あやぱぱ2
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 people's reviews around here. This is the second recommended place for "fried rice" near JR Sapporo Station. The location is in Nishi 7-chome, Kita 6-jo, Chuo-ku. It is on the 1st floor of a labor union building called "Hokkaido Jichirokaikan." Due to the start of the Hokkaido Shinkansen extension project (around Sapporo Station), some roads along the elevated track and part of the sidewalk are closed. However, the shops under the elevated track and the walkways are still there. If you encounter a FamilyMart while walking west along the walkway from Sapporo Station, turn right and you will find the brick-colored building of "Jichirokaikan." Ah, I see. If you go further ahead, you will find the now-closed "Ginsei Shokudo" restaurant. Nostalgic. I entered the restaurant just a little before 12 o'clock (Thursday). The interior is larger than I expected. There are several tables in the middle and counter seats at the back near the window. It was already full, but one seat at the counter became available. After 12 o'clock, more customers started coming in one after another. Office workers from the surrounding area crowded in, and the waiting area inside the entrance on the right side also became full. Some people even gave up and went home. When I checked the menu, I found that they also offer a large portion for an additional 150 yen. It seems like a common pattern. There seems to be a unique serving pattern here. If you come with multiple people, each person orders "ramen," and then add one serving of "fried rice" per person, they will divide the "fried rice" into smaller portions for you. For 2 people, they divide the "regular fried rice" into 2 portions, and for 3 people, they divide the "large fried rice" into 3 portions. Such popularity for fried rice... Let's try it. Fried rice, large portion, tax included 950 yen (800 yen + 150 yen). It arrived with Chinese soup after 3-4 minutes. Wow, it's hot! It's really hot! And it's hard! At first glance, the rice grains are shiny. The presentation is strangely neat, like it was smoothed with a spatula. There was an article about "fried rice" on the wall near the counter where I sat. According to that, after plating, they blend in lard with a spoon. That's why it's neatly shaped. Let's try a spoonful. Despite being finished with lard for a shiny appearance, it's surprisingly slightly crispy. It's not sticky. It's like the rice grains are standing up. Oh, it's hot! And it's hard! It's difficult to chew as a slightly sensitive person to hot food. My mouth panicked a little... I involuntarily drank cold water. This hotness lasted until the middle to near the end. I wonder if this was the intention of the "lard finish." I wonder... It was a bit like the texture when I ate unfamiliar "foreign rice" (long-grain rice) 30 years ago during the "rice shortage." It's like they cooked it hard with less moisture to prevent stickiness and clumping, similar to "al dente rice." It's not like there are rice grains left in the rice. I'm not sure when the article was written, but it says they use "Fukkurinko" rice from Nagano, so it's not foreign rice. But it was so hard that it could be misunderstood as foreign rice. In terms of taste, it's a strong salty taste. Well, even with that, it's within the range of being delicious. The ingredients are a small combination. Finely scrambled eggs, finely chopped char siu, and long green onions. Hmm... I think it's made with a lot of thought, but the rice is too hard, and my jaw was tired by the end.