburger Steak with Oroshi Ponzu Sauce

To be honest, this is a chain restaurant like Denny’s. I don’t expect the high quality food. (Sorry, Coco’s!) Yet, I liked Coco’s because their menu is fun to eat and price is affordable. Hamburger Steak with Oroshi Ponzu (714 yen) was a good example. This hamburger steak, or I should say chopped steak, cooked as medium-rare, then you use the black heated stone next to the sauce to cook more if you like. I can’t stop salivating when I hear juicy cooking sound! Steak comes with some veggies; carrots, egg plants, potatoes, and lotus roots. This dish doesn’t come with the rice, so I ordered steamed rice (189 yen).

Hashed Beef

Hashed Beef (819 yen) was served with steamed rice. Beef was tender, but the demi-glace sauce was okay. I prefer, though, a bit of more wine taste. Rice was quite a lot; it could be good idea to share with a friend.

Crab Spaghetti with Cream Soup

They have some spaghetti menus. My mother ordered Crab Spaghetti with Cream Soup (1344 yen). This item was a bit overpriced for lunch compared with other menus, but she liked it. It came with 6 crab claws. Soup was creamy and delicious. Other ingredients were pumpkins, eggplants, and slices of red paprika. The balance of the color, quality, and quantity was the best among three items we ordered.

Cocosh

Now it’s dessert time! I barely eat dessert, but the picture on the menu was attractive. Cocosh (504 yen) is a denish pastry bread and vanilla ice cream on the top. The bread was still warm, and ice cream easily melted. Tasty! This was not that sweet, which was good for me. It came with maple sauce.

Fondant Chocolat

Fondant Chocolat (399 yen) is everyone’s favorite! I ate much more delicious one before, but again, I just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere in this restaurant. My family liked the first experience of Fondant Chocolat; their smile made me happy. :)

Overall, we enjoyed the lunch. Again, their quality is acceptable with this price.

Total: 3969 yen (for 3 people)

Coco’s Japan
http://menu.cocos-jpn.co.jp/index.html

Restaurant #08: Ichiryuan Ramen, Sapporo

Ramen (ラーメン) is one of Japanese’s favorites. Taking hours and hours to cook its original soup makes this symbolic Japanese food an art. You see many TV programs talking about popular Ramen restaurants in Tokyo area, but I prefer Sapporo ramen. Many big cities have original style of Ramen, and people travel to find their own favorites. I am amazed how Sapporo people travel so much for delicious food. They are aggressive in a good way! Among cities in Hokkaido, Sapporo, Asahikawa, and Hakodate ramen are especially popular. Sapporo is famous for Miso taste (味噌); Asahikawa’s ramen is Shoyu (醤油: soy sauce), and Hakodate’s Shio (塩: salt).

This Ramen place, Ichiryuan, is a small noodle house, clean and neat. One lady serves and two chefs take care of the kitchen. Kitchen is in small space, and you see how they work from the counter chair you sitting. Interestingly, they only prepare 200 ramen a day; they use their limited space and keep the best quality as possible. The background music was good selection of the Beatles. Chef’s favorite!?

We came here at around 1:30pm, and ordered Shoyu Ramen (750 yen), Miso Ramen (750 yen), Lunch Set (Miso Ramen and small fried rice) (850 yen). Unfortunately, fried rice was already sold out, so instead, the chef served us Natto rice (納豆ごはん).

Shoyu Ramen

Shoyu Ramen had solid soy sauce taste; not too light, not too strong. I liked their light flavored soup, and I felt it was healthy. I didn’t feel it oily at all, like some other noodle places. Are they using seafood stock? Ingredients were different than the menu’s picture. I ordered Shoyu just because I thought I could take different pictures of Shoyu and Miso Ramen. Maybe the ingredients were already sold out due to the rush hour for lunch. Thick, rich noodle came with sprout, green onion, and grilled pork. Simple, but it is the best way to enjoy the each flavor. You see something colored brown on the pork, that is Kogashi-negi (焦がしねぎ: well cooked green onion). It gives the crispy flavor. Chinese-style barbecued pork, so-called chashu (チャーシュー), was juicy and perfect, although it was thin. I will order Chashu Ramen next time, which comes with some extra slices of thick, tender BBQ pork.

Miso Ramen

Their signature item is Miso Ramen. The ingredients are same as Shoyu (or I should say it was the same as described on the menu). I tasted the soup. Wow… Opposed to Shoyu Ramen, Miso soup had much strong, richer flavor. Both were tasty, and I loved those. Yet, now I understand the reason why their Miso Ramen became popular.

