In Furano for work. Finished in the morning! It's been a while since this happened. Let's eat something on the way home in my car, and try a new restaurant. Heading towards Asahikawa on the national highway. I noticed a place called "Tonton Tei" in my mind. The name sounds good. In my chubby days, this would have been a place I would have conquered right away. I don't know what's on the menu, but the sign indicates they have pork bowl and sagari. Yes, pork is famous in Kamifurano. Among them, pork sagari is well-known. The local butcher shops have pork sagari. It's quite delicious, so I used to buy it occasionally when I was younger. Parked my car in front of the restaurant. Went in. The interior is small but well-utilized to accommodate a good number of customers. I sat at the counter. Two women were running the place. Now, the menu... Pork bowl, sagari bowl, pork cutlet bowl, and set meals. Everything looks delicious. I'm torn. The pork cutlet set with two pieces for regular size and three pieces for large size is amazing. I haven't had sagari in a while... I might have another chance to come back. Decided on the sagari grilled set today, and maybe the pork cutlet set for next time. In Kamifurano, sagari means pork sagari. If someone from Honshu who doesn't know enters, they might imagine it's beef sagari. The restaurant is not that old. It's very clean. Magazines and manga are available, neatly organized and not cluttered, which feels nice. From the restaurant's name, I imagined a middle-aged to elderly chubby man frying tonkatsu, but it's actually a slender woman (not chubby) running the place with another woman, which felt a bit strange. The food arrived in less than 10 minutes. Pork sagari. Just the right amount of meatiness, good texture. The seasoning is not too salty, just right. Goes well with rice. Hmm... delicious. The miso soup is also good. The pickles are not too heavily seasoned, which is nice. The only downside is the vegetables. The presentation is nice, but I wish there were a bit more. It was really delicious. Definitely trying the cutlet set next time. I'm excited because it's two pieces!! (laughs) Thank you for the meal! Will visit again! Yeah, looks delicious. Seems like the seasoning is already done from the beginning.

If a restaurant specializes in 100% Upper Furano Pork, it has to be tonkatsu, right? At Tonton Tei, even the regular katsu set comes with 2 pieces of tonkatsu, but if you order the large serving, you get 3 pieces. The presentation is impressive! However, it's surprisingly easy to eat. The breading is not too crunchy, but more like a home-style tonkatsu. Upper Furano Pork is really delicious, after all.

I came to Tontonte restaurant because I wanted to eat the pork sagari from Kamifurano. I ordered the limited edition 10-color sagari donburi, which comes in small, regular, and extra-large sizes. I chose the small size. The sagari in this donburi is fried and topped with a sweet and savory sauce. It's delicious and goes well with the rice. The unique texture and flavor of the sagari are excellent. It's truly a specialty of Kamifurano! Another item that caught my eye on the menu was the regular-sized tonkatsu set, which surprisingly comes with two pieces of tonkatsu. I'll definitely try that next time!

I visited a pre-fabricated restaurant called "Tonton-tei" for lunch, which I had been curious about for a while. The town of Kami-Furano is known for its pork sagari, so with the restaurant name having "ton" (pork) twice, I imagined it would be a satisfying experience. The interior was larger than I expected, with 4 table seats, a 3-person counter, and a raised tatami area. The menu consisted mainly of pork dishes, and I decided to try the "Katsu set meal" priced at 1,080 yen for 2 pork cutlets or 1,380 yen for 3 cutlets. I chose the larger portion and waited for about 10 minutes to be served. The set meal had three large cutlets, each around 7x20x1 cm in size. The meat was delicious, but the oil in the batter was not drained properly for the last two cutlets, which was disappointing. The amount of mustard provided in a tube was insufficient, and I wished there was more. Overall, the meal was a bit underwhelming, and I think the regular portion with 2 cutlets might be better.

When I came to Hokkaido, I decided to try the famous pork bowl, so I came to "Tonton-tei" in Furano. It seems that Obihiro is more famous for it, but I didn't have time to go there. It's just rice topped with ordinary pork meat. It's like putting ginger pork on rice. And yet, it's expensive. Maybe it's because they cater to tourists. It's not worth going out of your way to eat here.

On a regular day, I decided to have lunch at a restaurant along the national highway. I wanted something other than ramen, so I chose a set meal. When I arrived at the restaurant around 1:45 pm, there were no other customers. I decided to try the tonkatsu set meal this time. The portion was good with two pieces of tonkatsu, but the meat felt a bit thin. The crispy coating was delicious, and the miso soup had a nice flavor. Overall, it was a satisfying lunch, although I wish the meat was thicker. I hope this restaurant continues to do well. Thank you for the meal!

The pork here is incredibly delicious!

Full of flavor and volume ===========

In Upper Furano, it's a bit early but it's time for lunch. There are so many places I want to visit in Upper Furano, but I'm not in the mood for a cafe. While thinking about it, I came across the Tonton Tei restaurant. It's along the national highway and I had never gone in before. As I entered, I noticed it was just a normal restaurant. The menu had a sign for pork bowl, so I decided to go with the regular pork bowl for 1080 yen. It seemed a bit pricey, but maybe that's the price for Upper Furano pork. I thought it would be a hearty drive-in style place given its location along the national highway, and the seating arrangement inside did resemble a drive-in, but it was clean and neat, and most importantly, completely non-smoking! You can't judge a book by its cover, as they say. I arrived around 11 am, so of course I was the only customer. Two older ladies were running the place, and the food was served quickly. The pork bowl... or should I say, sukiyaki bowl? The red pickled ginger and green onions gave it a sukiyaki vibe. The rich aroma of soy sauce was enticing, and it looked very delicious! The chopstick wrapper was cute (laughs). There was also a small macaroni salad, which was a nice touch. As for the taste... hmm, the soy sauce was a bit too salty. The thick sauce had a sweet and salty flavor, but the saltiness was overpowering. The sauce had seeped into the rice, and I found the portion of rice to be a bit small for my liking. However, the pork itself was excellent, as expected from Upper Furano produce. It had a rich flavor and sweetness, and was very tasty! The pork bowl was the first to arrive, and I was a bit disappointed. I would like to try other dishes, but there are so many restaurants in Upper Furano that it might be a while before I return. If I had to say something positive, it's non-smoking and has tatami seating, so it might be suitable for families with children.

A restaurant along the national highway that specializes in pork sagari, a local delicacy of Kamifurano. The building has a temporary feel to it, which can be off-putting, but the food makes up for it. The menu is simple, focusing on pork dishes like pork yakiniku, pork bowl, and tonkatsu. The portions are generous, with free extra rice. I tried the pork sagari set meal, which is a specialty of Kamifurano known for its unique texture and flavor. The pork sagari was delicious with just the right amount of chewiness and a slightly sweet and salty sauce. The food was served quickly, and I regret not visiting this place sooner. I will definitely be back.