Izakaya in Sapporo Part 1 札幌の居酒屋パート1

We went from Tokyo to Sapporo by train rather than plane. We rode the Hokkaido Shinkansen 北海道新幹線 from Tokyo to Shin-Hakodate Hokuto 新函館北斗. (We rode the Hokkaido Shinkansen for the first time in 2017 from Oomiya 大宮 to Shin-Hakodate since we started in Niigata 新潟.) Initially I thought we would have to take a shuttle train from Shin-Hakodate back to Hakodate to catch the limited express narrow gauge “zairai sen 在来線” train to Sapporo. Then I discovered a zairai sen actually went through Shin-Hakodate. So all we had to do was get from the shinkansen platform to the zairai sen platform to get the limited express Hokuto 北斗 to our final destination Sapporo 札幌 (my home town).

We didn’t have much time, however, to get from one platform to the other at Shin-Hakodate. But we would essentially be on the train all day so we would need some food for the trip. The question was what to do about ekiben 駅弁? Should we get some in Tokyo or at Shin-Hakodate? We decided, we would not have enough time to buy ekiben  at Hakodate, so we bought two in Tokyo. It was a good thing we did because we just made the transition between the two platforms in time; if we had stopped to get an ekiben we would have missed our train.  Purchasing those two ekibens, however,  required a bit of effort. We were leaving Tokyo early in the morning and it was too early for the ekiben stores on the basement floor of the department store connected to the station to be open. Still, we got two decent ekiben from a small kiosk in front of the SevenEleven which was open. They came with an advisory that they needed to be consumed by 1 PM that day for safety reasons. We were able to comply by eating them just after we took off to Sapporo from Shin-Hakodate just making 1 PM deadline.

1.  Yakitori-no- Ippei Sappro Minani 4 Store 焼き鳥の一平南4条店

札幌市中央区南4条西3丁目9-1 12Mビル3階

12M bldg 3F
Minami 4, Nishi 3, Chuo-ku, Sapporo

For reservation: 011-281-0006, Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

Since we were in Hokkaido, I thought going to a yakitori-ya 焼き鳥屋  that specialized in “Muroran” yakitori 室蘭焼き鳥 was appropriate. Muroran is a port town located south east of Sapporo about one and half hours by car or train. It had been famous for its steel industry but now it has been in decline. My mother’s relatives including her (my grand-) parents lived in the Muroran area and I remember visiting them as a small child, although I was too young for yakitori. Muroran yakitori differs from regular yakitori because it is made with pork and onion rather than chicken and negi scallion and side of yellow mustard

Later I learned that this izakaya is a family company started in Muroran with multiple stores in Muroran, Sapporo and other places in Hokkaido. There are two stores in Sapporo and the one we went is the smaller of the two.

It is located very close to the main Susukino intersection (picture above). We first tried Muroran yakitori (pork and onion). It came with yellow mustard. It was very good. We also ordered chicken yakitori. We had “shiro-reba or white liver which is sort of foi gras of chicken. It was soft in texture and something we have never tasted before. (We usually have and like regular chicken liver.) Besides yakitori, we tried some fried dishes. One of the recommended items was grilled shell-on boiled quail eggs 殻付きウズラの炭火焼き. I was tempted but was not sure how the shell could be eaten. One of the young customers sitting next to us ordered it and started crunching. I asked how it was. He said hard but good. We also had “cheese karikari-age” チーズのカリカリ揚げ or crunchy fried cheese (picture below). It was very good but appeared to be a  premade frozen product since we encountered exactly the same item at another izakaya. We had a dish of fried squid and ama-ebi which was also very good. We finished with “Nasu-yaki” a grilled eggplant. This was a variation of “Yaki-nasu 焼きなす”. It came with a small bowl full of bonito flakes. 

