[Hokkaido] Day 1 : Arrived in Sapporo - Hunting Food at Sapporo Station & Around

It's been a while I never write an update of my travel journey. Just realized it when I saw my drafts, full with unfinished posts about traveling. Well, since it's going to be winter season, and most of you must be planning for a winter trip, let me start by write about my last winter trip to Hokkaido, Japan. Actually we're not just going to Hokkaido. We also visited Tokyo which is the capital city of Japan. Hmmm. It's like a mandatory to visit Tokyo when you're traveling to Japan. Tokyo is our favorite city, precisely for culinary. But I'll write about Tokyo another time, because it's more "complicated" and I want to write it completely for you ^^

Landed at New Chitose Airport

Take JR Rapid Airport to Sapporo Station

We started our trip in Hokkaido from its capital city, Sapporo. Sapporo has an international airport named New Chitose Airport (CTS), which could be easily reached with any airlines internationally. If you come from Tokyo, you can choose either take a flight (in 2 hours), or take shinkansen (in 7 hours) to reach Sapporo. Since Sapporo is the first city that we visited, we chose to take a flight with Thai Airways which has a direct flight from Bangkok. Once we arrived, we took JR Rapid Airport (¥1590) which brought as to Sapporo Station only in 40 minutes. From there, we took another train (¥200) to reach our hotel - Ibis Style Sapporo. Actually there's another simple way to reach the hotel, by taking New Chitose Airport Limousine Bus which only costs $1030. However, the bus journey takes  80 minutes and since it's winter (when the road covered by snow), bus ride is not recommended.

Start our food hunting day

At the first day, we didn't go too far. We were too tired after the long stopover in Bangkok (9 hours). Otherwise, the kids also got a very bad cold and they looked not feeling well. So we just went back to Sapporo Station, and looking for a good lunch. First stop was Hanamaru Sushi. I've heard about good reviews of this sushi restaurant before, and so curious about their sushi. Hanamaru Sushi located at 6F of Stellar Place which connected with Sapporo Station and other 2 shopping malls, Daimaru and Sapporo Esta. Beside the delicacy of their sushi, I also knew that there's gonna be a very long queue - in anytime - to have a dine in here. But it's beyond my expectation to be waited for 2 hours only for having lunch. Since we were starving, so we went to Sapporo Ramen Republic at Sapporo Esta, and have some bowls of ramen first while waiting for our turn.

At the entrance of Sapporo Ramen Republic

Sapporo Ramen Republic is a "food court" which only have ramen food stalls. It's located at 10F of Sapporo Esta. At this place you can find many kind of ramen from different regions in Hokkaido, and (of course) they are write in Japanese letter. I have no idea which one is the best. I just randomly get in to the restaurant which has no queue, because mostly they all have long queue and we were extremely hungry at that time. After got a table and saw the menu, we just knew they serve Hakodate style ramen. This restaurant called Menchubo Ajisai. 

Left : normal size | Right : for kids

Hakodate style ramen at Menchubo Ajisai, Sapporo Ramen Republic

Hakodate ramen known for the clear broth shio ramen. The soup made from kombu seaweed stock which makes savory taste with brown color. Even though it's lighter than miso ramen (Sapporo style ramen), but it's still too salty for my tongue. I prefer Tonkotsu ramen (such as Ichiran) which doesn't taste too salty.

After filled half of our tummy, we felt better and ready to continue our food hunting day. Since it's still 1 hour until our turn, we were walking around from Sapporo Esta to Daimaru. As usual, Daimaru always have tons of delicious food on their Basement level. Not a "heavy" food, but they offer many kind of sweet treats, which really hard to be denied. Stepped out from the elevator, we were greeted by LeTao's food stall. LeTao is one of the famous dessert in Hokkaido, which comes from Otaru. However, since we gonna go to Otaru at the next day, we just passed it and looking for other tempting dessert.

Fresh mochi at Daifukudo, Daimaru Sapporo

At the end we bought some fresh mochi with red bean as a filling from Daifukudo and also cream puffs by Kitakaro. Yup, the famous cream puff that can't be missed when you're in Hokkaido. Actually Kitakaro also has a big outlet in Otaru. But at that time I thought they only have 1 stall (at Daimaru only), so I decided to give them a try. There are 2 types of cream puff, with and without whipped cream. The popular one is the cream puff with whipped cream in it, which has a soft texture puff. However if you don't like whipped cream, you can choose the other one which has a crisp puff.

