Restaurant #62: Hage Ten; the Authentic Tempura Restaurant, Sapporo

Do you know how tempura (てんぷら) was invented in Japan? Actually, tempura was originally from Portugal, so as tonkatsu (とんかつ). In 16^th century, Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in the city of Nagasaki introduced tempura to Japan. Since then, tempura became one of popular Washoku (和食).

Hageten, from Ginza, started their business in 1928. Since then, they served an authentic tempura to us. There are many branches in Japan. There were actually two branches in Sapporo, but recently, one was closed. You can enjoy different taste in different branches, because of the skill of the Tempura chef. I went to Hageten at Stellar Place Sapporo. The chef was friendly and welcomed me for late lunch.

The best way to enjoy eating fresh tempura is to sit at the counter table and eat it right after the chef fries each seafood and vegetable as “okonomi” (お好み). Yet, this time was for late lunch, so I ordered “Hokkai Tendon Special” (北海天丼スペシャル), 1200 yen. Eight kinds of tempura over the warm steamed rice, salad, Japanese pickles (which is called Tsukemono) and red miso soup were served perfectly. It’s nothing but gorgeous.

A well-trained waitress brought me a cup of houji-cha and oshibori (wet towel). Then, soon she served a tray with salad and tukemono. Of course, I needed to wait for a bit for tempura bawl. But it’s okay. 

 Salad
 
I enjoyed the easy salad with Japanese dressing. Slices of colorful paprika were decorated over the shredded cabbage and radish sprouts. Again, I enjoy not only the taste but also the color.

Tsukemono

Look at this color combination! Just a little decoration on the tray, but it already gave me a good appetite. In addition, it is always good to eat tsukemono with something oily like tempura, because it keeps my mouth fresh.

Hokkai Tendon Special

Even before I finished up the salad, Hokkai Tendon Special and miso soup were served. Red miso (赤だし) was used for miso soup, and it really matched with greasy food. Red miso has rich taste, so it refreshes my mouth. Some people prefer Shiro Miso (white miso), but the taste is too light for me.

Two shrimps, three kinds of fish (Japanese squid and some white-meat fish), asparagus, nori and crab shell were perfectly fried. I started with fish. Wow it’s been a while since I ate such a delicious tempura. I was amazed by not only the cooking technique of the chef but also the freshness of this fish. The meat was so tender and it melted right after I put in my mouth. Shrimp was a bit small, but it was still sweet and tender. I was a bit disappointed that asparagus was too skinny! I expected a bit thicker one…

Overall, I was totally satisfied with their good quality of service and food.

Total: 1200 yen

ハゲ天：Hage Ten

http://www.hageten.com/

at Stellar Place Sapporo

Restaurant #60: Saboten, Taipei

(Visited in March, 2011)

Saboten is a Tonkatsu restaurant from Shinjuku, Tokyo. I haven’t heard of this restaurant until I saw in Taipei. In Taiwan, this tonkatsu restaurant (勝博殿) locates in some department stores; SOGO and Mitsukoshi. I tried “Anzu”, which is another Japanese Katsu restaurant in Taipei, and it was OK, so I was not sure if I should have tried this restaurant… Yet, my friend asked me to, so… let me report this.

I chose the branch in ZhongXiao SOGO. It was a long line, so we waited for 30 minutes or so. The waiter guided us to the comfortable table. Our seat was in good place, and I was quite happy about it. The décor was simple, but it looks old. Also, some families with kids and babies were eating dinner, so it was quite noisy.

The other waitress came to us and explained their menu and system since it was a first time for us to visit them. According to them, shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup and appetizer are all refill free. Yes! (^^) Their workers were well trained, and friendly.

Compared to Anzu, Saboten’s items are slightly expensive. I hoped that their katsu taste better. I ordered Negi Oroshi Rosu Katsu (ねぎおろしロースかつ) (NT$ 300), and my friend chose Tender Hire Katsu (やわらかヒレかつ御膳) (NT$300).