2. Susukino Kaisen Izakaya Kobachi すすきの海鮮居酒や小鉢

札幌市中央区南6条西4-1-11 TM 29 1F

TM-29 bldg 1F
Minami 6 Nhishi 4, Chuo-ku
Sapporo

For reservation 011-533-6555, Credit card accepted Smoking allowed

Judging from reviews and photos, this place is run by a chef who specializes in fresh seafood and is famous for live squid and crabs. When I called to make a reservation, I was told that they didn’t have any live squid today which was fine with us (we had live squid sashimi in Hakodate 函館 some years ago. We are not really sure if we like “live” squid sashimi.) In any case, this place was on the first floor of a small building. The entrance was far in the back after you enter the building.  Our expectations were high for some nice Hokkaido sourced seafood. We sat at a small table and across from us was a semi-private room with the sliding doors open. Four or 5 middle aged men were feasting literally; cult sake, crabs etc. The chef and his wife were appropriately paying close attention. In any case, we started with sake and assorted sashimi. The wife (waitress) recommend a few sakes which were pretty good. 

The chef himself delivered the sashimi for us and explained the various items. A few of them he specially prepared and recommended we enjoy them without the addition of any soy sauce. We also had sea urchin in salt water 塩水うに which, even though from Hokkaido, was not that special. The rest of the sashimi was good but not outstanding. We had some grilled fish and fried oysters. I am sure we had some more. The place was very smoky (thanks to guys in the semi private room). The sake and food were basically good.

Pea, Avocado and Mint Blini グリーンピー、アボカド、ミント ガスパッチョ

When we made “Pea, Avocado and Mint Gazpacho”, we were not particularly wild about the “grassy” taste from the peas. The original recipe called for fresh uncooked peas which we thought must have tasted starchy and even more grassy. In any case we used frozen peas, so they were not “uncooked” but the grassy taste was pronounced. We thought, maybe cooking it would reduce the “grassy” taste. In addition we had a lot of the gazpacho left. My wife suggested she could use the extra to make gazpacho blini since she had many successes using additional ingredients/flavors in previous versions of blini. The pea blini seemed to cook up nicely but, although we did not take pictures of the cut surfaces, the center did not show the many uniform  bubbles/holes we would expected in a blini. It had a nice crunchy crust but the center was soft and mushy even though the blini were thoroughly cooked. In addition the “grassy” taste was still as strong as ever (if not even more pronounced). We tried eating some for breakfast, but decided the bottom line was we did not like either the taste or the texture. So we designated them a “failure” and tossed them out. But wait. My wife, who has had multiple “failures” in her cooking career (remember the tart crust made of nuts that even the squirrels would not eat) does not let them discourage her cooking experiments. She does this by maintaining the philosophy that it is not a “failure” if you have at least learned something from it. So what did we learn from this experience? If you do not like the flavor of the initial ingredient using it to make something else such as a blini will not necessarily result in an improvement. Also, pea, avocado and mint gazpacho does not work for us in any form. So we decided to blog this “failure” to remind ourselves of this cooking philosophy and not let a lack of success discourage us (or our readers). 

Ingredients  (made 15 blini):
2 cups of  “Pea, Avocado, and Mint gazpacho”
6 tbs melted butter
3/4 cup sour cream
6 large eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbs. cake flour
1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
enough additional cream or buttermilk to make it the texture of pancake batter

Directions:
Put the gazpacho in a bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and sour cream, then add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk until well blended. (You may need to add more cream so the batter is the consistency of pancake batter.)

In a cast iron platar, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Use the melted butter to grease each of the platar cups before adding the batter. Pour the batter into the cups until they are mostly full (#1). Cook over moderately low heat, turning once, until set, about 5 minutes per side (#2 and 3). Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.

We thought this would be a great way to use the left over gazpacho as we did using mashed potatoes. The outside was crispy but the inside was mushy and lacked uniform bubbles which characterize a good blini. Despite cooking, the grassy flavor of the pea came through. Although certainly edible, we did not enjoy it. But we learned something so we will not be discouraged from experimenting with other ingredient variations to make more /other blini.

Tottori Izakaya and Shinkansen “Izakaya” 鳥取の居酒屋と新幹線居酒屋

Tenchou ヽ兆

鳥取県鳥取市栄町752 ホテルレッシュ鳥取駅前 1F

Hotel Resh 1F
Sakae-cho 752, Tottori

For reservation 0857-51-1248, Credit card accepted, Smoking allowed

We came to tottori to see the sand dunes or “sakyu 砂丘” but it was rainy and we just saw it from a vista point but could not really walk on it. The sand museum 砂丘美術館, however, was quite impressive with large and amazing sand sculptures.

