Otaru Masazushi Honten

The famous Otaru fried chicken.....*crunch*

we hopped off our train from Yoichi in Otaru, still feeling all excited from the whisky tour, but our stomachs were drumming away......hungry~~~~~~

While waiting for Papa Bear to get a map of this town - Otaru, Ellen could not resist the fried chicken and bought everyone some. When he returned, everyone was holding a piece and bz wolfing it down to his horror.

Papa Bear: "What are you all doing? we are goin to the best sushi in town!!! and some say in Hokkaido!!!!"

Soon Papa Bear join in. Oh well if you can beat them, join them!!!

Apart from amazing sushis, Otaru is also famous for their crispy moist fried chicken, but that famous store was closed on Monday, so we made do with the stall at the train station. It was Oh-my-freaking-orgasmic good. Marinated with ginger juice and fried with some certain spices. This was god sent!!!!

Follow the captain!!!

We arrived on the dot, bcoz reservation was made at 1pm. When Papa Bear said this restaurant was just being featured on the television the nite before, please expect that the reservation list gonna be long and we may even be turned down. But Papa Bear never fails, he charmed his way and got the counter seating for 7 of us :))))

SEE I told you Consultants are damn good and smooth. But my own papa alwiz tells me consultants are CON-sultant, as in conman. LOL. That's a joke :P bcoz I am a consultant myself.

aaaa and behind the blinds we saw Masterchef himself....

Due to its popularity and expansion plans, there are a few outlets by now. But this one is the mother of all. One can find many good sushi restaurants in Otaru town bcoz its' a harbor city. There's a 2 michelin starred sushi restaurant down the road....and we told ourselves ok next time...next time...we are definitely coming back to Otaru :)))

The beautiful and skilled hands of a sushi master. Slicing and cutting effortlessly with moves so suave you thought he's performing a ritual. 

 
Homemade daikon pickles.....but the star was the rich and creamy orangie fish roe, to be eaten together. The soft fish roe meets the crunchy daikon. The rich flavor paired with the acid from the pickles....such beautiful marriage :)))

Chef prepared all the fresh seafood, and leave it to a certain temperature. U never eat your sushi cold, bcoz then the flavor and sweetness of the sea produce will never be unveil. It has to be at the right temperature so that when it touches your warm tongue, the fats melt and tantalize your tastebud before you sink into the meatiness of sweetness from the sea with a soft crunch.

followed by the sounds of happy, satisfied, orgasmic murmurs from fellow diners...
hhhhHHHHHHMmmmmmmmmmm~~~~~

All sushis here have already being prepared with a small dab of finely grated fresh wasabi so you don't really need to add anything anymore, not even the soy. And the correct way to eat is with your hands not chopsticks.

the rice must not be compact at all, not too warm and definitely not cold!!! it should just crumbles in your mouth with the sensational feeling of the round fluffy firm grains.

Freshly burst in ur mouth ikura. I'm not an ikura fan but only in Japan it's so obnoxiously awesomely good that one can never resist. 

 

Such beautiful trout fish...ever cut was so perfect and pretty.

Okie sorry bout that single grain that I left on my plate from the previous piece of sushi. I'm a messy diner!!!

Watching chef preparing piece by piece and presenting it on the individual plate is such a joy to behold. I guess it's also a sight for the chef to see the satisfied murmurs from his diners. I almost had to perpetually close my eyes all the time as I savor every piece of sushi. So so so so so so so good~~~~

 

a light tempura of onions and shiso leaves. Simple, sweet and hit the spot!!!!

 

just look at the grains will you??? as I've already mentioned, each piece has been lightly season so you don't really need the soya sauce.

Papa Bear mentioned that we can only have a light lunch to prepare ourselves for a BIG BIG dinner later. However he was the Devil and asked if we would like anything else!!! soon orders were top up esp the fresh produce of the day.

Chef Takashi who did not join us on this wonderful day sent a text message reminding us that dinner would be at 6pm and we will need to meet at 5.30pm. Added onto his message "What's for lunch?"

Soon pics were blastered in to his horror

"What are you all doing? Stop eating so much. Tonite's dinner is kappo so don't eat so much!!!"

oh well sorry chef, we can't resist this one....
 

