Restaurant #50: Yoshimi Kitchen, Sapporo

I visited Yoshimi Kitchen once before, but this time my friend made a reservation for cheese fondue course, including all you can drink. Yoshimi Kitchen is located at Parco building—easy to access, and I especially like their various menus for drinks. I like their simple décor and the lighting color of the restaurant.

Since I don’t drink alcohol, I enjoyed their non-alcohol cocktail menus. Yet, I also enjoyed their delicious course dishes.

Appetizer

Interesting appetizer was served: quiche with cresson, and beef kidney stewed with tomato sauce. Kidney was very juicy, and melted smoothly once I put it in my mouth. Sourness of the tomato sauce and delicately seasoned quiche made my stomach happy.

Green Garden Salad

Fresh veggies were used in the salad. I was pleased with petite broccoli. Fresh!

Cheese Fondu

This became their signature menu. I understand, because their cheese fondu was totally delicious! Cheese was imported from Switzerland, according to the worker. Ingredients were including healthy veggies, especially I liked eggplants were lightly fried.

Kita Akari French Fries

After the main dish, amazing dishes were still served. Kita Akari (北あかり) French fries were rightly salted. The Hokkaido native, “Kita Akari”, was freshly harvested from local farms. The taste was a bit sweet, although it was well-seasoned.

Shrimp & Tuna Spaghetti with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Oops! I accidentally forgot taking a picture before I started… As you can see through the picture, the quantity was not that much, but after all those cheese fondu and other delicious foods, this amount was enough for two people. The shrimp was a bit small, but tomato sauce was flavored well.

Dessert

I was already satisfied, but I still had extra space for some dessert. What was wrong with my stomach? Pear Pie & Mango Pudding. My friend said a bit sweet, but it was perfect for me.

I went to Yoshimi Kitchen twice so far, but I always satisfied. I think ordering a course is better than ordering a la carte. Don’t forget to try out their drink items! I had a wonderful dinner with my friend.

Total: 6000 yen (for 2 people, free drinks)

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

FastFood #05: Burger Chicken BOX @ Lotteria

Lotteria is one of my favorite fast food restaurants in Japan. My favorite burger is always Shrimp Burger. It passed quite long time since I tried it, so I simply visited there on the way back to my home.

Ebi Burger + Chicken Set

I ordered バガチキBox (pronounce “baga-chiki”) (770 yen), baga-chiki means burger and chicken, including one choice of burger, French fries (M size), one piece of juicy chicken and one drink (R size).

The Ebi burger made me satisfied, but I felt a little bit salty. I believe it was because of Tartar sauce. Juicy chicken was okay, but most people would like it. I ate Lotteria’s original (!?) juicy chicken back in 20 years ago, and I still remember THAT taste. No one can beat that taste.

Pepper Pork Egg Sandwich

Also, I ordered extra Pepper Pork Egg Sandwich (ペッパーポークエッグサンド). Wow nowadays, Japanese fast food chains really create astonishing items. Taste of black pepper was light, and it really matched with egg and lettuce.

Hmmm… McDonald’s Japan, Lotteria, Mos Burger, and more and more burger stores… Who would be a winner among their battle?

Lotteria
http://www.lotteria.jp/index.html

Restaurant #49: Sushi Zen, Sapporo

Aww my poor writing cannot catch up with the actual visited date to the restaurant. This visiting to Sushi Zen was in November, 2010…

Sushi Zen is Sapporo based fresh sushi restaurant, and a few branches opened in Tokyo area. Originally opened in Maruyama area in Sapporo, later slowly opened other branches. I personally recommend Maruyama branch (本店) because of the atmosphere and the design of the restaurant, but please check the prices online before you go. Each branch targets the different customers, so cost range is also different. I usually go to Daimaru department store branch, especially lunch time, which is easy to access and price is reasonable among other branches.


Since this branch is located the top floor of the restaurant, don’t expect too much to the décor of the dining area. Cleanness and well-trained workers satisfied me enough. A worker led us to the table and brought us a cup of green tea.


Lunch set (offers between 11:00-14:00) is in reasonable price! I chose Suzuran(1575 yen), served with Siromi (白身: white meat fish), Akami (赤身: the leaner meat from the sides of Tuna), Ika (いか: squid), Hotate (ほたて: scallop), Botan Ebi (ぼたんエビ: jumbo sweet shrimp), Kanpachi (かんぱち: mature amberjack), Salmon, Zuwai Gani (stripped snow crab), Ikura (いくら: salmon roe ) and Atsuyaki Tamago (thick fried egg).


Here it comes!!! 10 pcs of Nigiri were beautifully lined up on a rectangle Japanese plate, with a bawl of Osuimono and a cup of green tea.


Unfortunately, Kanpachi was out, so two pieces of Akami were served. Ika was amazingly tender and juicy. It was the best “neta” of the day!

