Day 13: Sapporo Day 2: Ishiya Chocolate Factory + Sapporo Beer Museum

Today was a totally food-orientated day (yeah... very different from our other days, we know). We woke up to snow pouring down from the sky outside (not in our hotel room, that would be too disturbing). Neither of us expected it this early in December & thus were unfortunately, not fully dressed appropriately for the situation... crap...

its snowingggg!! *insert funny dance*

Breakfast: At local Lawson's convenience store

Rah: Pork onigiri, that the lady nicely heated up for me in the microwave. Very yummy.
Dee: Chicken instant noodles. The egg starts off at this inch-wide 1cm high block of yellow, sitting on top of noodles. It suddenly reconstitutes to strings of egg. I don't know how the japanese do it, but this proves they are leaders in innovation.

Stop 1: Ishiya Chocolate Factory, aka Shiroi Koibito Factory.

Probably the producer of Hokkaido's most famous non-natural-growing export - the Shiroi Koibito chocolate biscuit. Shiroi Koibito, for those of you who don't speak japanese, translates to "White Lovers" & was apparently the term used by the creator of the factory to describe the snow (since Hokkaido is snow country after all).
They were, (sorry if you like them) sickeningly sweet (but then, i don't have much of a sweet tooth).

Luckily (& also randomly), this place also housed a gramophone & vintage toy museum.

Another attraction is the host of mini houses they had scattered around the park. Dee insisted on going into nearly all of them. Even tho they were made for children & the doors were half her size...

Lunch:



Location: Goodies from exploring a local supermarket.
Food:
1. Fried Chicken in yellow sauce
2. Fried Chicken cutlet in sweet brown sauce with ?potato salad on top

After 13 days in Japan, we still don't know what we are eating. I'm not even going to try.
Thankfully, dessert had a name. We've been meaning to try this one since when we first spotted it in on Day 1...

3. Haagen Das "Salty Butter Biscuit" flavour.
ie. Like those butter cookies you had in the blue round tin as a kid. YUM. The icecream itself is slightly salty vanilla goodness, as creamy as you would expect from this brand. In the centre, as you dig, there is biscuit!! miraculously, you can dig through the "biscuit" easily with the plastic spade and it seems one with the icecream. It tastes a little of undercooked dough, but the majority of the taste is "biscuity" not "doughy". There seemed to be multiple bits of biscuit <1cm.>
Stop 2: Sapporo Beer Museum


Sapporo is, interestingly, where Sapporo Beer is produced (well, duh). Sapporo beer is also the only beer that Clara had liked the taste of. We learned about how beer was produced & the history of beer in japan. Basically beer is made from hops and barley which is roasted into diff gradings giving us our different ales. Fermentation happens. It is pasturised. This is beer.
Then we got to taste 3 types of beer that they produce:


1. Black Label - Rah's Fav, very transparent looking and tasting. Not much of a foamy head.
2. Classic - Dee's Fav. It's been produced exclusively in Hokkaido since 1985, and is a favourite of the region. Its more bitter and astringent than the first.
3. Kaitakushi - It was ok. Don't remember it much... :)

Needless to say, we were both a bit giggly afterwards.
Highly recommended for both educational and historical value, and the fresh beer on tap to taste. I must commend the museum on the high quality of exhibition, loads of little models, along with English translations. Free entry to museum, beer tasting was reasonably priced. Top notch. They also sold "Beer Jelly" in the gift shop. Can't tell you what it tastes like- its not mine!

Dinner: Donburi

Location: Apia underground shopping centre
Food:
Dee: Gyudon (ie beef) + mini udon (Y430). I can't believe what value this is. Taste was passable, but it was what I paid for - a big bowl of hot rice with beef and vermicilli noodles on top. I thought the Gyudon was a little dry, I added chilli spice for extra taste. Udon was simple but good, even the stock was good. 7/10
Clara: Oyakodon + mini udon (Okayo = "mother & child" ie chicken + egg... name is possibly a bit disturbing). Very yummy, egg was still a bit runny (the best!) Udon was quite nice. 8/10