I ended up ordering the Miso Butadon again. After work, I actually wanted to eat soba noodles, so I was looking for a soba restaurant while walking. But then I passed by Kinchan and before I knew it, I was already inside laughing. I ordered the mix of pork belly and shoulder Miso Butadon. It was reliably delicious and I finished it in no time. Next time, I might challenge myself to try the spicy miso butadon. I think there was also a limited quantity menu for the Oni Spicy Miso Butadon, but I'm not really good with spicy food, so maybe I'll pass on that one.笑

Sapporo was hot that day. The cool and comfortable summers in Sapporo are a thing of the past. The word "Ezo rainy season" has even been created. It must be global warming. It took about 15 minutes to walk from Odori. When I arrived, I was sweating profusely. It was a little past 12 PM on Monday when I arrived, and there was one empty seat in the restaurant with about 7-8 counter seats and 2 sunken kotatsu tables. I sat at the corner of the counter and ordered the Bara and Pork Shoulder Mix Donburi (Miso) for 1,000 yen. Most of the other customers had not yet received their food. It was served to them twice before it was served to me. The wait was about 7-8 minutes, so the service was fast. The pork seemed to be grilled vigorously on a roaster. The donburi was filled with about 3 cm wide cuts of bara and 1 cm wide cuts of pork shoulder. I added some shichimi spice and started eating. The rice was topped with a sweet and savory sauce, and cabbage was laid on top. Starting with the bara, it was quite firm due to the strong grilling, not very juicy or fatty. The miso flavor was well done and tasty. Overall, it was decently good. The sauce on the rice and the cabbage were also delicious, stimulating the appetite. Next, the pork shoulder was flavorful and enjoyable. Even without the spicy miso, a little shichimi spice was just right. The miso soup was just for show and lacked flavor. As I ate heartily, it filled me up quite well. I finished without the sweat subsiding. I was satisfied. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal. July 10, 2023, 3:44 AM.

The lunch options for office workers are limited, but on weekdays, you can enjoy a meal at Kinchan. It's close to the office, and I have been here for lunch multiple times as well as a few times for dinner. I arrived around 12:05pm to find 3 customers already seated and 6 more customers coming in after me. The restaurant is run by the owner and a female staff member. Today, I ordered the miso pork bowl with pork belly for 700 yen. It was delicious as always and offers great value for the price. Many solo female customers opt for takeout here. I enjoyed my meal and will definitely come back again!

Today's lunch spot for office workers is "Kinchann"! The reviewer has been to this place multiple times for lunch and dinner, as it is close to the office. They arrived around 12:30 PM to find 6 groups of 10 customers already seated, with 3 groups of 4 customers waiting. The restaurant is run by the owner and one female staff member. The reviewer ordered the spicy miso pork bowl with pork belly for 700 yen, which they found consistently delicious despite the expected price increase. They enjoyed their meal and plan to visit again in the future.