Zuwai Gani was also great! The meat was sweet and it really matched with Shari (sushi rice).


I was a little bit disappointed that their Atsuyaki Tamago was dry. Atsuyaki Tamago is not actually main sushi neta, but most people love it.


After I ate 10 pcs, my stomach wanted more. I ordered extra Natto & Yamaimo maki.

Yamaimo

Their Yamaimo maki was interesting, lightly colored with Ume shiso (梅しそ); take a look closely, yamaimo is pink, right?


Natto

Rice for makimono was a bit stiff, but I guess it depends on your taste. Natto maki is always my favorite.


After I finished eating all, a worker served me another cup of green tea.

Good service, good food. Now I am satisfied!

Total: 5355 yen (for 3 people)

Sushi Zen

http://www.sushizen.co.jp/

***** Happy New Year 2011 *****

I wish you all happy new year~! I'll eat good stuff in 2011! o(^^)o

FastFood #04: German Sausage Burger, McDonald’s Japan

Today, I would like to introduce the limited special menu from McDonald’s Japan.

McDonald’s Japan started a special campaign of Chicken sandwiches. Four types of Chicken sandwiches—Cheese Fondue, German Sausage, Diavolo and Carbonara—were prepared. Each sandwich was available for a few weeks. Although I stayed in Japan only for a week, I could try German Sausage and Diavolo. How lucky I am!

German Sausage

German Sausage was served with a slice of sausage, crispy tender chicken, mozzarella cheese, shredded cabbage with mustard sauce. First of all, their chicken was “real”. It was so juicy, and with a slight taste of lemon. It tasted like a big piece of Karaage (から揚げ). Sausage was a bit spicy, a style of bologna sausage. Gently steamed rye buns, dill and mustard, and German-style cabbage (Sauerkraut?) were perfectly matched together.

I am very satisfied with this burger, although a bit small. I added French fries and a cup of coffee. As for French fries, it was not salty enough for some reason. I like the states’ better.

I know McDonald’s serves junk food, but if you are in Japan and want to eat some fast foods, please check their items. Attractive menus are waiting for you!

Total: 660 yen (as a meal)

McDonald’s Japan
http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/index.html

Sapporo Travel Guide

Restaurant #48: Amataro BBQ restaurant, Sapporo

I went back to Sapporo in November!!! Yes!!! Although I mostly stayed home during the trip, I couldn’t resist going to Japanese BBQ. There are several good BBQ restaurants in my area, and this time I choose this restaurant. Their specialty was not only BBQ, but I thought their meat was not bad all. Amataro, 甘太郎, is a Izakaya-style Japanese restaurant. BBQ and Shabu Shabu are available for all-you-can-eat, and other various dishes. All-you-can-eat was a bit too much for us, so we ordered some BBQ and side dishes.

The décor was quite interesting. Once you entered the restaurant, I only saw dark brown partitions. They made small rooms for each table, instead of just setting tables on the floor. So customers have some privacy. We also took off our shoes.

The workers were friendly. They always smiled and energetic, but they occasionally served items slowly. We ordered Pork Skewer as an appetizer, but it came quite after the main dish… (^^;)


There was a small electric panel on the table to order dishes. Interesting!

Special Mixed Plate and Horumon

At First, Special Mixed Plate (特選盛り合わせ) was served, included Tender Beef Sirloin (やわらかサーロイン), Premium Kalbi (上カルビ), Geta Kalbi (ゲタカルビ), Beef Lion (牛ロース) and some veggies (1468 yen). Pork Horumon Intestine (豚ホルモン) (313 yen) was also served.


I haven’t eaten beef for more than six months, so I was hungry for steak! Their Tender Beef Sirloin was very juicy and tender. Special sauce was covered over the meat, but I could also enjoy it purely with salt. It was flavorful~!


Horumon Intestine was a bit hard than I expected, but still juicy enough. Yet, I ate better one before, so this was alright.

Kimchi

Kimchi came as Otoshi (お通し: Appetizer).

Pork & Negi

We ordered Pork and Onion Skewer (豚串: Butakushi) (??? yen) from their today’s special menu.

Fresh Kotchori Salad

Fresh Kotchori Salad (新鮮！チョレギサラダ) (418 yen) is supposed to be a Korean style salad, but it was only used Korean style dressing (sesame oil & soy sauce) on regular green salad. It was still tasty, but was a little bit salty for me. Negi on the top gave me a bit of bitter taste.

Rice

Don’t forget to order steamed rice! (208 yen)

Sirloin Steak

Hmm… I needed to eat more beef! I ordered extra Tender Sirloin Steak (やわらかサーロイン) (523 yen). It was only $5. It was cheap, but the taste was much better than US beef. (I know Gyu-Kaku charges more…) The meat was melted once I put in my mouth, and it was appropriately oily. Delicious!