Left : with whipped cream | Right : without whipped cream

Finally, it's the time for us to eat at the famous conveyor belt sushi restaurant, Hanamaru Sushi. Hanamaru Sushi comes from the town at East Hokkaido, Nemuro. It's being popular for its freshness and comes with affordable price. Due to its popularity, they open more outlets in Sapporo and Tokyo. Once we got a table, the waitress gave us the menu, with a form for order. At the menu, there are many options of the sushi, complete with the number of the sushi. To order it, we just simply write the number of the sushi that we wanted, and put a tick at the next box whether we want it with wasabi or not. It's much easier than try to talk in Japanese with them :P

Hanamaru Sushi is on the left at Stellar Dining

In front of Hanamaru Sushi

Sushi bar at Hanamaru Sushi

As I was expecting, the topping was really fresh. For a person who not a fan of raw fish, their sushi was acceptable. No fishy smells, and even "strange" taste that usually comes in unfresh sushi. However, the taste was just so so, and I thought waiting for 2 hours is not worth it. I've tried other random sushi restaurant in Tokyo, and they have a better taste. However it's not too bad if you want to try a conveyor belt sushi restaurant with affordable prices.

All sushi come with very fresh topping

They also accept takeaway sushi box

Late lunch at Hanamaru Sushi was ended our first day in Sapporo. We went back straight to the hotel, and slept earlier, because at the next day we'd have a daytrip to Otaru.

Founder Bak Kut Teh - Living World

Have I mentioned that I'm a "carnivore"? But it's not like I don't eat fruits and veggies at all. I eat fruits and veggies, sometimes. But only in a few amount. Meat, especially "red meat" is a must eat for me everyday. It feels weird for me to eat some meals without any meat in it. No matter it's a beef, pork, or lamb, and how they cooked, I love to eat them, always.

In Asian food, there's one popular meat dish which cooked in soup style. It's called Bak Kut Teh. Bak Kut Teh is a clear soup which made from pork broth with pork ribs as the main ingredients. This dish very well known in Singapore. It's just like a mandatory to eat bak kut teh for everyone who visiting Singapore. Just say some famous places to eat bak kut teh : Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh, Founder Bak Kut Teh, and Song Fa Bak Kut Teh. Aren't they sounds familiar??

Due to its popularity, some of them started to open their branches in Indonesia. It becomes an excitement for pork dish lover, including me. Since it's going to rainy season, a heart warming soup dishes is a perfect meal to be consumed. By the chance I had a lunch with Winston after finished his school time at Founder Bak Kut Teh which located at Living World, Alam Sutera.

Founder Bak Kut Teh - Living World, Alam Sutera

Not just soup dishes, Founder Bak Kut Teh also offer other mouthwatering dishes. However, bak kut teh is the dish that I was craving for, so I just ordered a portion of it. There are several type of bak kut teh that they have. The difference is on the meat type. Some of them comes with big cuts, and some of them comes with small cuts. I chose "Short Spare Ribs" that comes with 3 big cuts of pork ribs. To complete my meal, I also orderd a portion of "You Tiao / Cak We" which is a perfect side dish to be eaten with bak kut teh.

You Tiao / Cak We - IDR 16K

Short Spare Ribs - IDR 94K

I've tried another bak kut teh restaurant before (such as Ng Ah Sio and Song Fa), but bak kut teh at Founder taste very different. While the other have a very strong pepper taste on its soup, Founder bak kut teh has the mild one. I think it's really good so it also could be eaten by someone who can't eat spicy food. The pork ribs itself also very tender and have a thick meat. I was very satisfied with this bowl of happiness.

Look at that huge meat!!

Since Winston is a quite fussy eater, so I also ordered a kids menu for him. There are 3 options on their kids menu. I chose the meal which has noodle in it, it's called Misoa with Mince Pork Dry. It's a noodle dish, which use minced pork that cooked with soy sauce for the topping. Not just noodle, it also comes with jelly and salad, which is every kid's favorite.

Misoa with Mince Pork Dry - IDR 33K

At the end, I just want say that Founder has a delicious bak kut teh, and worth to try. Even though it's quite pricey, but it's so tasty and perfect to warm up your day. Anyway, besides at Living World, they also have an outlet at Puri Indah Mall, West Jakarta.

Notes: I have a tips to enjoy the soup. Put you tiao inside the soup, let them soak until soft and absorb the pork broth. Now you can eat this you tiao in one bite, and taste the savory pork broth in it. Enjoy!!