Wandering new curry mania / rookie ramen mania, a solo middle-aged man. This is a memo-like review from the old man. If you want concise information about the restaurant and food, please move on to other reviews around here. One week has passed since the first experience with "miso-marinated pork bowl." I wonder what "spicy miso" is like. What about "extra meat"? Is "extra cabbage" satisfying? I was curious about these things. As expected, being a "medium spicy mouth" old man, "extremely spicy miso" or "devilishly spicy miso" seem impossible from the start. "Devilishly spicy miso" is limited to 3 meals at night. I entered around 1:20 pm (Thursday) last week. There was one solo customer (young male) in front of me. After that, there was a group of two young male customers from a neighboring country, and one solo male customer. Hmm. It seems like only young men are here. This time, I was thinking of trying the simplest and cheapest option, but I still want to try various things due to my "youthful indiscretion," even though I am not young. ▼ Spicy miso pork bowl with pork belly ▼ Toppings - Extra meat - Extra cabbage, totaling 850 yen including tax (650 yen + 150 yen + 50 yen). This time, the bowl arrived in about 10 minutes. Oh! The "spicy miso" has a strong trace of miso marination. With "extra meat," there seems to be a satisfying amount. The bowl is deep, making it somewhat heavy to lift when eating. I feel like I'll be full again this time. Next, I'll try ordering "extra cabbage" and "less rice." Now, let's take a bite of the spicy miso pork belly. Hmm, the "spicy miso" indeed has a strong miso flavor, enhancing the "richness" and "umami." Perhaps because of that, the spiciness gradually intensifies afterwards. I guess for someone with a medium spicy mouth, this would be equivalent to about "level 4" in a soup curry restaurant that considers "level 3" as medium spicy. It doesn't make me say "it's too spicy to eat" even with a medium spicy mouth. I took a sip of the miso soup. Ah, it warms me up. At the same time, the tingling sensation in my mouth intensifies. But for someone who loves spicy food, it's probably just the beginning. The texture of the pork belly remains the same, with a crispy and pleasant bite. The amount of pork belly, cut into about 2cm wide pieces, seems to never decrease even after eating and eating (exaggerated perhaps). The "cabbage" is shorter than the usual shredded cabbage, so it might be better to call it "chopped cabbage." It's not particularly fresh or sweet, but it serves as a good "buffer" for the spiciness, even without a salad. Some might consider the extra 50 yen for "extra cabbage" as "expensive," but I'll see how it affects the "heaviness after eating" by reducing the rice and going for "extra cabbage." Next time, I'll try the "extra meat" + "extra cabbage" on the "spicy miso pork bowl with pork belly." With this satisfying feeling of being full, it costs 850 yen including tax. It's quite satisfying for a budget-conscious old man. The slightly dim interior, with a somewhat stern shop owner (showing a sincere attitude towards cooking and infection prevention), makes it a different atmosphere from the lively and cheerful vibe of the younger solo customers who quietly eat and leave. I can't tell what the atmosphere is like during the evening hours, but it doesn't seem to be a bright, cheerful, bustling environment. So, even for an old man visiting for the second time, I might smile awkwardly and feel a bit reserved. Despite the decrease in new infections after the "snow festival," there are still reports of "family members testing positive" here and there. While the situation of new infections seems to be improving, it's still important to remain vigilant. It's quite inconvenient to be banned from going out at home even with a "close contact" classification. Working remotely in a work-from-home environment ==========

Wandering new curry mania / rookie ramen mania, a solo middle-aged man. This is a memo-like review from the old man. If you are looking for concise information about the restaurant and food, please move on to other reviews around here. Inspired by having a delicious pork bowl in the local area, I found this restaurant through a review search. They serve pork meat marinated in miso, which seems quite unique. It's located near my workplace, in the area of Nishi 11-chome Station on the Tozai Subway Line, so I decided to visit. The restaurant is located in Chuo Ward, Nishi 10-chome, at the corner where the westbound one-way street ends and crosses Ishiyama Street. Across Ishiyama Street, there is a construction site for the Chuo Ward Office (currently the former ward office site). I entered the restaurant around 12:45 pm on a Thursday. The interior is a bit dimly lit, creating a unique atmosphere. Due to the small size of the restaurant, they require thorough hand sanitization and wearing masks except during meals. There is a raised seating area on the right side from the entrance, and counter seats on the left. The counter seats have large plastic dividers. There were two solo male customers at the counter, and a group of four young men at the raised seating area. It's interesting to see young businessmen visiting the restaurant around 1 pm. Looking at the menu at the counter, I noticed that a regular pork bowl (belly, shoulder loin) costs 650 yen including tax. Quite affordable in this day and age. They also offer a mix option, and even with the mix, it's still under 1,000 yen. They also have a "cabbage" extra large option in addition to the "meat/rice" extra large option. I might try the cabbage extra large option next time to reduce carbs. This place seems like a good choice for young people who want to eat heartily. I decided to try the Belly and Shoulder Loin Mix Bowl in miso for 950 yen including tax. You can choose between regular miso and spicy miso for both types of pork meat, and for the belly meat, you can also choose "extremely spicy miso". There is also a limited edition of 3 servings of "extremely spicy miso" (belly meat) only available during dinner. The food arrived in less than 10 minutes, along with miso soup. The miso soup was delicious and warming. Now, let's try the belly meat. The miso is marinated and then removed from the meat. The meat is about 5mm thick with a crispy texture, which I quite like. The marinating effect of miso seems to reduce the fatty taste a bit. There's no overwhelming saltiness in the flavor. The chopped cabbage was placed between the pork meat and rice. The shoulder loin was tender with a bit of chewiness left. Unlike the belly meat, the marinating effect of miso made the lean part tender. There's no unpleasant smell in either type of meat. The miso marinated pork bowl is quite tasty. Of course, the sweet and savory sauce of the pork bowl dripping onto the rice is also delicious. It has a different texture and flavor, relatively light and easy to eat. Oh, I've found a good restaurant. Well, they can't always serve fancy lunches. Even a simple lunch set with onigiri, salad, and a small dish costs less than 600 yen. Adding salad to the bento from "Nisshin" would cost around 700 yen. If you eat those every day, you might want to try something different. But in the neighborhood, there are many restaurants where a decent meal easily exceeds 1,000 yen. Japanese set meals, soba, udon, steak bowls, curry, sushi. It's important to appreciate the daily differences as an ordinary salaryman.