Beautiful piece of fatty tuna. So yummmmsss~~~~~

 

Sea Urchin!!!! madness!!!

Hello peek-a-boo!!!!
I am gonna eat ya!!!

After our last order....we still defied instructions not to have too much of food over lunch and had another last last order. Only greedy buggers last us could have so many times of last order. Kekekekeke.

JS had his last order of a beautiful creamie prawn....its eggs/roe were removed off its legs and placed on top....slurp!!!!

 

its briny saltiness sweetness of the sea was so intense. The "brains" or head of the prawns were removed carefully and placed on top of rice and wrapped with lightly toasted fragrant crispy seaweed. OMG. This was so sinful. Every part of the prawns were consumed, this is how a good chef respect his ingredients. You pay tribute to it by not wasting any parts of it.

After lunch we needed to burn off some of the calories before heading back to Sapporo to prepare ourselves for dinner. In fact all of us were kinda guilty, it's like lil kids waiting to be lectured and spanked for not listening to instructions!!

Sakaimachi Street is a beautiful old preserved merchant street. So much to see, so much to buy....and guess wat? So much to EAT!!!!!

the famed Hokkaido White Sweet Corns. To be eaten chilled on its own....raw....There's also the golden yellow type. The sweetness innit was unbelievable!!!

Yeah I know we couldn't resist food. And more food here we come!!!
Hokkaido MELONS!!!
Melons everywhere and we ate and ate and ate and ate.

Beautiful glasses lined the wall of this ship. There's many glass shops and glass-related souvenirs shops along Sakaimachi Street. When the Herring Fish industry declined back in 1950s, the makers of glass buoys turned into production of glasswares instead.

Here you could purchase anything from jewelries, tableware, glassware, ornaments all made from beautiful and colorful glasses. If you have time, try ur hands in glass blowing classes. Obviously our group wasn't interested in any classes nor those glass ornaments. All went into WINE GLASSES shop.

-_-" it's like a disease u know? everywhere we go, it's either have to be food or WINES related. It's unconscious and we couldn't help it. It's like there's a magnet in us....hahahaha

Monkey & Ellen
We were so intrigued by all the pastries shops along this street. ARGHHH but we were not allowed to buy anymore food to stuff our faces. Dr. Epicurean meanwhile was busy browsing every single wine shop along this street -_-"

The beautiful canal with the original warehouse still intact. If you have time, you could take a short cruise down this river. Most of the warehouses are no longer in used, and have been turned into museums, shops and restaurants.

Notice the 2 birds??? hahahaha

Hurry hurry time to go back to Sapporo!!! we gotta get ready for dinner!!! After all the short walk, stomach is hungry again :D

Soon everyone was trailing behind

Thank you to Papa Bear for being such a wonderful guide for the day. We had an amazing day!!!! and did so much in a short few hours....Nikka Distillery, great sushis, strolled along this romantic canal, visited Otaru town :)))))))))))

As we traced the shadows of a late afternoon, we follow each other's foot step towards the train station, reminiscence on our wonderful afternoon...wishing time didn't past by so fast. Especially when you are on vacation!!!

hahahah but our tummy were drumming loud again. It's time for dinner. Hehehehehe.

For more information on Masazushi Restaurant:
http://www.masazushi.co.jp/shop_zenan_en.html

Journey to Nikka Whisky Distillery, Yoichi

Morning rush hour in Sapporo Train Station isn't as bad as in Tokyo. In Tokyo I literally see station attendants using their "Paddle pop" Paddle pushing commuters into the already crammed like sardines -ikan bilis - har mai - ppl into the train. Monkey thought it was only on youtube that things like this happened but to be able to see it live in Tokyo made it so surreal.

So at Sapporo Train Station, there isn't any shinkansen aka bullet train, there's not many lines and the subway is a pretty simple system. Ok ok if u compared it with KL in Malaysia...ours is like stone age train line system OK?


our stand-in Captain for the day giving out briefing and we were trying hard to concentrate.

A week ago, JS conveyed his interest on visiting a whisky distillery about 1.5 hours from Sapporo. So he wrote in to the them and as alwiz...in Japanese culture...all are welcome. Our Sapporo Gourmet group consisted of 12 people...and the nite before, we split ourselves into two. Whoever that wanna join the whisky educational tour please congregate at the lobby by 8.15am.