Appetizer

Their appetizer was black beans and Japanese radish pickles. This Daikon pickles reminded me of one Japanese restaurant my friend and I always went in the states. Good memories… Black beans were a bit sweet, tasted alright.

Shredded Cabbage

Shredded cabbage (キャベツの千切り) is always served with Katsu. I always eat a lot.

Sesami

Same as Anzu, sesame was served.

Item was served in front of me.

Negi Oroshi Rosu Katsu

Negi Oroshi Rosu Katsu looked great! Katsu was politely laid on the plate, covered Daikon Oroshi. I thought their Oroshi was a bit dry, but it was still tasty. Katsu was juicy and chewy enough to enjoy the taste of pork. Unfortunately, my rice was already cold. What happened!?!?!? I asked Okawari, and the second bawl was warm enough.

Hire Katsu Set

My friend’s Hirekatsu was, to be honest, so disappointing. I don’t know what happened. Did they serve different item or what? This katsu was quite different than we expected. Meat was thinly sliced, and wrapped to make it katsu shape. I found the similar item on their menu, which was called “Kasane Katsu” (千層錦豬排). But… Hire is usually not Kasane Katsu, right? I really want to know if we ordered it wrong, or they served wrong item… Taste of meat was not bad at all, but still quite different than Hire. Sorry my friend…

Oshiruko

Green Tea Ice Cream

Both katsu set included a small dessert. Both dessert items were good: Oshiruko and Green tea Ice cream. We enjoyed it.

Overall, I liked their appetizer and everything but Katsu, such an ironic. I believe Anzu’s Katsu matches more to my taste, and it is close to a real Japanese style, although their sauce and other appetizer are alright. As a Japanese, Katsu in here couldn’t satisfy me.

I would like to visit them again to confirm their Hire katsu... If that was all they have, then I’d rather cook it by myself. It is all about a quality of the meat. I hope I will be satisfied with their food next time.

Total: NT$ 660 (for 2 people + 10% service fee)

Saboten: Japanese Tonkatsu Restaurant

http://www.saboten.com.tw/index.php

Cooking 03: Temakizushi 手巻き寿司

Temakizushi (手巻き寿司) is a hand rolled sushi, contains of rice and strips of ingredients wrapped in a half sheet of Nori. It is tasty and easy to make, and the most, it is purely fun to make it by yourself. I enjoyed Temakizushi for dinner, so I will teach you how to make it.

Sushi rice was prepared separately; mixed with sushi vinegar. Temperature of the rice must be cool down a bit, otherwise it does not match with sashimi’s warmness.

Hijiki

Hijiki is a healthy kind of seaweed. It looks strange if you have never seen it, but it is very healthy and good nutrition for your hair.

Osuimono

Osuimono is a Japanese soup, served with Shiitake, Fu and Mitsuba. Miso soup is also popular soup in Japanese food, but osuimono is match more with sushi.

Ingredients

Let’s take a look at ingredients. You can prepare all kinds of sashimi and veggie you like for Temakizushi, but this day, we ate Shrimp (Ebi: えび), crab meat (毛がに), salmon roe (いくら), and Yellowtail (ぶり). Don’t forget to add Shiso leaves (green perilla: シソ). Shrimp was simply boiled with water, no MSG or anything, but shrimp must be fresh.

Let’s make one with me.

Prepare a sheet of Nori, and add Shiso on the top of seaweed if you like.

Take a little bit of rice. Not too much.

Then, add ingredients you like. I sometimes dip into soy sauce first, but of course, you can wrap first then dip into soy sauce. If you go to sushi bar, you see more beautiful shaped hand roll sushi, but for us, simply wrap and eat it. Simple and easy, but the most importantly, all ingredients must be fresh. (^^)

Restaurant #58: Tokuju, Sapporo

(Visited in February, 2011)

Tokuju (徳寿) is a Japanese Yakiniku (BBQ) restaurant based in Hokkaido. They serve high-quality Wagyu (Japanese beef) and delicious desserts. Their customer service is quite good. Near by my home, there is one branch of Tokuju, so my friend and I went there for Yakiniku lunch!

My friend ordered Yakiniku Sagari lunch (770 yen).

