Address: Hokkaido, Japan

[editor’s notes: I have obviously slackened in updating this site for the past month. There is a reason for this. Due to my own sloth, laziness, procrastination and some actual work commitments, I am falling behind in preparing for one of the biggest events I will have in my life. So I am now trying to pull up my socks so that things do not go tits up at that event. For now, I will let Ms Seude take it away with her substantial post.]

Finally went on a long awaited trip to Japan in June. Came back absolutely in love with the country (few people don’t) and determined to go back there again. In the meantime, am getting my Japan-fix by looking through all the photos I took. And finally got down to writing this review on the food I ate in Hokkaido.

Ramen Yokocho
My husband and I arrived in Hokkaido at night – about 8pm thereabouts. Our hotel was within walking distance from Susukino, their major entertainment district. We went searching for Ramen Yokocho straightaway. During my ‘research’ on Hokkaido prior to the trip, found many websites recommending this small alley full of ramen shops. When we finally located it after much difficulty, we realised that this was truly a SMALL ALLEY. Make it narrow too. Small homely shops packed side by side. Went into one of them and ordered their seafood ramen.

Wah, shiok man. From the springy ramen to the miso-flavoured soup, it was all good. But their seafood was frozen, so although it was still fresh, the texture and taste were ok only. There’s really a great deal of difference when you eat crab that’s been frozen and crab that’s just been killed moments before you order. But simply eating the ramen and slurping on the soup was damn shiok!

As for the gyoza, you can see that its skin was green – green tea powder was probably added to the flour. Er, I’ll have a ‘normal’ gyoza anytime.

(I chanced upon a website recently which mentioned that Ramen Yokocho is just a tourist trap and the ramen sold there is nothing like the real McCoy. I am still highly disturbed. Are my taste buds so undiscerning that I can’t distinguish between authentic and touristy ramen?!)

Nijo Fish Market
It’s not a very big place; just a stretch of a street. But there are inner lanes that you can wander around. It was quite interesting just to look at the different types of seafood on sale. But definitely pales in comparison BIG TIME to Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo in terms of size and variety.

I had the sushi platter for breakfast. Shared with the husband lah. This might sound ridiculous but I’m not really big on sashimi sushi. Was rather disappointed that they don’t have the usual stuff that they sell at Sakae Sushi like soft shell crab sushi, tuna mayo sushi, you get the drift. Yes, yes, mock me for my less than exquisite taste in food.

The husband had this. There’s a name for it but I can’t remember now. The sashimi is really fresh. And the egg roe just looks so glistening and shiny. They go ‘poop’ in your mouth too! There’s rice at the bottom though you can’t really see it.

This was my favourite – probably because it was cooked! Felt quite sorry for the poor scallop when I saw the man shucking it. It was probably grilled alive too. Aiyoh… The scallop was so huge and succulent. I savoured every mouthful of it. Good stuff!

Random Restaurant #1
Felt like eating katsudon that day so eventually settled on this restaurant.

I had fun checking out all the stuff on the table before the food arrived. The waiter looked quite bemused. ‘Silly tourists,’ he must have been thinking behind that genial smile!

My katsudon looks so good right? But it was awful! The meat was so tough! I was really shocked and sorely disappointed. I mean, this is Japan!!! In the end, was pretty content to simply eat the egg and onions and rice and drink the soup!

The husband ordered the tonkatsu set. As his arrived later, I had been hoping that his pork cutlet would be tenderer so that I could do a swap with him. (Yes, I am highly unscrupulous). But no such luck. His own canines couldn’t bite through the meat too easily as well. Overall, rather disappointed, but we got over it very quickly. It’s hard to stay unhappy for too long in Japan.

Random Restaurant #2

Okonomiyaki restaurant! Yes, another childhood dream fulfilled! Still remember the pretty waitress here. Her service was fantastic and I loved her eye make-up!

I think the above isn’t strictly called okonomiyaki because there wasn’t the floury paste to make it a pancake. It was the egg that ‘held’ the seafood together. It was quite funny when the bowl of raw seafood came. The husband and I looked at each other with a how-the-heck-do-we-do-this expression on our faces. Said pretty waitress noticed us in distress and straightaway rushed over to help us.

Basically, you mix everything in the bowl before pouring it onto the grill which you have to oil first. You’ve got to wait for some time before you expertly flip it over. (One Jap girl shrieked in delight when she successfully flipped hers over)! Lastly, add as much mayonnaise and bonito flakes as you want. They’re FOC!!! And it’s fun, like masak-masak. Lastly, tuck in. It was really good. Nothing like hot piping food.

We also ordered their fried noodles. Think I overdid it on the mayo. Felt quite nauseous at the end. Moreover, this was a lot of food! Note: after makan, go back to hotel immediately. Because you’ll definitely smell like a walking okonomiyaki.

On the way back, saw a little shop selling slices of cake. I couldn’t resist buying a slice.

Oh gosh, I nearly died when I saw the box. So cute!!! I would have kept the box if not for the fact that it’d been dirtied by the cake. The cake was not too bad – very generous amount of strawberries.

Otaru

We went to Otaru via rail to go to the Music Box Museum and to take pictures by the canal. The husband said that Otaru’s famous for sushi which is really quite true – practically every eatery sells sushi.

We finally settled on the above place as it didn’t sell only sushi. The food at this joint was just okay for me, though I did like the setting. Almost like those inns you see in the Chinese period dramas. Very quickly: the beer was the best as it was so chilled, the black parts of the scallop scared me so I only ate the flesh itself, the squid was overcooked so it was too chewy and I almost choked on a piece as it refused to disintegrate in my mouth and kind of got lodged in my throat. As for the sushi, there was the tamago and the mayo-something, so yay! Ramen was nothing like the one at Ramen Yokocho and the beef was overcooked too. End of story!

After a wonderful time in Hokkaido, it was time to say sayonara and jet off to Tokyo! At the domestic airport, there was this huge shop selling loads of Hokkaido confectionaries. Really wanted to buy them back as presents – the packaging was so beautiful. But they expire so quickly! However, I couldn’t resist just buying something to try. Looking at the dizzying variety was enough to make me giddy but thankfully, I saw a sign indicating that the above was one of the most popular so I grabbed it before saying goodbye to Hokkaido.

When I tried it hours later in Tokyo, I had no regrets. The biscuit was soft and moist and the filling – ooh! Creamy butter mixed with soft rasins. Though the butter was rich, it was very light and this was altogether heavenly although I’m not into sweet stuff and I hate raisins.

So concludes my food review on Hokkaido. More on Tokyo when I’m not too lazy to start writing!

Sorry, forgot to mention that you must take pictures of the flowers in Hokkaido. They’re everywhere and they’re beautiful!