Everyone was early...around 8am we already have almost the entire group downstairs with Dr. Epicurean carrying his glasses and bottles of wines.

Monkey: "What's this for? Breakfast in the train?"
Dr. Epicurean: "For our sushi lunch later...after the whisky tour."
Monkey errrrrrr -_-"
Papa Bear: "Guys....we have yet to secure reservation for lunch so....let's not take chances with all these beautiful wines."

I swear I could see the deep disappointment in Dr. Epicurean's face. With his head bowed low, he walked back to the lifts to his room....sadness shrouded him...coz there's not gonna be drinks for the day...as in while the Sun is up. We definitely having lots of drinks when the sun is down!!!!


Monkey was given stricter instruction to follow bcoz she's the nottiest :P

Aye aye Captain I will stick to you like glue for the rest of the day. Nothing can put us apart.....and I was wrong~~~~~

*PEEETTTTT and wave and wave*
I like how the train station attendant does his Aussie Salute. To the left, to the right in such beautiful smooth sways and swings and yet so so so precise. Soon our train chucks its way to Western Hokkaido.

Remember how I said Monkey gonna stick close to Papa Bear. Yeah not even this gonna separate us!!! It's an amazement how Japanese have mastered the Zen art of power naps in the train and not miss their station!!!

So this person swayed and leaned onto me.....and then....

finally onto Papa Bear. I m gonna tell MW Maho u've got an unidentified new gf in Hokkaido!!!. Hmph~~~~


No fingers near the doors...else u gonna turn into this poor creature with sausage-liked finger. Bahahahahaha.

After almost an hour, we transited at Otaru and changed into another train. The later 30 mins train brought us to the town of Yoichi. Once we arrived at Yoichi little train station, Papa Bear calmed all his excited entourage down. There were a lot of chitters chatters and he needed to get his bearing.

Monkey: "Papa bear, dunnit bearing......look!!!!"
and pointed to the castle liked building just 2 roads across the train station.

The main entrance to the distillery.

The two famed whisky brands in Japan are Nikka and Suntory. Both are very closely related. In fact, Nikka is a breakaway fraction of Suntory Whisky or VICE VERSA depending on how you look at it.

Okie a lil bit of introduction here.....the founder of Nikka Mr. Masataka Taketsuru was the FIRST japanese who studied the art of whisky making in Scotland in 1918. It was in Scotland that he swept Rita off her feet. They fell in love, got married and returned to Japan. Once back Taketsuru was commissioned to build Suntory Yamazaki distillery near Kyoto.

Being the Father of Japanese Whisky, it didn't end there. Taketsuru san left Suntory once his 10 years contract was up and built his very own distillery in Hokkaido. But why Hokkaido? to him this location has got all the elements, climate and geographical location *in terms of latitude* that resembles Glasgow, Scotland. So it's perfect for making whisky.


Soon the excited entourage registered themselves and all thanks to Papa Bear who's Japanese, the communication part was so so so so much easier. As usual all tours in Japan are free. Free things are the best things in the world ain't it? hehehehehe

Today, Nikka has got 2 distilleries. One here in Yoichi and the other at Miyagikyo in Honshu. There is a river nearb. Because of this river...which is cooler and flows into the warmer sea, it gave rise to mist and fog which increases the humidity around this area and that ladies & gentlemen is required in the whisky making process.


One cannot help but realised the buildings here are of very Scottish influenced. It was built in 1934 and most of them are at its original forms. The above is the kilning tower, where malts are dried inside with burning pieces of peat.


Peat used for smoking the barley malt. A smell most Malaysians in Klang Valley will recognize......yes, the smell of the haze!!! LOL

Originally the peat was gathered from the local peat bog nearby. These peats were burned to dry the malt barley to give it the distinctive special smoky nose.

The tall stills where distillation takes place. The shape and size of the stills will determine the final taste and smell of the product. I was surprised!!! how come??? These stills are heated with charcoal, which is hardly used these days even in Scotland.