I ordered Manzoku Set A (1080 yen).

First, steamed rice, wakame soup, salad and kimchi were served. Soup was alright, but kimch was good. I believe that refill of rice was free.

Sagari

Beef Sagari (サガリ: hanging tender) was so tender, slice of pumpkin and onion gave us small happiness.

Sagari, Jingisukan and Tontoro

It was quite long time ago since I ate Jingisukan (ジンギスカン: mutton barbecue) last time. Jingisukan is a Japanese grilled mutton, and it is very popular food in Hokkaido. Tontoro (トントロ: fatty pork) is one of my favorite Yakiniku item, but I usually eat with salt, not with sauce. In lunch time, it seems that all meats are served with sauce. It was tasty, but wanted more tender.

Their décor was simple and easy to use.

As a lunch, I thought their lunch menus were in reasonable price, and quality of meat was quite good. I would like to come back here again for dinner, and definitely want to try their Beef Tongue and other items.

Total: 1850 yen (for 2 people)

Tokuju: Japanese BBQ restaurant

http://www.tokuju.com/html_e/index.html

Restaurant #56: Ichi Nii San, Sapporo

(Visited in February, 2011)

Day 2 in Sapporo, my family and I headed to the Japanese restaurant, Ichi Nii San, at Stellar Place bldg in Sapporo. If you have a chance to visit Sapporo, do not forget to check great restaurants in Stellar Place and Daimaru department store, located right in front of JR Sapporo station. Visitors can enjoy all types of food and fresh ingredients.

A signature menu of Ichi Nii San is Kurobuta Shabu Shabu, but since we went there for lunch, we ordered Kurobuta with Ginger Sauce (黒豚の生姜焼きセット) (980 yen), Steamed Kurobuta and Veggie set (黒豚の野菜蒸しセット) (980 yen), and Buta Suki set (豚すき定食) (1150 yen). Kurobuta they used was from Kagoshima province.

I should mention that the décor was quite organized and I loved it.

First of all, a waiter served us Soba-cha (そば茶) and Niku Miso (肉味噌). Niku Miso was an interesting idea for small appetizer, and if you see the small bowl carefully, it could become Hashioki (箸おき).

Kurobuta with Ginger Sauce

Kurobuta with Ginger Sauce is one of popular lunch menu in general. This Kurobuta was a bit hard and salty for me. Plus, Red miso (赤みそ) was used for soup. Each item was tasty, but with such a salty Shoga-yaki (生姜焼き), they should have served a bit lighter-taste of soup. Quantity was appropriate.

Steamed Kurobuta and Veggie set

It was my mother’s choice, and this was the best item among we ordered this day. This dish was well balanced: rice, soup, pork, veggie and some pieces of fruits. Pork and veggie were steamed, so it was not oily at all. Healthy and colorful!

Kurobuta was perfectly steamed, and the meat was tender. It is your choice to dip into a sauce or not. For vegetables, it was not salted, so dipping sauce was needed.

Buta Suki set


This Teishoku set (定食セット) was a seasonal item. To tell you the truth, sukiyaki is not my favorite food, because Warishita (わりした: sukiyaki sauce) is usually sweet. Yet, since I haven’t eaten sukiyaki for almost five years, I wanted to try. Plus, it looked healthy with lots of vegetables.

After a few bites, my tongue felt a bit saltiness. I thought it was good the sauce was not sweet. But a few bites more, then it became too salty. Ingredients were kurobuta, Tofu, shitake mushroom, Nappa, Shungiku, a slice of carrot, broccoli, Negi, and small portion of Udon noodle. For one person, quantity was a bit too much. I was glad that I had 2 more people to help me finish up.

Overall, we felt that their taste was a bit too heavy for us, especially dishes with sauce. Among those 3 dishes above, I recommend “steamed pork and veggie set.”

Total: 3110 yen (for 3 people)

Ichi Nii San: いちにぃさん

6F, Stellar Place Sapporo
011-209-5123
http://ichiniisan.jp/

Cooking #02: Beef Stew and Izushi

I couldn’t wait to eat my mother’s cooking! That night, she prepared me delicious beef stew and a traditional Japanese dish, Izushi.