We stayed here only one night so we visited just one izakaya. This was just across from our hotel in the 1st floor of another hotel but the entrance was from the side street. This is a hybrid between izakaya and restaurant. A single young woman was at the counter eating her dinner. Eventually 2 other young women entered both dressed in almost the same frilly white dresses. (We noticed that frilly white outfits many of which almost looked like wedding dresses seemed to be quite popular among the younger set). The sake selection and food were quite decent, although we cannot recall exactly what we drank and ate.

Shinkansen Izakaya 新幹線居酒屋

Next morning, we took a limited express train from Tottori 鳥取 to Himeji 姫路 starting around 10:30 AM. Then, we transferred to the Shinkansen bullet train heading for Tokyo. So, this was a perfect time for "Shinkansen Izakaya" and lunch. During the layover between trains we had an adequate time to get two ekiben 駅弁; we got one with all drinking snacks in 9 compartments (picture) and one with Tonkatsu over  rice トンカツ弁当. We also got two small bottles of sake; one was particularity good called “Senhime Daiginjo 千姫大吟醸酒” which is the local sake

So, we shared these nine dishes with a sip of sake. They were amazing tasty little morsels; just the right amount and difference in flavor to make the whole thing extremely interesting.We also shared the tonkatsu bento. As scenery went by, this was as good izakaya as we can imagine. Finally, in the mid-afternoon, we were back to Tokyo.

Pea, Ricotta ad Mint Gazpacho えんどう豆、リコッタチーズとミントのガスパッチョ

We are having very hot and humid weather with customary severe thunderstorms in the afternoon. When my wife saw the recipe for nice fresh green pea gazpacho on the Washington Post website, she had to make it. We happened to have mint growing in our herb garden. We also had all the other ingredients except parsley so we made this without the parsley. This is a refreshing rich gazpacho with the peas (we used frozen baby peas) imparting a somewhat grassy taste which was not unpleasant. We topped it with our favorite Spanish extra-version olive oil. (Shown as the darker green in the pic).

Ingredients:
4 mini-cucumbers, seeds removed and cut into cubes (14 ounces total)
Flesh of 1 ripe avocado, cut into chunks
2 cups frozen baby green peas
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1/4 cup water (we used chicken broth)
(We omitted parsely)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
1 clove garlic
Fine salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

Directions:
Prepare the peas. Since they were frozen we simply thawed them in a bowl with some hot water. In a Vitamix, combine the cucumber, avocado, peas, ricotta, scallions, water, chopped mint, lemon juice and garlic and puree until smooth. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and blend again, just to incorporate. Taste, and add more lemon juice, as needed.

We served this in a small bowl. The puree had a thick consistency which made us think of a pea smoothy. We made it a bit more soup-like with the addition of milk (or cream) and a drizzle of oil.  The pea and avocado flavors dominated. As mentioned the overall flavor was a bit grassy but it tasted more fresh than unpleasant. A great way to eat your veggies in the hot humid summer. 

Kyoto Izakaya in Kyoto Station Area Part 2 京都駅駅付近付近の居酒屋 パート2

2. Yakitori Tsujiya 焼き鳥つじや

京都市下京区塩小路西洞院西入ル北不動堂町522-9

5229 Kita-fudoudoucho, Shimokyou-Ku
Kyoto

For reservation 075-341-1819, credit card accepted, Probably smoking allowed
Ordering by QR code (You need a smart phone with internet access)

As I was writing this up, I looked on the internet for information about this place. The TSUJIYA GROOVE is the holding company. Judging from their web site, they run two separate but similar chains. One is “Yakitori Tsujiya 焼き鳥つじや” with one store which is where we went. Another is “Sumi-bi Kushiyaki Tsujiya 炭火串焼つじや” with 4 stores. The difference between these two chains is uncertain to me based on their write-ups. Both serve chicken on skewers grilled using a charcoal fire.  Judging from the pictures, the latter appears to be in at the higher end of the price spectrum.

