Café #01: Inoda Coffee, Sapporo

After the lunch at The Buffet, my friend and I enjoyed window shopping at the department store for a while. I found some beautiful plates and tea cups. I often appreciate dinnerware and pottery. Japanese and European style… Beautiful pottery makes the food delicious. I like enjoying the meal by stimulating all my five senses; taste, smell, sound, firmness of the food and beauty of the food’s layout.

We stopped by at small old café at Daimaru, called Inoda Coffee. This café, since 1940, is originally from Kyoto. The interior reminds me of old fashioned café from Showa period (Dec 1926 to Jan 1989). They have variety of coffee menu, plus some popular café dishes, such as sandwiches and spaghetti. Of course, they prepare some dessert menu, including Japanese sweets! Wonderful! I tried Iced Café au Lait (560 yen), and my friend ordered regular Iced Coffee (530 yen).

Iced Café au Lait and Iced Caffee

Both items came with crystal glasses, beautifully poured. Let’s take a look how much they poured the coffee. Maybe some people think they should put more Iced Café au Lait. Yet, I feel the beauty that they don’t pour too much or too less. The quantity of ice was perfectly controlled. It was beautiful. I asked them to put a bit of syrup, so that the taste of café au lait became rich and creamy. The evening view of Sapporo downtown from the window was stunning… Time passed very slowly, and we enjoyed our conversation for another two hours.

Total: 1090 yen (for 2 people)

Inoda Coffee
7F, Daimaru Department Store Sapporo
7, Kita 5-jo Nishi 4-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
10:00-20:00 (non smoking)
011-271-7712
http://www.inoda-coffee.co.jp/index.html

Restaurant #15: The Buffet, Sapporo

On Tuesday, I met my friend at Daimaru department store. Ha ha, yes I went there again! This department store is my favorite place these days. I’ve known this friend since I was in college. I used to work at a movie theater as a part time job. She was one of the part-time workers like me.

My friend told me that she had never tried this buffet restaurant, called “The Buffet”, located on eighth floor of Daimaru. I’ve been there several times. The price is attractive; all you can eat for lunch (90 minutes) is 1490 yen. Their food choice is various, and the taste is not bad. So we decided to have lunch here.

We came here after we had some snacks and coffee, but we were already hungry. We came here at around 1:30. I recommend you to come here either early (11:30) or late like us, otherwise you need to wait for a while on the long line. The décor was simple, but huge! And you can see the view of beautiful Sapporo downtown. Lunch view is nice, but dinner view would be much better and romantic. The regular all-you-can-eat course does not come with drinks, so we added drinks (210 yen).

Pasta Plate

I liked their pasta. I chose three different tastes of pasta; clockwise from right, Karasumi Spaghetti (カラスミのパスタ), Carbonara (カルボナーラ), and Tomato Spaghetti with mushroom and squid (きのこと烏賊のトマトパスタ). There was another one with Kimchi, but I didn’t try it this time… Carbonara was the best among these three.

Chinese Plate

The plate in the front was my choice. From the top; Squid and Eggplant with Chinese sauce (烏賊と茄子の油淋ソース掛け), Shrimp with Sauce Aurore (海老のオーロラソース), Stewed Tofu Nuggets in Cream sauce (豆腐ナゲットのクリーム煮), Shumai (焼売), and Spinach Dumpling (ホウレン草餃子). All-you-can-eat I tried last time was at Grand Park Otaru. Their food choice was less than here, yet, to be honest, the quality was better over there, especially their Chinese dishes. My friend didn’t like most of Chinese dishes in here. I understand… For me, it was okay. I finished everything anyway. Unfortunately, most of Chinese dishes were already cold. It has to be hot…

Main Dishes

Their main dishes were better than last time. I prefer, however, Terrace Brasserie at Otaru. Sorry… The plate in the front is mine. From the top right; Coleslaw with Broccoli (コールスロー), Tofu Salad with Rock Laver and Shrimp (岩のりと小海老の豆腐サラダ), Organic Millet Rice Salad (16穀米のサラダ), Grilled Salmon with Yuzu Mustard Sauce (サーモンソテー柚子とマスタードのソース), Potato Croquette, French Fries and Chicken Chasseur (ポテトコロッケ, フライドポテトとチキンシャスール), and Fritto di Samma with Genovese Sauce (秋刀魚のフリットジェノバソース). Among those, my favorite was Salmon. Salmon was warm enough and perfectly salty. It came with Mizuna, which gave the freshness into my mouth. Chicken Chasseur was appropriately tender and a bit sweet because of the fresh tomatoes. Good! Tofu salad was one of healthy items they had, and I liked it. But tofu is not special, so please don’t expect too much.