Lunch Set was supposed to be Ramen of your choice and small fried rice. As I mentioned, instead of fried rice, it came with Natto rice. The chef suggested to put Ramen soup into the rice cup. It is your choice, you can eat Natto rice as usual, or you may try to put soup and eat it together.

A very simple place, clean and quiet, and of course non-smoking. The design of their noodle balls is pretty. If you are in Sapporo and not try their Ramen yet, please try. I strongly recommend this Ichiryuan.

Total: 2350 yen (for 3 people)

Sapporo Ichiryuan, Ramen
B1F, Hokuren Bldg
Kita 4-jo Nishi 1-chome, Chuou-ku
Sapporo
011-219-3199
http://ichiryuan.com/tenpo.html

Restaurant #07: Hareruya, Sapporo

Plum wine and an appetizer

Good, small izakaya/restaurant is fun to find, and once you find it, you make a friend with the owner. The owner usually cooks, and a wife usually helps. This small izakaya, Hareruya (晴れる屋), is one of those. The owner/chef seems to work alone, so he has to take care of food and service by himself, looks busy. The chef was trained in Japanese, Italian and French style. Eventually, he opened an izakaya style restaurant based on Japanese taste, although he always plays American rock’n’roll.

The décor is in wooden color, warm. The owner decorates some posters of Rolling Stones. Yeah! You see how much the owner loves Rock’n’Roll. Of course, the music he plays in the restaurant is the same. You might expect him as a singer or rocker, but he seems to be quiet person, nicely coming to us and said “Irasshaimase”. Music is not noisy, and I liked the quietness even though with the rock music. My friend and I ordered some dishes from a la carte menu.

Drinks were served first. I ordered Oolong tea, and my friend did umeshu (梅酒: plum wine). I don’t drink alcohol, but plum wine looked good. When you ordered drinks, a small appetizer, so-called Otoshi (お通し), came with drinks. Very simple tapas, but tasted good especially with drinks.

Hiyayakko

Hiyayakko (ひややっこ) was served next. It was fresh and tender. Putting extra grated ginger made tofu’s taste richer, but too much green onion killed it. It would be enjoyable if fresh tofu and some condiments were served separately.

Lamb Carpaccio

This lamb carpaccio was amazing. You may think that lamb’s smell would be very strong, yet amazingly, no smells would be noticed until you bite it again and again. Meat was beautifully marinated with the sauce, and strong smells are gone. Once you put the slice of lamb tenderloin into your mouth, and bite it several times, the rich lamb flavor begins spreading into your mouth. I like lamb flavor, but this taste was much richer than I expected. Adding some green onion and soy sauce made this dish Japanese taste.

Yakitori

Main dish that I expected was Yakitori. Their yakitori menu was appropriately various. We order tsukune (つくね), suna-gimo (砂肝), and buta-bara (豚バラ), 2 pieces each. Tsukune is a Japanese-style meatball. Usually, tsukune dipped with the original sauce dips into beaten yolk. This tsukune was with Yuzu Koshou (柚子胡椒: Yuzu Pepper), which is popular condiment recently, with salt. I loved this taste better than a regular tsukune. I usually prefer salt than sauce taste, because I can enjoy the pure taste of each ingredient. It was delicious. Be careful with the power of Yuzu pepper sometimes. I mean it really depends how a chef use it. No problem if a chef uses the right one, but it occasionally happens that the poor quality of Yuzu Koshou killed the delicious dishes. Suna-gimo, a gizzard, is another favorite of mine. Many of my female friends don’t like gizzards or guts, but I like it if it is fresh one. Their gizzards were fresh, and I was pleased with the appropriate firmness. Buta-bara (pork) is delicious as well. Even though the term “yakitori” (Japanese barbecued chicken) is for a chicken, we still say Pork Yakitori. It doesn’t make sense, does it?

Fresh Salad

Interestingly, the last dish the chef served was the salad. We were expecting it earlier, though… The Japanese dressing was attractive; ginger based sauce comes with a soft-boiled egg. It seems a half-boiled egg is getting popular recently. Remember the baked cheese curry??? It is simple, but I can tell that the chef carefully selected fresh veggies from Hokkaido’s farms. Fresh veggies make me happier since I came to Sapporo.