This was a low-key yakitori place. We were lucky we could make the reservation. Although we were 5 minutes late, they kept our seats at the corner of the counter just next to the “yakiba 焼き場” where yakitori is grilled. So we had a good view of how the grilling was taking place. They gave me a slip with a  “QR code” printed on it and asked that I order through their web site. Luckily, I had my iphone connected to a portable hot spot. We ordered sake from their recommendation and ordered the usual suspects of yakitori dishes; chicken thigh, liver, tuskune, wings, negima etc. Meanwhile the place was packed. A number of people came to the door but were turned away including some foreign tourists. (Japanese refer to these customers as “inbounds”. This is where I saw the head waitress use an internet translation program to communicate the “lack of space” and expected “long-time wait” to the foreign “inbounds” who came to the door.)

The yakitori was very good. It had a nice highly pronounced charcoal flavor. All the dishes were pretty good but we really liked the liver and ordered seconds. We ordered more sake and other dishes and our “shime 〆” ending dish was a grilled rice ball.

During our stay, people started coming down from the second floor where, I understand, they have tables for big parties. But the people kept coming, coming, coming in a steady flow. Finally, I asked how many people they could accommodate on the second floor. They laughed and said “many”.

This was really good experience with excellent yakitori.


3. Irodori 京の四季いろどり

京都府京都市下京区東塩小路町577 大将軍ビル3階

Daishougun Bldg 3F
Higashi-shiokouji-cho 577
Shimokyo-ku, Kyoto

For reservation 075-343-9266, Credit card accepted, No smoking

The day I called for a reservation they said none was available so I asked for one the next day. They had seats for two at the counter.  The place was just across from the station/our hotel.  This is run by a company which also runs grilled meat “Yakiniku 焼肉” restaurants (two) and pachinko parlors (two) but only one “Irodori”. The place appeared quite large. Our counter was quite spacious and guests were seated quite far apart. This counter may have been used as a sushi-bar at one time but the cold case was empty.  A sliding door inside the counter connected to a large kitchen.  Noise and laughter wafted and there appeared to be many tables and rooms which we could not see.

They offered a Kyoto local sake tasting. We chose 6 between the two of us. This was a good move.

Among the 6 we tasted the one third from the right called “Ine-mankai 伊根満開” meaning “Full bloom in Ine” really stood out. This is because of its “rose wine” color and its amazing taste. We wanted to know what produced this unusual color and since I had my phone I quickly looked it up on the internet. I found out this was brewed from “ancient red rice 古代米” by a woman “touji 杜氏” brew master at the sake brewery “Mukai shuzo 向井酒造” . This. brewery is located in “Ine-cho 伊根町”. Since the flavor was so specially memorable we chose it as our starter sake.

As usual, we ordered assorted sashimi. A middle aged man who must have been the sushi chef, brought the sashimi plate. It had obligatory “Tai” perch which we had else where and tended to be sinewy/chewy but not this one. Nicely soft with much more flavor. I asked if it had been aged and the chef said when he tested it he determined it was too firm so he aged it for a few days. Some sashimi fish especially white fish can be improved in texture and flavor by aging. We had some other dishes including roasted duck breast. All were quite good. Although it lacked the usual Izakaya atmosphere, the sake and food as well service were great.  We will definitely go back.

Vinegar Cured Mackerel Sushi with Shiro-ita Kelp バッテラ

“Battera バッテラ” is a type of molded sushi or “oshizushi 押し寿司” popular in the Osaka 大阪 region. It is made from vinegar cured mackerel or “shime-saba しめ鯖” and specially prepared kelp called “shiro-ita konbu 白板昆布” (more description later). I posted molded sushi using vinegar cured mackerel and smoked salmon but I did not have shiro-ita konbu, at that time. Later I found a product where the shime-saba was covered with shaven kelp. Using this, I made sushi similar to “oshizushi” called “bo-zushi 棒鮨” without using a mold. We were quite satisfied with this version. Then, I found “shiro-ita konbu” listed on the website called “Japanese Taste”. This company sells authentic Japanese items including groceries. So, I bought the konbu to make a more authentic battera but again I did not use the mold.  (I was just a bit lazy. I would have had to find the mold and then soak it in water before I could use it). In the serving picture, you see the mackerel is covered with a thin layer of kelp. On the left most side I included sushi rice wrapped with “shiro-ika konbu”. They were good but I am not sure the konbu made a big difference in taste. I served this with cucumber and nappa cabbage asazuke 浅漬け and vinegar cured lotus root “su-renkon 酢レンコン.