Office worker's lunch options are limited, but today's choice is Kin-chan! I always forget to take a picture, haha. I arrived around 12:03pm and there was one customer already seated. Within 15 minutes, the place was full with 5 groups and 8 people. The owner and one female staff member were running the show. Today's order was the Spicy Miso Pork Bowl with pork belly for 650 yen. It arrived in 4-5 minutes, with tender meat and just the right amount of spiciness in the miso. I added mayonnaise towards the end for a different flavor, and it was delicious. Thank you for the meal, I will definitely come back again!

I had quite a bit of time to spare before the next shop's opening hours, so I decided to visit "Kinchan," which was not originally in my plans! I'm all fired up for some food exploration! Although I still had room for sweets from a cafe, I wanted to try a restaurant meal instead, as most of the places on my bookmark list are meal-oriented. Let's conquer this one first, and then I have three more to go for the rest of the day! There were no customers when I arrived after 2 pm, but later a couple came in. The pork bowls were priced at 650 yen for 4 kinds and 700 yen for 2 items, which is quite budget-friendly! They also had a mix of pork belly and shoulder for 950 yen. You could get extra meat for 150 yen, extra rice for 100 yen, and extra cabbage for 50 yen. I ordered the "Spicy Miso Pork Bowl with Pork Belly (700 yen)" with less rice. I could see the owner grilling the meat over charcoal behind the counter, and the delicious aroma filled the room even before I started eating. The rice portion looked small as ordered, but once the cabbage and meat were added, it looked almost as much as a regular pork bowl from other shops. The pork belly was surprisingly thick, which may have contributed to that. Oh, and as I mentioned earlier, the meat was quite thick! Did you get a good idea from the photos? The pork belly had a great texture, similar to pork loin rather than the expected bacon-like chewiness. The spicy miso sauce was like a slightly spicy kimchi. It had an initial punch of spiciness, followed by a mellow taste of miso sauce and meat. It was rich but not too salty, providing a different flavor compared to soy sauce-based sauces, which was enjoyable! Despite the sauce, you could still taste the slight smoky flavor from the charcoal-grilled meat, which was great! If it was too spicy, the meat flavor would have been lost, so the balance between spiciness and meat flavor was just right! I personally liked the crunchy texture of the cabbage without sauce! It helped to refresh the palate after the rich meat, and the water from the cabbage seeped into the rice, but that was my fault for ordering less rice, so no complaints! The miso soup was not too sweet and served piping hot, which was a nice touch! Even though I wasn't very hungry, I found myself enjoying the meal slowly... and before I knew it, I was almost done, so I must have been really into it, right? (laughs) No, it was just because the pork bowl was so delicious! Next time, I'll try the braised pork bowl! Thank you for the meal.

