くい吉
Today, I was driving along Route 36 towards Sapporo Station, wondering what to have for lunch, when I saw the sign for Tonden-san. My friend always talks about how she loves the Nanami Soba here, so today we decided to have lunch at this restaurant. It was already past lunchtime, so the restaurant was relatively empty and we were shown to a raised seating area. We received the menu from the staff and quickly browsed through it. As it is a Japanese restaurant, the menu is rich in sushi options, but my friend decided on her favorite "Nanami Soba (hot/880 yen)" and a "Mini Negitoro Donburi (400 yen)", while I opted to change the soba to udon and ordered the "Nanami Udon (hot/880 yen)" and a "Chawanmushi (320 yen)". It had been a while since we last visited this restaurant, so my memory was a bit hazy, but it seemed not much had changed. We were served barley tea instead of water, and the offer of free refills for hot coffee was still available. This is a traditional Japanese restaurant originating from Sapporo, so I'm sure many Sapporo locals have fond memories of dining here. As a child, whenever something good happened, my parents would bring me here, so it brings back nostalgic memories. Lost in these thoughts, our dishes arrived on a cart in about 10 minutes. Let's dig in! The Nanami Udon (soba) was served in a more impressive bowl compared to before, but the broth tasted just as good as before. The balance of dashi and toppings was just right, and it paired well with the noodles, whether soba or udon. This was my first time trying udon at Tonden-san, and the smooth texture of the noodles was delicious. The Chawanmushi, one of the restaurant's specialties, was as flavorful as before, with a rich dashi taste. It was packed with ingredients like mitsuba, chicken, chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, corn, and crab meatballs, making it a luxurious dish. I used to eat the jumbo-sized 440g portion of this dish when I was younger, but not today! My friend was enjoying her favorite Nanami Soba, which was topped with quail eggs, natto, grated daikon, yam, green onions, tempura crumbs, and chopped seaweed. It was a fun dish with seven different toppings that you could mix together or enjoy separately. The only difference was that the soba had been changed to locally sourced buckwheat noodles, which were also delicious, but maybe the old soba was better? The Mini Negitoro Donburi had a generous amount of fatty tuna, giving it a satisfying and flavorful taste. The combination of the tuna and green onions, along with the creamy quail eggs, was perfect. It was a healthy and hearty meal that we enjoyed at Tonden-san after a long time. The unchanged atmosphere and flavors of the past were a delight, although I did miss the "Toridon Yuraku" dish that used to be on the menu. If it ever makes a comeback, I will definitely return! Thank you for the meal!