Ingredients:

1 package of vinegar cured mackerel or shime-saba, thawed

One strip of “shiro-ita konbu 白板昆布 (#4)” about the same size as the mackerel

About 1/2 cup (or enough to make one roll of sushi) of sushi rice

Directions:

Season the kelp as per the package instructions (simmer in the mixture of dashi broth, soy sauce, sake and sugar, but the more standard seasoning uses sweet vinegar)

Remove the thin skin from the mackerel (#1)

Place the mackerel, skin side down on a silicon sushi mat (or plastic wrap on the top of a bamboo sushi mat), make a cylinder of sushi rice on the top and form a tight cylinder using the sushi mat (#2)

Place the seasoned kelp and form again (#3)

Wrap it in plastic wrap to let it settle for 5-20 minutes before slicing

A bit about “Shiro-ita konbu (#4)” and “oboro konbu おぼろ昆布 (#5)”.

“Shiro-ita  konbu” is the center part of kelp after the surface has been removed as “oboro-konbu” by shaving off the surface of the kelp making very thin strands. The package shown in #5 states this is hand-shaven showing the illustration of a guy shaving the kelp. This shaven kelp can be added to soup or udon noodles with broth. It does add some umami flavor but the texture is a bit “slimy”. So, I don’t know which is the main product and which is the byproduct “shiro-ikta conbu” or “oboro konbu” or vise versa.

From “Japanese Taste” I also got dried gourd peel or “kanpyo 干瓢” (which I have not been able to get for some time. The only kind available was pre-seasoned and could not be used as a tie for kelp roll). I also got “Hidaka Kelp 日高昆布”.  “Hidaka” is a place in Hokkaido famous for producing a good quality eating (as opposed to broth making) kelp.

Kyoto Izakaya in Kyoto Station area part 1 京都駅付近の居酒屋 パート1

We spent 3 nights in Kyoto. As usual, we stayed at our favorite hotel Granvia Kyoto グランビア京都 with a north and Kyoto tower view room. This means we went to 3 izakayas during our stay. In the past, we went to izakayas in other areas but this time, we limited ourselves to izakaya near the station including our favorite “Kurakura”.

1. Kurakura 蔵倉

京都市下京区飴屋町244木村ビル

Kimura-bldg
Ameya-machi 244, Shimokyou-ku
Kyoto

For reservation: 075-351-0347, credit card accepted, smoking allowed

Although I posted about this izakaya previously,  I did not mention the origin and meaning of the name “Kurakura”. The name “Kurakura” is a double entendre; this izakaya is housed in a renovated “warehouse” or “kura” in Japanese. “Kura” can be written in kanji 漢字 as “倉” or “蔵”. Although both kanji sound the same, “倉” is a grain/food warehouse and “蔵” is where family treasures are kept. So, the name of this izakaya is “蔵倉”  covering both kinds of warehouses. But “kurakura くらくら” written in phonetic letters also means “dizzy” or “state of being enchanted”. Appropriate for the state of inebriation. 

As you can see in the picture, this place is quite recessed from the narrow alley and the majority of the front appears to be a garage (I am not sure to whom this garage belongs). Then you had to walk narrow passageway on the left to the entrance of this izakaya.

Although we made a reservation, the place was not crowded and remained that way while we were there. Besides not being as crowded as the last few times we visited, the owner/master appeared to have delegated his position to the young chef who appeared to be in charge while the owner hung back out of the way. The young chef was in the center and front of the cooking area and when we asked for a dish, he was the one who repeated the order in a loud commanding voice. Another change was the absence of the owner’s (we presumed) wife/casher/sake sommelier. 

We had decent sake and food including sashimi and fried taro “satoimo 里芋 ” but, at this point, nothing  else sticks out in our minds. We liked when the old guy was in charge and his wife recommended many wonderful sakes.