Overall, I enjoyed the dinner at this izakaya. It is just not easy to find a place…

Total: about 6500 yen (for 2 people)

Hareruya
3F, Parking Tokiwa Bldg
7-3, Minami 3-jo Nishi 1-chome Chuou-ku
Sapporo
011-207-1170
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kansky/

Restaurant #06: Wako Tonkatsu, Sapporo

Wako is a small tonkatsu chain located in Stellar Place Sapporo, the neat shopping mall next to Sapporo train station. I haven’t eaten a good katsu for a long time, so I jumped into this restaurant. This shopping mall has a great variety of restaurants.

dining room

The décor was modern and clean. I went there for a dinner, and they dim the lights and the atmosphere was pretty cool. Their menu was various; I ordered one of the set menus comes with Rosu (pork loin) and Cheese Menchi Katsu (fried minced meat cake) (1200 yen).

Workers are well trained. They explained the menu well, and they know the right timing to bring a cup of tea or other things. I know it is their job, but it is not easy to get good service in such a small restaurant. Easily packed the place during the dinner time, but workers helped each other well. I was reading a book in a restaurant, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable. If I go there earlier or later, it would be much easier for me to stay there for a while and enjoy the atmosphere like a café.

Tonkatsu Set

Tonkatsu, a deep fried pork cutlet, is a popular dish in Japan, and it usually served with shredded cabbage. Hire (pork fillet) or Rosu (pork loin) is generally used. I sometimes cook tonkatsu, but it is difficult to make it crispy outside and juicy inside. Wako uses their original Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), and deeply fry it with the blending of corn and soy bean oil. This Tonkatsu Set also served with shredded cabbage, steamed rice, veggie miso soup, Japanese pickles, and a pot of tea.

Rosu Katsu was in great condition. The outside was crispy enough and in great brown color. When you bit it, the delicious pork oil came out, and the pork was so tender. The color was pink. My favorite, Menchi Katsu, was also great taste, the melted cheese was inside. You can also enjoy their original Tonkatsu sauce, mixture of juice from tomatoes, apples, onions and some other ingredients.

Overall, I was pleased with their food and service.

Total: 1200 yen

Wako, Tonkatsu Restaurant
6F, Stellar Place Sapporo
011-209-5104
http://www.stellarplace.net/floor_guide/SR144.html
http://www.wako-group.co.jp/

Restaurant #05: Kiyohira @ ANA Hotels Sapporo, Sapporo

Friendly Sushi Chef

It has been a long time since I went there at first time. This sushi bar is one of the places that you can eat Nigiri set under 2000 yen. This price is for lunch only, but it is still reasonable. Their lunch menu is various, yet of course I ordered 10 pieces Nigiri set, which comes with some small dishes (1260 yen). There is one more nigiri set, which comes with 15 pieces of nigiri.

I went there at around 12pm, but the seats were almost gone. Friendly atmosphere, two sushi chefs were busy to prepare their popular menu. Three waitresses were running stressfully. I guess one would be just started working there… One of sushi chef was friendly; he allowed me to take some pictures of this restaurant.

Salad and Hiyayakko

A cup of green tea was served smoothly, followed by a small salad and Hiyayakko (fresh tofu). Salad was nothing special, but the dressing was my taste. Hiyayakko was pretty good! It is a simple dish; just a fresh tofu on the small plate, then we pour soy sauce on it. You can enjoy the pure taste of tofu.

Nigiri Zushi

Nigiri zushi was then served in front of us. You can see 10 pieces of nigiri, and some Maki zushi. I enjoyed California Roll or Dragon Roll in the U.S., but we don’t have those at sushi bar in Japan. Hmmm I kinda miss Philadelphia Roll… :(

Hot Noodle Soup

Surprisingly, shari (sushi rice) was colder and harder than I expected. The balance between shari and neta (raw fish) was not my preference, yet my family said it was reasonable. Ebi (shrimp) and Kani (crab) were fresh enough, and salmon was delicious, although Maguro (tuna) was sadly not that tasty. I guess they chose to keep the reasonable price and slightly change the class of neta, which is okay with me. It is still fresh and reasonable enough with this price. After I ate half of sushi, finally the waitress served us a noodle soup.

I enjoyed the lunch here, but I preferred smoother service. Next time I’d rather go there earlier.

Total: 1260 yen

Kiyohira, Sushi Restaurant
B1F, ANA Hotels Sapporo
Kita 3-jo Nishi 1-chome, Chuou-ku
Sapporo, JAPAN
011-221-5680
http://www.anahotel-sapporo.co.jp/english/restaurant/index.html

Restaurant #04: Yoshimi Kitchen, Sapporo

Yoshimi Kitchen was a modern, fancy-style restaurant located at Parco building. They put a huge menu with delicious pictures in front of the entrance. My friend and I wanted to have simple supper, and we decided to try out a salad and one dish with drinks.