Founder Bak Kut Teh
Address : Ground Floor - Living World. Jalan Alam Sutera Boulevard Kav. 21, Serpong Utara, Tangerang Selatan, Banten 15323
Phone : +62 21 29239455
Opening hours : Mon - Sun 10AM - 10PM

Pasta House AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe - Plaza Indonesia

Pasta House AWkitchen by Akira Watanabe - Plaza Indonesia

Lately, I'm really obsessed with Japanese cuisine. Everytime I heard about new Japanese restaurant in town, I couldn't hold myself to not try them immediately. There's one new restaurant that made me really curious about their cuisine, Pasta House AWkitchen by Akira Watanabe. Looking at its name, all I thought was this restaurant serves Japanese Cuisine. I also know that AW Kitchen has a flagship store in Tokyo, found by the popular chef Akira Watanabe. This fact supports my opinion about the dishes that they serve. However, when I saw their menu, I realized that they are not serving Japanese cuisine. It's more like Italian cuisine, with pasta as their recommended menu. By doing a research, I just knew that AW Kitchen serves Italian cuisine with Japanese twist. Chef Akira Watanabe himself is the one who introduced this kind of food in Japan. At the first year, it still hard to be accepted for some peoples. But as time passed, Akira Watanabe kept continue to innovate with the food until it was finally accepted by the people in Japan. Even today, he's very famous for his delicious cold pasta.

Bar seating at Pasta House AWkitchen

Warm yet delicious welcome bread

Jakarta is the first city where AW Kitchen opened his branches outside Japan. The first restaurant was opened at 2014, located at Plaza Senayan. Following its success, they opened the second branch at Plaza Indonesia at 2016. This branch was the place where Ivan and I had a dinner, and tried their food for the first time. The restaurant was really spacious with a fancy interior. They also have a bar seating, if you only want to come for a drink. We came at Sunday night, where most peoples had done with dinner. At that time it's not too crowded, so I got a table with a comfy couch. Nice place to enjoy our dinner time. Now, let's talk about the food.

Soft Shell Crab Fritt with Wasabi Tartar Sauce - IDR 95K

Wasabi Tartar Sauce and a slice of lemon

Soft Shell Crab Fritt with Wasabi Tartar Sauce
It's the first dish that they served, which we ordered as an appetizer. I love this food, a lot. The soft shell crab was deep fried very well, which makes it crispy outside, but still has a soft texture at the inside. The soft shell crab itself has been seasoned perfectly, but they also give a cup of wasabi tartar sauce, which also very tasty.

Spaghettini Shrimp and Corn Pepperoncino Style - IDR 95K

Spaghettini Shrimp and Corn Pepperoncino Style 
Pasta is a bestseller dishes at AW Kitchen, which can't be missed when you're visiting. Like I was saying before, they are well known for the cold pasta. But I felt unsure with it and ordered the hot pasta that also very recommended. As you can see on the picture, this pasta is different with a "classic" pasta. Starts from the seasoning, until the topping. It was cooked with "aglio olio" style, but it has a very strong taste of garlic. Unlike the usual taste of aglio olio pasta, this pasta tastes more like an asian noodle dish, and it's very very delicious. With huge shrimps and grilled sweet corn as the topping, this pasta instantly become one of the best pasta I ever had.

Look at that huge shrimp.

Grilled Black Cod with lemon Capers Sauce - around IDR 300K

Grilled Black Cod with Lemon Capers Sauce
The other main course that we ordered was the fish menu. They have several options of fish, and one of them is black cod. I love black cod because the texture is very soft and juicy. So I ordered it and paired it with lemon capers sauce to make it didn't taste fishy. The fish was grilled perfectly, and the sauce also has a balance taste. I could feel the lemon and the cream are balanced, without any more dominant taste.

For the side dish, we chose mashed potato to complete this meal. However the mashed potato tastes just so so, not the best one for me. The other things that I like from this dish was the vegetable chips. First time for me to eat this kind of "chips", but I love it - especially the lotus root chips.

Fresh Au Grey - IDR 50K

Fresh Au Grey
Not forgetting the beverage. Honestly, I barely order a mocktail at the restaurant. But when I read the combination of this drink, I thought this drink gonna be very fresh. Fresh Au Grey is a recommended beverage at AW Kitchen which made from the mixture of apple juice, passion syrup, and mojito syrup, added with slices of fresh strawberry and kiwi. Like I was expecting, it was really fresh and perfect to complete my dinner.