Last Plate

This was my last plate, because it passed 90 min already! Too fast! We talked too much! We should’ve concentrate on eating more… My last plate was my favorite items of the day, and added sliced pizza with ham and tuna, and petite donut in the middle. Donut was still warm and was not that sweet. It was my taste.

I really should’ve tried more items… But no time... I couldn't eat desserts...

Overall, their food choice was various enough, and I enjoyed their dishes. If you care about the quality, you should pay more and go to a hotel buffet. If you want to eat different dishes and eat a lot, The Buffet is a good place to try. I really think they should allow people more time to enjoy lunch. How about 120 min instead of 90 min?

Total: 3400 yen (for 2 people)

The Buffet
8F, Daimaru Department Store Sapporo
7, Kita 5-jou Nishi 4-chome, Chuo-ku
Sapporo
011-828-1263
http://www.buffet.jp/the/index.html

FastFood #02: Gura-Koro Burger @ McDonald’s

I am not a huge fan of McDonald’s. Their French fries were unhealthily salty and not hot. Their menu is not special compared to other burger stores. Yet, the good thing for them is that their target is kids. Most of their stores have playground; kids are playing games and running around, happily. I was amazed by their business strategy. McDonald’s Japan, however, has to think different strategy, because they cannot only focus on kids. Our McDonald’s doesn’t have a playground, although we have special menu for kids. Creative original menu, free McCafe and reasonable price brought them business successful in recent years.

I usually eat shrimp sandwich (えびフィレオ) at McDonald’s in Japan, but this time I tried a limited item called Gura-Koro Burger (Gratin Croquette Burger: グラコロ) (300 yen).

Gura-Koro Burger with a cup of coffee

Macaroni Gratin is my favorite dish in my life so far. The important part of making perfect gratin is white sauce. Not too creamy, definitely not sweet. The perfect white sauce can make the delicious gratin. Of course, I didn’t expect perfect sauce for this burger, although the taste was pretty good. Korokke (コロッケ) is the Japanese name for a deep fried dish originally from French croquette. Inside of korokke, there are macaroni and shrimp mixed with white sauce. For me, the sauce was too creamy and a bit sweet. So bulldog sauce on the korokke helped me to adjust the sweetness.

By the way, one thing I thought it was interesting is that chicken sandwich is called “Chicken Burger” here. Anything with hamburger bun and meat is called “burger”. In the U.S., people distinguish burgers (beef) and sandwiches (other meats). No wonder workers made face to me everytime I ordered saying “filet-o Fish burger”. (^^;)

Total: 300 yen

Restaurant #14: Brasserie Avion, Sapporo

Appetizer (Plate: Hana Sarasa, Noritake)

Today was a great day. My friend called me to have lunch together. This restaurant, Brasserie Avion, was the one that she tried to take me a few months ago, but unfortunately, the restaurant was booked for a private party on that day. So finally, I could visit there with my friend. She recommended me because she loved their lunch course. Okay let’s try!


The restaurant is located in near Hokkaido University, so it is easy to access. You may take a walk on campus after you eat delicious lunch. The restaurant was pretty quiet. The décor was organized and beautifully decorated! It was interesting that the chef sometimes draw cute pictures on the wall. I saw some recipe books on the shelf and some ingredients. There are one chief and a waitress. Waitress was friendly, and each time she served foods, she explained about the dishes. If you want to go, it is better to make a reservation.


They provide three lunch courses; 1700, 1800 and 2000 yen. Each have slightly different, and also their main dishes are also different. I ordered 1700 yen course, and my friend ordered 1800 yen. The difference was that my order came with the pasta, instead of today’s special soup which came with my friend’s order.

Hot Lemon

They served a hot lemon for to serve my tea at the end with the dessert. This hot lemon was actually home made my friend. I asked them, and it was not sweet that much when it was hot. After 5 min, sweetness became stronger.

Appetizer

All the dishes came with beautiful Noritake plates. One was with a new design called Hana Sarasa, my recent favorite from Noritake. Appetizers looked gorgeous with beautiful layout. Five pieces of appetizers on a plate: spinach Spanish omelet (ほうれん草のスパニッシュ・オムレツ), beet bavarois with Italian herb (ビーツのババロア、イタリアン・ハーブ添え), lotus root pizza (レンコンのピッザ風), “Awakening of Inca” potato gratin style (インカの目覚めグラタン風), and their homemade smoked salmon (自家製スモークサーモン). All items tasted fantastic. I especially liked “Awakening of Incas” gratin style. “Awakening of Incas” is a new brand for potatoes, produced in Hokkaido. The color is yellowish and sweet. Gratin is my favorite dish so far in my life, and this one was pretty tasty as I expected. Smoked salmon was also delicious.