I do not think people reading my blog know about Izushi, so let me introduce this delicious dish to you. Izushi (飯寿司) is one of local foods usually in cold, snowing part of Japan, such as in Hokkaido or Tohoku. Rice, fish, vegetable, and Kouji (麹) are used, categorized as a sushi, called “cooked rice sushi”. Because raw fish are used during a process of marinated, Izushi is usually cooked in cold season, and need to be sure that the fish is salted well, otherwise easily get food poisoned.

Each family has different receipt for ingredients. My family’s is from my father’s family: salmon, carrot, cucumber, ginger, rice, red pepper, Japanese radish (Daikon), and salmon roe.

p.s. Rimmed Bowl: Wedgwood Samurai, Small Plate: Tachikichi (Kyoto, Japan)

Restaurant #55: Wako, Sapporo

(Visited in February, 2011)

This was my second visit to Wako. Same as last time, it took me 10 min to decide what I should eat. Everything looks perfectly delicious... Eventually, I chose Shobu Set, 1260 yen.

Organized interior.

Shobu Set

Shobu set (Hire Katsu, Deep Fried Shrimp, Deep Fried Eggplant with minced pork) was served with Oshinko (お新香) and Chawan Mushi (茶碗蒸し: Japanese Egg Custard). Chawan Mushi is my favorite Japanese dish, as well as Tonkatsu. Therefore, you can imagine how much this meal set made me satisfied.

Hire Katsu (一口ひれかつ) was a bit small, but it was okay because other items were more enjoyable; deep fried shrimp (海老フライ) and deep fried eggplant (茄子のはさみ揚げ). I have to say that I have never huge fun of fried shrimp. It is just because I love fresh, raw shrimp, instead of fried one. Yet, it is good to have big fried shrimp!!!

Minced pork said hello to me from between the fried eggplant!

Japanese Egg Custard

I love Chawan Mushi. I sometimes eat it outside, but usually the taste is too strong. However, their Chawan Mushi had perfect taste. If you have a chance to eat Katsu in here, please try Chawan Mushi as well.

I enjoyed this gorgeous lunch as usual. I would love to go back there again and try out other menu! Also, I should introduce other Tonkatsu restaurants to you guys next time.

Total: 1239 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/

Cooking #01: Omi Beef Stake, Sapporo

Everytime I go back to my home, my mother prepared delicious foods for me. She is a great chef, and also she is lucky to have a chance to use fresh, delicious materials which are grown in Hokkaido. Let me share some dishes from my kitchen table!

Omi Beef Stake

Simple medium cooked stake, with salt and pepper. Beef was…tender!!! Once I bit, it melted in my mouth. It was amazing. Usually, this level of quality of beef was not easy to buy, but my mother luckily bought this Omi beef in Daimaru department store. Today was a lucky day… I wish I could eat this quality of steak outside… in reasonable price.

Fried Tofu & Bok Choy

This is also a simple dish. Fresh Boc Choy, sprout and special tofu from Niseko area. When I go back to my home, my family visits Niseko. Niseko is blessed with pure water from Mt. Yotei, and many travelers from all over Hokkaido bring empty bottles to pull spring water. There are several small stores where visitors can buy fresh vegetables. One Tofu store called “Wakimizu no Sato” became famous because their tofu was made with natural spring water of Niseko. Not only pure simple tofu, but also their original items, festinate me! We only bought spicy tofu this time, but I personally liked their Grounded soybean curd donuts. It was a bit sweet, and healthy as you can imagine. I definitely want to go back there again and buy more various tofu.

Bonito Sashimi

You can enjoy these gorgeous bonito sashimi ONLY in Hokkaido! No fishy smell, because it was so fresh. Don’t forget to eat with Wakame as well. Slices of green perilla (Shiso: しそ) was enjoyable, but doesn’t kill the fresh taste of sashimi. It was purely fresh.

Hmm… Always, mother’s food is the best in the world, right?