For some people (including me) it might sounds weird to eat fusion cuisine. But all dishes from AW Kitchen was an exception. Even though it has a different taste, but it's really tasty and not bad at all for Italian - Japanese cuisine. Anyway, besides at Plaza Senayan and Plaza Indonesia, AW Kitchen also has a branch at PIK Avenue which just opened last year with different concept.





AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe
Address : Plaza Indonesia L2 - Jalan M.H. Thamrin No. Kav 28, Menteng, Central Jakarta City, 10350
Phone : +62 21 29924325
Opening hours : Mon - Sun 10AM - 10PM
Instagram : @awkitchenjkt

Second Visit to Sushi Hiro - Neo Soho

Sushi bar at Sushi Hiro, Neo Soho

Sushi Hiro - you might be familiar with this name. Known as one of the best sushi restaurant in town, Sushi Hiro has stole my heart for Japanese cuisine in Jakarta. Once we had a dinner at their first branch at Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK), and we were satisfied with the taste. This time we decided to have a lunch at another branch at Neo Soho, after had a great day with kids at Jakarta Aquarium.

The interior is decorated beautifully, just like their first branch. But I like this branch more than the first one. Not just because of the place which is more spacious, but they also open for the whole day, without split the opening hours like the first branch does. However, due to the rules from Neo Soho management, at this branch you can't grill your food (special for the grill menu) on the table. Instead, they will grill it for you at the kitchen, and serve it well done on the table. Don't worry, this rules doesn't apply to gyukatsu. You still can enjoy grilling your own meat on the table, which is a great way to eat this food.

As a starter, we ordered some recommended appetizer such as Salmon Carpaccio, Salmon Skin Fried, and also Beef Enoki Roll . OMG! They're all tasted heavenly good. It was the first time for me to eat carpaccio. The salmon was thinly sliced and dipped with simple tasty sauce. This carpaccio was really amazing.

Salmon Carpaccio - IDR 50K

My next favorite dish is Salmon Skin Fried with Mentai and Floss. This food might look messy and not appetizing. But it's super delicious. Unlike other Japanese restaurant which just simply deep fried thin slices of salmon skin, Sushi Hiro makes new innovation by adding floss and mentai. This combination make it more yummm than the original version.

Salmon Skin Fried with Mentai and Floss - IDR 55K

Gyu Enoki Roll - IDR 50K

Done with the starter, it's time for the main course. This time we didn't order gyukatsu anymore. Instead, we ordered dishes which make them so popular, sushi! First time we had a dinner at Sushi Hiro, we just ordered some simple sushi such as tamago sushi, a set of nigiri sushi, inari tuna sushi, and we liked it. We like the sushi rice that they served. It has a perfect flavor and texture. So this time we ordered more sushi to satisfy our crave for them.

Ebi - IDR 25K

Kani Mentai Maki - IDR 50K

Like I was expecting, their sushi was really tasty. But among all, there's one menu that I like the most,  Salmon Mentai Roll. No wonder it becomes a recommended dishes at Sushi Hiro. Must try!!

Salmon Mentai Roll - IDR 100K

Not just sushi, we also ordered Garlic Fried Rice as our main course. We love to eat garlic fried rice since our trip to Kobe, Japan. In Kobe, we were having a dinner at Kobe beef restaurant, and they served the best garlic fried rice, ever! It was the first time for us to eat garlic fried rice, and we fell in love with it since the first bite. However, it's really hard to find a delicious garlic fried rice in town, which comes with a fragrant of garlic. Usually it comes with plain flavor and tasteless. But this one is different. I would said that it has a very strong garlic flavor, and also a lot of blackpepper. Too strong for kids, but tasty for me.

Garlic Fried Rice - IDR 40K

Those fried garlic are yum!!

Before we ended our lunch time, we ordered the last dish to complete my meal, Hiro's Ice Cream. It's a dessert plate which consists of red bean, mochi, jelly, and of course - vanilla ice cream. I also like this dessert very much because it's not too sweet and so delicious.

Hiro's Ice Cream - IDR 30K

At the end I just want to say that our second visit of Sushi Hiro doesn't change my mind about them. For me, Sushi Hiro still the best Japanese restaurant in town, especially for sushi. And as an information, Sushi Hiro has opened their newest and biggest branch at Senayan City. I can't wait to go there because they have several special menu which only can be found at that branch.






Sushi Hiro
Address : Neo Soho mall UG floor - 105. Jalan Letjen S. Parman Kav. 28, Grogol, Jakarta 11470
Instagram : @sushihiro_id
Phone : +62 21 27893438
Opening hours : Mon - Sun 10AM - 10PM