TAKASAN-BATACHAN
On this day, I already had plans to visit two hospitals, but a few days before that, my lower left back tooth started to hurt when I ate hot or cold foods. Since it was a tooth that had been filled in elementary school due to a cavity, I thought the filling might have deteriorated over time and decided to go to the dentist. Luckily, the Hakodate Shintoshi Hospital where I usually go has a dental clinic, so I checked their website and found out that they have daily consultations. I went there first thing in the morning, but to my surprise, the dental clinic operates on an appointment basis, which was not mentioned on their website. If I had known, I would have called ahead! Eventually, I was told that I would have to wait a considerable amount of time in the morning, so I decided to go to another hospital and asked if there was availability in the afternoon. They said there was an opening around 4:00 PM. Since I had other appointments to attend to, I asked the nurse to change the time and left the hospital. After finishing my other two appointments and having some spare time, I stored my groceries in a refrigerator-style coin locker at MEGA Don Quijote and it was 1:00 PM. I decided to have a late lunch near the hospital, so I chose to go to "Victoria Station Hakodate Showa Store." It had been a while since I last visited Victoria, and this would be my first time writing a review on Tabelog. When you think of Victoria, you think of steak! This time, I ordered the lunch set "Cut Steak & Fried Squid and Chicken Steak with Salad Bar, Soup Bar, Curry, and Rice." After ordering, I started with the salad, curry, and soup. The salad bar was great for getting lots of vegetables. I chose the corn potage soup with extra croutons, and for the curry, I selected turmeric rice and added extra spice for heat. As I was eating the salad, soup, and curry rice, the main dish arrived. I immediately dug in. The cut steak had just the right amount of fat and a strong meaty texture. It was a bit chewy with good bite, but I liked the meaty flavor. The sauce was slightly sweet, like a teriyaki flavor. It was good, but I wanted to try something different. There were pepper and salt mills on the table, and I tried the red-hued rock salt from the salt mill. It added a nice flavor! The power of rock salt is amazing. I also tried it with the chicken steak, and it enhanced the meat's flavor. I took a cross-section photo of the fried squid, and noticed that the thickness of the meat and batter were almost the same! Well, as far as I know, this thickness is reasonable for squid. I tried a bite with tartar sauce spread on top. The squid flavor was there, but the batter wasn't overpowering, and it wasn't too greasy. The tartar sauce balanced it out nicely, and I was pleasantly surprised. It seems like they've done their research on this. After that, I had another serving of curry with regular rice, as well as more salad and soup from the bar. I was completely satisfied, so I popped a Frisk and ACUO in my mouth, and headed to the dentist. Victoria Station is a great place to visit occasionally. I was very satisfied!