Pork Liver

Some people might be surprised that some Japanese eat sliced liver. Sorry the picture would be a bit grotesque, but I like it! In Taiwan, people eat liver soup with noodle. (Well, they even eat blood jelly… Awww…) Some people eat liver sashimi (レバ刺し), which is also delicious. Anyway, this time my family member ate it. It was 313 yen.

Harami Skirt Steak

We ordered Chicken Harami Skirt Steak (鶏ハラミ) (313 yen). I ate Gyu Harami before, but it was first time to eat Tori Harami. Personally, I liked Harami better than Horumon intestine.

Premium Kalbi

Premium Kalbi (上カルビ) (523 yen) is a popular item in most BBQ restaurants. No need to explain. Go for Kalbi!

Gyu-Tan

Gyu-Tan (牛タン) is thin sliced beef tongue, which is also pretty popular in Japanese BBQ. Unfortunately, their Gyu-Tan was dry and didn’t have much oil. So it was overcooked easily… 523 yen. This was the only disappointment for that day.

Mixed Sausage

Five different sausages were fun to eat, and one was extremely spicy!!! Japanese sausage is always flavorful. I once tried Taiwanese sausage, but it was sweet. If you like meat, please try some sausage dishes in Japan.

Roasted Salmon

The last item that I ordered was Roasted Salmon with Salmon Roe (炙りサーモン いくら添え) (523 yen), which was in good price. Aburi (炙り) means roast, and it didn’t grilled completely. So the inside of sliced salmon was perfectly raw. Salmon didn’t have extra seasoning, so I tasted a bit too much of onion. You may like it, or maybe not.


Oh my... I ate too much! I was more than satisfied our meal and precious time with my family. BBQ is a great meal for a family. Eat, drink, talk and have fun together~! (^^)/

Total: 9080 yen (for 4 people, including some drinks)

Amataro: 手作り居酒屋甘太郎
http://www.amataro.jp/

Restaurant #47: Saizeriya, Taipei

Saizeriya (サイゼリヤ) is a Japanese chain of Italian family-style restaurants. Recently, they opened several branches in Taipei, so I went to the branch just opened at new 統一阪急百貨台北店. I actually tried their food in Japan, and didn’t like it. One of their sales points is that all items are in reasonable price. Yes, I agree. Their menu is economy-friendly, but the taste was so-so. Yet, sometimes those Japanese family restaurants become a good dating spot in other Asian country, so I expected the warm hospitality from them.

統一阪急百貨台北店 is a department store, just opened, located at City Hall MRT station. Easy to access, and I like their variety of restaurants. Saizeriya is one of their attractive restaurant collections. My friend and I got in right away at 6pm. The waitress led us to the table smoothly, and we were ready to order…. Yet, no one come back to take an order. Most of workers don’t look at our table for some reasons. 10 min later, finally I told a guy that we were ready. He said, “OK, wait for a moment,” then he never came back. I found another waitress, but they kept saying “wait for a moment.” We waited enough moments… Finally, one waitress noticed us and took an order another 15 min later. Wow it took us 30 minutes to order.

They have a serious management problem. While we were waiting for our dishes, we found a teenage group right next to us. They, five girls, actually came after us, but waitress took an order before us… When their dishes were served, one dish was slipped from the waiter’s hands. The food was spilled on the table. Oh my… The waiter told them sorry, and brought a towel. Some other waitresses brought extra towel, however, they were all laughing… Why? A few minutes later, a manager came to the table and talked to the waitresses, yet, this manager were again smiling and kept chatting with waitresses, never say sorry to the customer. I was surprised those girls didn’t say anything to such a poor service.
I almost couldn’t tolerate such a lousy service and behaviors, but then, our dishes were served. Oh well…

Spaghetti with Chicken & Genovese Sauce

Here is my friend’s choice, 青醬雞肉義大利麵 (TW$ 90). Most of Italian restaurants in Taiwan have this item, either with chicken or clam. Saizeriya use their original sauce, but it was much oilier than Japanese branch. The taste was no problem, but the quantity was a bit less compared with regular Taiwanese dish’s quantity.

Grilled Chicken with "Diavola Salsa"

This is my choice, 惡魔風莎莎醤雞排 (TW$ 110), and I added a steamed rice (TW$ 20). Chicken was TOO SMALL! (>o<) Garlic taste over the crispy chicken was good, but it was just too small. If you want your stomach full, you need to order one more dish.


The crispiness was appropriate, and the chicken was juicy enough.

Overall, I liked their dishes. I really hope they improve their service. I am sad that they represent “Japanese restaurant”, but the quality of the food and service was quite far from Japanese one. If they welcome the customer saying “Irasshaimase”, then PLEASE improve the service.

Total: TW$ 220 (for 2 people)

Saizeriya: 薩莉亞義式餐廳
# Here is the Website for 統一阪急百貨台北店
http://www.uni-hankyu.com.tw/taipei/index.asp