The former Chuo Ward office, which is now a vacant lot, is located across the street. I visited for lunch around 1:30 pm. The seating consists of an L-shaped counter only, and masks are strictly required. I love Obihiro pork bowls, but I had never heard of Sapporo miso pork bowls before. You can choose between miso or spicy miso, as well as belly or loin. On my first visit, I tried the miso pork bowl for 650 yen. The pork bowl looked hearty, with a strong meaty presence. Cabbage was tightly packed on top of the rice, with the meat on top, creating a three-layer structure. I couldn't see the counter well due to the infection prevention vinyl, but the meat had a smoky aroma, so I assume it was charcoal-grilled. The miso flavor was not too strong, with a nice sweetness that enhanced the meaty aroma. The meat was thick but tender, providing a satisfying texture. The cabbage was similar to the cabbage cutlet bowls found in various parts of Honshu. Perhaps it would be better if the meat and rice aromas directly interacted, but I wonder why they chose this style. The amount of rice was satisfactory, and I left feeling full and satisfied. It seems they also operate as an izakaya in the evening.

I visited for dinner after a long time, so I'll just post a photo. "Bara and Pork Shoulder Mix Bowl (Spicy Miso) for 950 yen" *Comes with miso soup. The spicy miso flavor is addictive, making this pork bowl a must-try. Both types of meat are delicious, so I personally recommend the mix option.

Today, I had some errands to run near this restaurant, so I couldn't stop thinking about the pork bowl at "Kinchin" since the morning. I don't come here often because there's no parking, but whenever I have the chance, I always come. Today, it was a weekday and a bit late, so there were only two other people there. I had the spicy miso pork bowl (with pork belly), a hot spring egg, and a leafy salad for just 1000 yen. The meat was thick and grilled over charcoal, giving it a delicious smoky flavor. It was so good! I couldn't resist. Today was a good day. It was an unusual hot summer day at 30 degrees, and the entrance door was left open. They also had a humidifier on, probably for COVID-19 prevention measures.

On the third day of my business trip in Sapporo. The heavy drinking from the previous night didn't hit me too hard. I decided to have lunch alone and visited Kinchan, located at Nishi 10, Minami 3-jo. It's a rare spot in Sapporo that serves miso pork rice bowls. I arrived around 12:20. The place was quite crowded, but I managed to find a seat at the counter. They offer two types of miso pork rice bowls: regular and spicy. I ordered the Spicy Miso Pork Rice Bowl with a mix of pork belly and shoulder, both with extra meat, and a hot spring egg. The food arrived in about 15 minutes, and the bowl was overflowing with thick, tender meat marinated in miso. The spiciness was mild, and I enjoyed adding mayo and spice to enhance the flavor. The miso soup with seaweed and tofu was soothing for my tired stomach after a night of heavy drinking. Kinchan offers great value and excellent service. I highly recommend giving it a try!

Mixed bowl of roses and pork shoulder. A specialty store for miso pork bowls. I wanted to drink beer, but it was sold out... I ended up getting the mixed bowl, but it had a lot of meat on top and came with miso soup for 950 yen. I feel satisfied. It's really good value for the price.

When I'm in the office, I usually don't eat lunch unless there are visitors. But since it's the start of Golden Week tomorrow, I decided to treat myself to a solo lunch at Kinchan. I ordered the luxurious rose and shoulder loin mix bowl. It arrived in just five minutes, and I immediately mixed it with mayonnaise. Kinchan cuts the meat into bite-sized pieces, which is nice. It's definitely all about the rose meat!

It seems like they raised the prices starting from April. However, the price increase was relatively reasonable, going from 600 to 650 yen. The menu is simple, offering miso or spicy miso ramen with a choice of spicy pork belly or shoulder loin. All options come with miso soup. The pork belly is recommended as it is listed at the top of the menu, but I chose the shoulder loin with spicy miso to avoid feeling too heavy. The shoulder loin was a bit dry, so I added some mayo from the table. It paired well with the spicy miso and made it delicious. I also appreciated the cabbage topping. The staff was friendly and the cost performance was good, so I might visit again if I have errands nearby.