Potage of Purple Broccoli

After the delicious appetizers, my friend’s special soup and my pasta were served. The special soup of the day was “purple broccoli’s potage” (紫ブロッコリのスープ). I just tasted one spoon, but right after I put the spoon in my mouth, the smell of the broccoli spread. The soup was, of course, tasty, but more I enjoyed the joy of vegetable!

Tomato Spaghetti with Shrimp and Seasonable Vegetable

Tomato Spaghetti with Shrimp and Seasonable Vegetable (エビと季節野菜のパスタ) was pretty tasty, but I felt that it was a little bit less shrimps. They only used two shrimps and one was cut in half. It could be possible that the chef somehow used a seafood broth, but I wanted to see a bit more shrimps. The chef used fresh Komatsuna. Vegetable magic—wonderful.

Homemade Bread

Before they served the main dishes, homemade bread just was finished baked. It was cute, small bread, and it just came out from the oven. Hot, hot, hot! Extra virgin oil was crystal clear, and my friend even drank it all! It is healthy. We quickly finished eating all, so the waitress gave us another one.

Roasted Pork

Main dishes were finally served. My friend’s dish was roasted pork, with some slices of a turnip and fresh tomatoes with pure virgin oil dressing. Pork was nicely salted, and the pepper was just grinded. It looked, though, a bit small for my friend’s lunch course. It would be nice that if it came with more vegetable or extra bread.

Roasted Chicken

My dish was roasted chicken with green beans and mushroom. The chicken was cooked perfectly. Interestingly, the green beans were a bit hard, which gave me a hit of vegetable magic again. I felt the chicken was a little bit salty, but the portion was appropriate, so it should be no problem for other people.

Dessert Plate

Three desserts on the plate: fig, persimmon sorbet and Miso pudding. I was surprised when I heard Miso pudding. It was sweet but basically tasted miso. Among those three items I definitely loved Miso pudding.


Overall, I liked their delicious food as well as their pretty décor. The chef was welcomed us personally, even though he was busy for cooking. The waitress was well trained and friendly. In addition, they saved the best seats for us! Great hospitality.

Total: 3500 yen (for 2 people, including tax and tip)

Brasserie Avion, Itarian French
2F, Kensetsu Consal Bldg
5-1, Kita 13-jo Nishi 4-chome Kita-ku
Sapporo
011-728-7500
http://ggyao.usen.com/0004014237/

Dessert #01: The Fruitscake Factory

I sometimes mentioned in my blog that I barely eat desserts. It is because I prefer salty stuff than sweet. I rather eat potato chips or senbei (Japanese crackers) than a slice of strawberry shortcake. I guess I do not like whipped cream… But now, I found some delicious patisserie; it is from “The Fruitscake Factory,” located in Daimaru department store. (Yeah I thought it was Cheesecake Factory at first.) They make tasty dolce, using fresh, sweet fruits from Hokkaido farms; it is organic and natural.

Kouhi and blueberry tart

Although the price is a bit expensive, it is worth to try. I am happy to eat those because all the fruits are organic and are from Hokkaido. Their signature item is a strawberry tart, but it was sold out when we went there. So we bought two slices of “pear and strawberry tart” (洋梨と苺のタルト) and a slice of “Kouhi and blueberry tart” (紅姫とブルーベリーのタルト). Kouhi (紅姫) is a new kind of kiwifruits—red flesh. It is rare, and is sweeter than a regular green flesh kiwifruit.

pear and strawberry tart

Both tarts tasted great, and it looked beautiful. I tried their tarts several times, and so far my favorite is pear and strawberry tart. Their pear is so fresh and juicy. They use some whipped cream, but it is not that much, so I can still eat it or take it on the side and eat some fruits and custard cream.

It is unfortunate that my photo skills are not good enough to show you how delicious these tarts are, but hopefully you’ll have a chance to try those soon. Their café just opened in this month, so I note the café’s address below.

The Fruitscake Factory
Minami 1-chome Nishi 4-chome, Chuo-ku
Sapporo
011-251-0311
http://www.fruitscakefactory.com/index.html

Restaurant #13: Ajisai, Sapporo

There is a place called “Ramen Kyowakoku” (ラーメン共和国), the 10th floor of the ESTA building, in front of Sapporo JR station. As a ramen lover, I frequently come here and try different ramen. You’ll find eight ramen shops from around Hokkaido and a gift shop in this ramen park. Shops are in and out every 6 months or a year, so visitors can always enjoy different shops. Don’t forget to stop by at the gift shop to find some ramen goodies. It would be fun to take a look at this park, because the décor is quite fascinating that they reproduced the old style Japanese small town.

