Thank you for visiting doctor.gourmet on Instagram. I would appreciate it if you could give me a 'like', 'follow', or save the restaurant. On my way back from Yoichi, I made a stop in Otaru to see the Otaru Canal and tried the Shiroi Koibito soft serve ice cream. It was delicious with a rich white chocolate flavor. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you for the treat.

Visited in October 2020. On this day, I went to Otaru for sightseeing and took a break after the canal tour. I tried the White Lover soft serve ice cream, which is said to be a specialty, but it tasted like a regular vanilla flavor to me, not much different. It may be intentionally made to resemble it, giving a subtle impression. However, it was still delicious in its own way! Thank you for the meal.

At a corner of a seafood grilling shop called "Uroko Banya," I got soft serve ice cream at the White Lover Corner. So, the rating is for the White Lover soft serve ice cream. In Tokyo, the White Lover brand sweets are appreciated, but here, it's a unique situation to enjoy them along with the smell of grilled scallops. The first experience of White Lover soft serve is amazing with its rich milk cream flavor. This richness comes from blending white chocolate into fresh milk. I like the fresh milk soft serve from the highlands, but I prefer the rich soft serve from a Western confectionery. Thanks for the feast today!

Melon with a sweetness level of 17 degrees - very sweet.

This is a seafood shop near the Otaru Canal, with a fish market atmosphere. There is a dining area inside where you can enjoy seafood bowls and other dishes. I also remember there was a small souvenir corner. My husband saw white corn being sold at the front of the shop and wanted to try it. We chose the raw white corn. Although white corn is not common in the Kanto region, it is often seen in Hokkaido. The raw white corn had a slightly raw smell, but was soft, sweet, and easy to eat. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

After eating sushi at Ise Sushi, I walked down the central street in front of the station and had soft serve ice cream from Yamanaka Farm. As I was walking along the Canal Street, I caught a whiff of butter and shellfish. In front of a shop, it said "Directly operated seafood grill by fishmongers." They seemed to be grilling live shellfish from the tank right there. Despite not being cheap, the abalone for 980 yen and scallops for 500 yen were about half the price compared to high-end restaurants in Sapporo. Even though I had just eaten lunch at Ise Sushi, I chose to have the abalone that wasn't served there and had it grilled. It was grilled with gas, not charcoal, so there was no gas smell. The shells were seared with gas, then butter was added to the meat, and it was finished off with a gas burner that didn't produce any odors. The explanations were in Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean, which would attract many customers. The shop is called "Uroko Ban'ya," and the second floor is called "Uroko Tei," making it a proper establishment. P.S. It wasn't particularly delicious, but I could easily enjoy freshly grilled shellfish. I recommend the butter-grilled abalone, scallops, and other shellfish. The whelk was 1200 yen, but I wonder if the butter-grilled whelk is tasty? P.S. 2 They also had shrimp and squid, but I'm not interested as they tend to smell when grilled with gas. If it were a local shop, I might not have reviewed it.

The day before, my friends from when I worked in Tokyo came for a trip. Since I had the day off, we decided to spend the second day together. We woke up early and explored Maruyama and Hokkaido Shrine, then headed to Otaru. We took a bus from the first torii gate at Hokkaido Shrine to Otaru. The bus arrived at JR Otaru Station, making it very convenient. We walked towards the canal from the station. The scenery in Otaru seemed fresh to my friend who was born in Tokyo. As we walked, my friend suddenly stopped in front of a store. There was a tank in front of the store filled with various types of shellfish. They would prepare sashimi or grill them right there! Even though it was still morning, I decided to join my friend in trying it out. We entered the store and picked out some shellfish. We ordered Hokkai scallop sashimi (500 yen) and a classic draft beer (450 yen) for me. My friend ordered grilled Hokkai scallop. We started with a toast with beer! Ahh, nothing beats day drinking. The fresh shellfish sashimi was delicious, with a sweet taste spreading in my mouth when I chewed. My friend's grilled dish was also fresh and had a good texture. Having beer already at the first place in Otaru. Well, it'll probably wear off soon since it's hot. Now, let's go back to exploring. Thank you for the meal.

When I went to Otaru to admire the beautiful Kitachi glass, I got a little hungry so my friend and I decided to stop by this place. Since we were driving, we opted for non-alcoholic "Otaru beer" which surprisingly tasted quite beer-like and delicious. For snacks, we ordered "Scallops in butter", "Grilled squid", and "Botan shrimp sashimi". You can choose the seafood yourself from a fish-like case, tell them how you want it cooked, and then pick it up when it's ready in a self-service style. The flavors were all delicious, but I particularly liked the "Scallops in butter". The "Grilled squid" was average, but the live "Botan shrimp" was sweet. The affordable prices and seaside vibes made me wish I had some alcohol with the meal. Thank you for the delicious meal.

On the second day of my trip to Sapporo, I visited Otaru. As soon as I arrived in Otaru, it was a snowstorm, and I couldn't see anything because of the blizzard. I was feeling so cold and didn't even have the energy to talk, thinking "I want to go home." But then, everything changed when I found "Uroko Banya"! Fresh seafood lined up in front of the store, creating a bustling market-like atmosphere. I got so excited! The spacious store had a variety of seafood, dried goods, and sweets. There was also an eat-in space where they grilled the seafood on the spot. Everything was big and cheap, making it hard to decide. I got three kinds of seafood grilled: the Japan's largest scallop, Hokkaido giant scallop for 580 yen each, a set of two live oysters for 580 yen, and a set of three green-lipped mussels for 500 yen. The scallops were amazing, but the oysters were too salty due to the special soy sauce. The mussels were huge and had a gingery soy sauce flavor. The eating space was simple with low tables, so it was more like standing or crouching to eat. Despite the poor facilities and service, and occasional oversalting, it was a unique experience for tourists to enjoy seafood.

Located a short distance from Otaru Canal Street, there is a seafood market-like shop where you can buy fresh seafood on the first floor, and there is also an EAT IN corner where they will cook your selection on the spot. The second floor is called "Urokotei" and it seems to be set up like a proper izakaya. While the seafood is fresh, the prices are a bit high due to catering to tourists. The taste is okay, but the seafood tends to be slightly undercooked when they prepare it. The customer service is quite poor, possibly because they mainly deal with foreign tourists. The selection is decent, but the bad service may leave a negative impression on tourists. It might be best to avoid tourist-oriented shops like this one.

The melon is not sweet.

I went there a few years ago and decided to go back again! It seemed like the prices had gone up quite a bit since last time. The service from the staff was disappointing. The taste is rich chocolate. It's small, but since it's so rich, it's just right to share between two people. Is it a bad value for money at 650 yen for this small size?