On a certain weekday, I finally had the chance to visit a cozy izakaya in Chuo Ward, at Minami 3-jo Nishi 10-chome, for lunch. The place had a simple layout with an L-shaped counter and a small raised seating area, and despite being clean and neat, it was quite busy with a lot of people being turned away at the door. There was some faint background music playing. I decided to try the "Miso Pork Rice Bowl with Pork Belly (600 yen)" as it seemed to be their specialty. The dish arrived quickly, and upon taking the first bite, I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was. The pork belly was generously thick and tender, soaked in sweet miso sauce, and paired perfectly with the slightly firm rice and shredded cabbage underneath. I enjoyed adding some mayonnaise and chili powder for extra flavor towards the end, and finished off with a satisfying bowl of miso soup. I heard that the price will go up by around 50 yen starting in April, but even then, I felt that I got a great deal for a tasty pork bowl. Thank you for the meal.

I was curious about Kinchan, a pork bowl restaurant across from Sapporo Prince Hotel, so I decided to visit! I thought it might be crowded during lunchtime, so I arrived after 2 pm and found the place empty. It was my first time there, so I ordered the miso pork bowl for 600 yen. It arrived in about 5 minutes, and to my surprise, it came with tonkatsu (pork cutlet) on top. They had cut it into small pieces, which was nice. The balance of rice and meat was delicious, and the tonkatsu was placed on top of cabbage, creating a great combination with the rice. I noticed there was mayonnaise on the table, so I decided to drizzle some on top, and it was amazing! The mayonnaise pork bowl was a must-try for mayonnaise lovers. Next time, I'll try it with mayonnaise from the start. The complimentary miso soup was also delicious.

I had some errands nearby, so I decided to go to Kinchan and walked there shivering in the cold. Along the way, I was tempted by a curry restaurant, but I stayed true to my original plan and arrived at Kinchan. It was already past 1 PM, but the counter seats were almost full. After sanitizing my hands, I sat down and ordered my usual dish. As I started eating, I felt like the meat was thicker than usual. It seemed harder to chew than usual. When I was about to finish eating, I realized there was leftover meat but not enough rice. However, my stomach was full, so maybe I actually got more meat this time? Regardless, it was really delicious. I'm glad I came here in the cold. Pork bowl is the best after all.

First time trying miso pork bowl. The restaurant has a counter and a raised seating area. The menu mainly consists of miso pork bowl, spicy miso pork bowl, and super spicy pork bowl, with a choice of pork belly or loin. I hesitated between loin and belly, but ended up ordering the "spicy miso pork bowl with belly (600 yen)" verbally. Later, I noticed they also offer a mix of belly and loin (950 yen). In about 5 minutes, a large black bowl was served over the counter. Every bowl comes with miso soup. On top of the rice, there were shredded cabbage and thinly sliced pork marinated in miso. The pork, marinated in miso, was tender and easy to eat. However, since it was belly, I wished there was a bit more fat to enjoy. The portion of rice was generous, making it a satisfying meal. Overall, I think it offers good value for the portion size, but as a first-timer trying miso pork bowl, I found the miso aroma slightly off-putting. Personally, I still prefer the soy sauce-based pork bowl.

I finally made it to the pork bowl restaurant I had been curious about. It's a pork bowl restaurant. I sat at a table with a sunken kotatsu and ordered the spicy miso pork belly with kimchi on the side. The kimchi arrived first. It was refreshing, juicy, and spicy. It lacked richness but went well with the pork belly. When the pork bowl arrived, I was surprised by the generous portion! It also came with miso soup, so it's a good deal. The pork was belly meat, which was the right choice. It wasn't too greasy and had a nice texture. My husband ordered the loin, but now he wishes he had gotten the belly too. The miso wasn't too strong, maybe a bit stronger would have been better. Hmm, I'm so full now. Thank you for the meal!