It has been five years since this park was opened. In October, some new shops were opened; one of shops is called "Ajisai" (あじさい), from the city of Hakodate. Hakodate ramen is famous for shio taste broth. I tried another Hakodate ramen a few months ago, in Ramen Kyowakoku, and I liked it. So I was excited to try Ajisai’s Shio Ramen.

Ajisai’s menu was various; even though Shio is the most popular item of them, I found them trying to invent new items, such as curry ramen or ikasumi (イカ墨: squid ink) soup! I was really interested in ikasumi soup, but since it was my first time here, and I didn’t want to be adventurous, so I chose a simpler item. We ordered Ajisai Shio Ramen (750 yen), Seabura Ramen with Shoyu (850 yen), and Menma Ramen with Shio (850 yen).

Ajisai Shio Ramen (味彩塩拉麺)

I believe this is their signature menu. Simple is the best! I heard that their soup is crystal clear, and now I know it was true. The broth is made of pork and chicken based, added vegetable and seaweeds (昆布). All the extract essence from those is for a dignified taste. If you prefer heavy taste, then you might feel that something is missing. It might be the reason why there are many ingredients over the straightened noodle. Two thick slices of Chashu (roasted pork) were melted in my mouth and no need to chew. Negi (green onion) almost covered the clear soup. Because the soup’s taste is light, strong taste of negi gives more appetite.

Seabura Ramen, Shoyu (背脂拉麺: 醤油)

My choice. Seabura (背脂) is pork back fat, and it is popularly used in ramen. I usually don’t eat seabura that much, because it is too oily. This time, however, I know the soup taste lighter than my preference, so I tried this with Shoyu (soy sauce) taste. I actually chose the right one. Adding extra seabura pork lard, shoyu based soup had much richer taste and seaweed broth matched with shoyu. Amazing! Noodle was beautifully strengthen, and easily made me full. Tons of sliced negi and chashu (チャーシュー) covered over the tasty soup, and my favorite mizuna (水菜) gives a fresh taste. Lastly, a crispy fried wonton was laid under menma (メンマ: bamboo shoots).

Menma Ramen, Shio (メンマ拉麺: 塩)

Basically, it was Shio Ramen, with extra menma (bamboo shoots). However, the soup became much richer flavored because of extract essence from menma. If you like menma, go for it. My brother ordered this, and he loved it.

Overall, I enjoyed their taste. It really depends on your preference when you enjoy ramen. Soup, noodle and ingredients… The best way to find your own favorite is keep eating all kinds of ramen and know what you like the most.

Sooner, I need to go back to Ramen Kyowakoku, because “Nantsuttei” (なんつッ亭) from Kanagawa just opened! I just need a little more time to save some money…

Total: 2450 yen (for 3 people)

Ajisai
at Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku
10F, Sapporo ESTA building
Kita 5-jo Nishi 2-chome, Chuo-ku
Sapporo
011-213-2111
http://www.sapporo-esta.jp/ramen/ (Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku)
http://www.ajisai.tv/index.php (Ajisai Official Web)

FastFood #01: Chicken Pot Pie @ KFC

I love junk food, even though I know it is not healthy. I just can’t stop eating those. When I was in the U.S., I usually went to In’n’Out, which is my favorite so far. Unfortunately, there is, I believe, no In’n’Out in Japan yet, and no Burger King in Sapporo, but we have some good fast food chains, such as Mos Burgers and Lotteria. Slowly, I will update some Japanese hamburger chains and their original menu.


Today, I went to KFC and stayed there reading some books for hours. It only takes a few minutes from my house to get there, and their place is always quiet. That is the reason why I frequently go there. I usually drink a cup of coffee or have lunch, but today I found a seasonable item on the menu—Chicken Pot Pie! It is available only in fall and winter seasons. Wow, I haven’t eaten this for a long time. So I bought this as a snack.


The item came in the box, which was fun to open it. A pie was in the box, of course. LoL By using the spoon and opened the pie’s cover to see what was inside. The creamy chicken soup said hello! The taste was a bit strong, but it was warm and pretty good. It is fun to try if you have never eaten this. The only problem is that it costs 350 yen. I think it is quiet expensive if I compared with the quantity. 280 to 300 yen would be an appropriate price, or the quantity should be increased more.

Anyways, I finally finished reading "Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks. What should I read next?

Total: 300 yen (with a coupon. Original price, I believe, is 350 yen)

KFC: ケンタッキーフライドチキン
http://www.kfc.co.jp/