Sapporo Food: Suriyothai - Thai-Style Curry

Found this place by just walking around randomly, trying to get from one place to another by going in the wrong direction. I like it when it works like that. It was a Monday, and the sign said the place was closed on Mondays and yet nevertheless:

That, I think, is incredibly rare. I have lost count of the times I've tried to go somewhere because the internet, or the flyer says it will be open only to find that it's closed (Maruyama Drill Hamburger Shop, I'm looking at you). So to find somewhere that says it'll be closed only to be open is an early Christmas present.

Suriyothai is in a building that looks fancy from the front, but to get to the restaurant you have to go through to the back where there's a little hidden line of bars and shops which looks far less glamorous. They do mostly Thai curries in the well known "Traffic Light Arrangement" (red curry, yellow curry or green curry) and a bunch of other Thai influenced food. I got the impression that if you went for something spicy at this place, you'd really get something spicy...

We got the green curry and a rice dish that was apparently a drier Thai curry to be eaten with rice. Since the place doesn't look at all fancy, and yet has a 'Top 100 restaurants in Hokkaido' sign outside from a few years back, I wasn't all that surprised to find that the food was excellent. Like I said, I think things might get spicy if you want them too - I don't mind that with some things but I've had bad experiences with Thai food so I didn't push it. Oh and there's a terrifying looking pot of extra spiciness on the table should you feel so inclined.

Looking this place up I found that there was a Japanese youtube channel devoted to Thai restaurants. They basically just walk in and spin around a bit, but here, so you can experience it all the more powerfully, is their video of Suriyothai:

Awesome. Suriyothai is very close to Kita 12 Jo station, and if you like Thai food than absolutely check it out. It's on my map!

Japanese Beverages with Alex - Pepsi and more!

Me, I'm all about the traditional stuff - you know that. Those tastes that speak of Japan's rich cultural heritage, and demonstrate the gulf in philosophies that separates this proud island nation from the proud island nation of which I am...

No, wait. I'm not interested in that stuff at all.

Here's a couple of gimmicky summer soft drinks that I picked up recently:

After the- let's say utter failure of Pepsi Dry to be either palatable or interesting, Pepsi Caribbean Gold is a massive improvement in the field of Pepsi Limited Time Flavours. The description says that it's a "Refreshing cola with the feel of a high class Caribbean resort." That is fucking aspirational, but unsurprisingly it doesn't really taste like that. It also says it's 'White Sapote' flavour. Now, I, like I expect most people, had no idea what white sapote is so I look it up on Wikipedia. Apparently it's a Central American tree whose fruit is thought to have narcotic properties, especially inducing drowsiness.

I mean, of COURSE Pepsi Japan would choose to make a White Sapote flavour drink. Because they're insane.

Sadly, no narcotic effects were in evidence, but Pepsi Caribbean Gold is actually a really nice, unidentifiably fruity cola. There's a little pineapple maybe, a little coconut - I guess it is a little tropical after all - but overall it's really pretty good. And properly the most normal tasting Pepsi variant that's come out over the last few years.

The other drink I just picked up because the name sounded disgusting, only for it to be surprisingly delicious is Kirin's "Sekai no Kitchen kara: Salt and Litchi", based on a desert made by mums in Thailand.

This one really does taste of lychee (I'll spell it my way, though I think almost anyway is fine). I couldn't get any sense of saltiness, but perhaps it's a counter-balance, in that the concept of lychee juice is a little odd, and this just tasted great. I know some people don't like lychee, so don't bother if that includes you, but this was no where near as odd as it first sounded. Two good summer drinks, what are the chances?

Oh, and if you've noticed Coca-Cola's Mello Yello around, don't bother. It's pretty bad.

Sapporo Food: Kopitiam - Singaporean Restaurant.

Oh hey! It must be summer in Sapporo because everywhere is a beer garden and no-one wants to sit inside!

Kidding, people were sitting outside because it was full inside. But still, I think the reason there were so many people outside (more people kept rolling up and they just kept adding more and more tables so that it stretched further and further into the arcade) is that Sapporo's 'Beer Garden' festival in Odori kicks out at 9 now. So there are a lot of drunk people, every night, looking for somewhere else to drink.

So, that photo there is Kopitiam, a Singaporean-style restaurant at the far West end of Tanuki Koji in Sapporo, that seems to be popular, since it's crowded whenever I've been there. They serve a selection of foods from Singapore and I would say, countries near Singapore (since, in our order the Indonesian 'gorengs' were well represented), and everything I've had there has been excellent. It's not very glamorous, and the lighting runs the gamut from red to dark yellow, but it's really worth visiting.