Their drink menu is various! They prepare some non-alcohol cocktails. All the names sound attractive, but there is no explanation on the side. Please ask the worker the details.

Hawaiian Salad with Juicy Pork

“Hawaiian Salad” (680 yen) was a light flavor salad—fruity. Lettuce, paprika, corn and grapefruit were all mixed, covered by some slices of juicy pork. The pork was salty enough, and literally juicy! I am very pleased with this salad. They should put more lettuce, so that this could be a main dish.

Cheese Yaki Curry

“Cheese Yaki Curry” (baked cheese curry: 890 yen) becomes a popular menu these days in many restaurants. This is a first time to eat such a menu, so I cannot tell that the taste was good or bad. I definitely felt the quantity is less. The rice covered with curry sauce, cheese, sliced paprika, and a half-boiled egg. It was baked in the oven, so the rice was crispy, and taste good with melted cheese.

All menus were reasonable price, but I hope it would be a bit larger quantity. Or we should’ve order one more dish. Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere and service. Non-alcohol drinks are all 500 yen.

Total: 2570 yen (for 2 people)

Yoshimi Kitchen
8F, Parco
Minami 1-jo Nishi 3-chome, Chuou-ku
Sapporo, JAPAN
011-214-2205
http://www.yoshimi-ism.com/

Restaurant #03: Hachi-Kyo, Sapporo

This restaurant brings a new style of service that workers really enjoy what they are doing. The owner of this restaurant was a fisherman for more than ten years at Shiretoko, Rausu, where is the eastern part of Hokkaido. Now, he owns this powerful izakaya style restaurant, so-called “Hachi-Kyou” at Susukino area of Sapporo. I mean it is really powerful. Once you enter this izakaya, all workers shout, “Irasshai!” with respect. It reminds me of the spirits of fishermen. You will surprise the full of power, and will notice this is not a place to discuss about serious stuff with your friends.

The interior is creative. Some huge tapestries for fishing vessels are decorated on the wall. There are some fishermen’s pictures at the counter table, so you know who took seafood that you are eating.

Only fresh seafood is prepared, mostly from Shiretoko Rausu. Raw fishes are very fresh; sashimi would be a great choice if you can eat. Most dishes from the menu are used fresh seafood, such as Sanma and Hokke, both are my favorites.

My friend and I tried as follows:
4 drinks
“Wasabi potato salad” as an appetizer
“Hokke Menchi Katsu” (deep fried minced meat cake with Hokke meat)
“Sanma Sashimi”
“Tako-zangi” (deep fried octopus)
And their popular item so-called “Tsukkomeshi”, which is “Ikura Don” (rice with fresh salmon roe)

Wasabi potato salad was unexpectedly tasty. The potato salad was mixed with wasabi colored flying-fish roe, which gives me an interesting pops in my mouth. I forgot to ask them if they use some meat in “Hokke Menchi Katsu”. It didn’t taste like fish at all but tasty smell of Hokke. I know they used the Hokke’s meat, but not sure about beef or pork. Sanma is one of autumn season’s fishes, so now is the great time to eat.

My favorites in this dinner were “Tako Zangi” and “Tsukkomeshi”. Unfortunately, I accidentally forgot to bring my camera!!! Luckily, my friend took some pictures of Tsukkomeshi.

Tsukkomeshi (white rice only)

Tsukkomeshi

The fun part of this dish is that they bring white rice with a ball. Then, one worker put Ikura (salmon roe) over the white rice until we say “stop!” When he puts Ikura, he and other workers shout as “Oissa!”, which is a cheer when the fishermen put out the fishes from the ocean. It is fun, delicious, and noisy in an exciting way. This restaurant became popular, and many autographs of many artists, especially wrestlers, are decorated on the wall.

I recommend this restaurant to young energetic people and people who likes new stuff. If you like a quiet restaurant, then this place is not for you. However, I guarantee that you would love the food anyways. Please try, and I would like to know how you feel.

Total cost: 6640 yen (for 2 people)

Hachi-Kyo
1F, Miyako bldg, Minami 3-jo Nishi 3, Chuou-ku
Sapporo, JAPAN
011-222-8940
http://www.atomsgroup.jp/ha.html