Here's some food. You'll have to excuse the yellow tint - like I said, very atmospheric lighting. Crispy Tofu Salad:

Nasi Goreng:

And Mee Goreng, which as far as I can tell is basically Nasi Goreng with noodles instead of rice:

Both the Nasi Goreng and the Mee Goreng have a fried egg on the right hand side that you have to pay extra for, but which is worth every penny. With the spicy sauce they drizzle over it that egg is just amazing. Everything is nicely spicy but not crazy and I haven't had a bad dish yet there.

It's hard to miss if you walk down to the end of Tanuki Koji, but it is, of course, on my map too. Good summer food, yo!

Sapporo Food: Raw Food Cafe LOHAS

So there I was, heading back into town after work and making the stupid decision to walk, in the sun, in the summer. I haven't been blogging much this year, but my hatred of the summer remains unabated. Damn you, Summer. Damn you to the hell that shares your searing heat.

Anyway I was thinking 'burger', that a burger would be good, but when I got to Treasures in West Odori it was gone! They're refitting the place now, and I don't know if it'll be Treasures part 2 or something else entirely, but whatever - it wasn't open for burgers that day.

But as I kept walking I went past a place I tried to go to a long time ago, only to find that it only opens at lunch time: Raw Food Cafe LOHAS:

That's the big ol' arch of the building, and if you go up those stairs here's the cafe itself.

From burger to the healthiest of healthy foods. I don't know exactly what LOHAS' philosophy is, but it looks vegan and when I ordered Raw Veg & Avocado rice bowl, that was exactly what I got. It was healthy and delicious, with brown rice and a little side dish for soy and wasabi (I was advised to dip the avocado into that, like sushi, since the avocado didn't have a very strong flavour).

From the place itself and this website, it looks like LOHAS is something of a 'raw foods', vegan and organic hub. I found a link for it on this Japanese Vegetarian and Macrobiotic food navigation site. And in other news, there's a Japanese Vegetarian and Macrobiotic food navigation site! Who knew?! How great is that?

Anyway, LOHAS is only open from 11am to 3pm, which makes it annoying to get to for a lot of people, but apparently you can arrange for them to open for you in the evening if you have enough people. The food was healthy and great, and there was some kind of nut maki-sushi that sounds so odd I really want to try it. It's just at the end of Tanuki Koji, and pretty easy to find, but do check my map out.

Sapporo Food: Sandal Diner

Sandal Diner is a small, cozy little restaurant in Kita 24 Jo. I don't think it's spectacular, but the menu is varied (carrying everything from burgers and curry to sushi, pizza and a terrifyingly large selection of onigiri) and everything I've had there has been good, and mighty satisfying. Also, and this would be the key point for me, it stays open pretty late.

I work evenings sometimes, and my girlfriend works evenings all the time, and recently we've both been frightfully reluctant to actually cook anything so we're eating out more than is healthy. But eating out late, while more possible in Japan than I reckon it is in England, is still kinda hit and miss depending on where you are. I mean, wherever you are, you can ALWAYS eat ramen late at night, and probably yakitori too, but for more choice you're often left pretty bereft of options. So sometimes I want a half decent burger, and Jacksonville in Kita 24 Jo, which I love, closes at 9 and so thank God for Sandal Diner.

That's the mexican salsa burger, with avocado, and I believe some kind of locomoco lurking in the background there. An esteemed colleague of mine from the states was once left not all that impressed by Sandal Diner's burgers when we went there, but beef-pork mix (I have no idea if it is or isn't) or not I'm getting to really like them. This thing might look monstrous:

but it was pretty bloody delicious. Also the potatoes, which come in that chunky wedge-type variety were way better than I expected. I've had badly cooked potato wedge-chips so many times that I didn't have high hopes, but they were great too. I haven't tried the pizza, which I'm always curious about due to the crimes against pizza that I've witnessed in Japan. So I can't vouch for that. The other food I've had there hasn't been flashy, but it has been tasty and satisfying and it has Ebisu beer on tap and a nice, relaxed, warm atmosphere. Oh, pretty terrible Nashville country music, but it makes a change at least.

Oh, I found another picture. Same burger last time I went, and that looks like sausage curry to me. Yeah

It's a good place and you should check it out, especially if you live in Kita 24 Jo and haven't been there yet. It's in the little car-park area around the back of one of the tall buildings on the main street - you have to walk around the block to get there basically. Confusing directions, I know, but that's why I have the map. So have a look at that why don't you.

SAPPORO!

There was a horrendous disaster in March, and an ongoing situation with the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant, and unsurprisingly these things have had a massive effect on tourism in Japan. In that no-one wants to come here anymore. And, to be frank, it seems to me more and more that the government have the efficacy of a plywood baseball bad when it comes to confronting this problem. Not least because no-one believes them anymore.

Sad emoticon.

Still, from what I can tell people fearing radiation damage a ways away from the Fukushima plant are over-reacting somewhat. Lady Gaga did her bit, assuring everyone that Japan is safe to come to and as beautiful and awesome as always, and now, impressively the Sapporo City tourism people are doing their bit too with this website:

http://www.sapporo-now.com/en/

A design that actually looks quite nice? English and Chinese full functionality? Holy balls, I think I just dropped the crab-leg I was gnawing on! It's a nice website, and what with the updating radiation chart, it's as clear as it can be that Hokkaido is free of carginogens and mutagens and I'm really very impressed with it. Good show Sapporo council.

And Google are doing their bit too, with in-depth street-view things for big Japanese tourist attractions (the cynic in me would say - well if their panoramic shots are that good people might not actually bother with the trip, but that's just silly). They've done a whole bunch of Sapporo things that you can see here:

Google's Sapporo Galleries

I like it, but with the best will in the world Maruyama Zoo is not all that impressive. I mean, it's not even the most impressive zoo in Hokkaido - so many people stay in Sapporo and take the train to Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa (a couple of hours away) that they have a themed train with special animal seat-covers. But still it's the thought that counts.

Anyway, come to Sapporo because we're not radioactive and the summer is bearable, as opposed to the rest of Japan.

That is all.

Sapporo Food: Orion Kanazawa-Style Curry

First, I'd like to say that I'm losing count of the number of cafes and restaurants that I'm finding because of my iPhone. Apple, you have your problems, and your iTunes for Windows software is still like new-strain incurable gonorrhea on my computer, but the crazy world of apps you have begotten has something going for it.

On Sunday we went up a mountain, and on the way down used the iPhone to find first a cafe, for coffee, and then this place:

It is Orion and it is apparently the only Kanazawa-style curry restaurant in Hokkaido. Kanazawa curry? What's Kanazawa curry I hear you ask? It's the way they eat curry in Kanazawa city in Ishikawa-ken of course, which is like this:

Now, if you are familiar with basic Japanese-style curry, you may be looking at that and thinking... well... that doesn't look all that different from any other curry. But you are WRONG. SO WRONG. And here is a bullet-pointed list why you are so wrong:

Allow me to roughly translate these points, which set Kanazawa style curry apart from the dross they serve in the rest of the country:

- Served in a stainless steel dish

- Served with shredded cabbage

- You can't see the rice (my note: because it's hidden under the curry, not because it's invisible)

- Fork

- The topping (i.e. the meat) is served on top of the curry (as opposed to the other way round)

- The katsu (cutlet) has Worcester sauce on it

- The curry is thicker and richer.

And then to the right of that is the stuff which I thought really defined the difference between Kanazawa curry and regular Japanese curry, which is that you mix the cabbage in with the curry and more importantly that you add mayonnaise to the curry and mix that in too. Now that's an interesting (if in terms of Japanese cuisine, not unusual) variation - adding mayo to your curry. But the bullet points seemed to be, really, trying too hard. I'm sure many purists would disagree, but when you're emphasising the serving-ware, the cutlery, and the layering order of the food, you're kind of reaching.

And to be honest in the end the curry wasn't all that different from other Japanese curries. It was like curry+ or curry with a twist. What it also was though, was delicious and that's the most important thing! It was rich and thick, the tonkatsu was crisp and good, the Worcester sauce was only a little thing, but it added to it too, and I could dig the mayo concept. It was a satisfying, hearty meal and I'd recommend it to any fan of Japanese curry. You're also encouraged to add as many toppings as you feel like to the curry, and the place has a whole other half-a-menu devoted to potato noodles and pasta if that's what you feel like.

I'm a huge fan of B-gourmet (simple, cheap food done really well) and I'd say that this place is something like that. I dug it and I'd recommend it to anyone in the area. Oh, coz it's in Fushimi, pretty far out towards the mountains in the South-West of Sapporo. Car or streetcar would be the best way to get there. Check it out on the map here.