Rouxin and Mark :)))
by the way these stills are still in used and are not museum pieces or just for display purpose.

at this juncture Papa Bear and Dr. Epicurean enquired will Monkey minds....if we skip all of these and go straight to tasting. -_-" x 10000000000

So everyone was quite obedient and did the entire production process. Notice Dr. Epicurean was already impatient there. :P kekekekeke

Then we walked to the next building which explains the types of casks used in Nikka. Unlike Yamazaki, Nikka uses 4 types of cask

Ellen couldn't resist and must have one pic with this baby :))))))) Ellen do looked like Lee Shinje at certain angle!!! so pretty :)))

tatue of Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky.


Mr Taketsuru with his Scottish wife Rita.

One of the warehouses where the casks are slumbered to allow the maturation process to take place.

The maritime influence affects the microclimate of the area by increasing the humidity which is essential for the maturation process. In addition, the saltiness in the peat and air is encrypted in the properties of final product which one can nose and taste when savouring a cool glass of this amazing liquid.

Since the surrounding air quality (the cask sucks in the ambient external air as oxidation takes place inside the cask creating a partial vacuum) can affect the quality of the final whisky, the distillery actually ban vehicles waiting for passengers to have their engine running!!!! Yeah it's that anal.


Finally....everyone was waiting for this....and when that moment arrives....Dr. Epicurean had to ask "Is that all? we can just simply grab wat we wanna drink??"

Everyone soon ran scrambling to the whisky bar serving whisky of different vintages as though it's Supermarket Sweep!!!!


Just look at those eppy eppy faces~~~~
not just happy but very contented. Doesn't matter that it's only 11 in the morning. Kekekekeke. By the way it's a complimentary whisky buffet. Hahahahaha.

Mark was holding a glass of apple juice. It's so sweet and intense like a pineapple juice instead. But in reality it's really APPLES...as in fresh apples...in that cloudy yellowish liquid. Yoichi is famous for apples throughout Japan.


the bar has got pristine ice cubes and water if you don't want to drink it flat. It's good to have something that warms our stomach....nevermind that we haven't had breakfast yet...this would be our breakfast :))

After the complimentary tasting, we got tips and info about more tasting inside the museum. Soon this group of drunkards....errr I mean whisky enthusiast dashed to the museums for more PAID tasting. Yes the good stuffs are all here :))))

The 20 years single cask, single malt is one of Yoichi's premium whisky. The slow and long maturation process enhances and smoothens the rich Yoichi malts giving it impressive depth and complexity.

While the 25 years Taketsuru pure malt is a blend of two single malts from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distillery. This is a very rare whisky. Floral aromas dominate with soft sherry notes with a hint of sweetness as a result of long oak maturation. Most likely sherry butts cask were used to mature some of the components before blending.

Stained glass in the tasting room. This is so un-japanese.

Papa Bear made sure we kept to our timing, from the whisky tour to the tasting and more premium tasting and shopping....yes this group of drunkards, I mean Whiskey Enthusiasts bought so many bottles we got 2 FREE bottles. Tsk Tsk Tsk Tsk tsk~~~~

After all the shopping and drinking, everyone wanted a pic with this most popular landmark at Nikka Distillery including the photographer :P

I like his fiery red RayBan. Can I borrow please?"

JS: "NO. It's adjusted and fitted accordingly to my face and nose."

okie lor :(((

Rouxin and Mark with their loots. See I wasn't exaggerating when I said we bought a lot!!! 

Group picca!!!!! That was really an educational visit.

The two Japanese Whisky Giants, namely Nikka and Suntory form the main backbone of Japanese Whisky industry. Without one and the other will not have existed or achieved such global greatness. Being the same DNA background, they are indeed competitors but yet they co-exist in the perfect balance of Ying and Yang.

Mark, Rouxin, Ellen, Monkey, Papa Bear and Dr. Epicurean

We had such a great time visiting this distillery, after some drinks, we were even merrier and joyous that we had to cam-whored at the train station...to the oblivious locals around. Maybe these kind of sights are pretty normal to them?

Look!!! other commuters couldn't really be bothered with our loud chitters chatters, laughters and loudness :P

Instead the orderly Japanese queue-ed under the hot sun before the train is even in sight!!! Soon this group of merry happy whisky enthusiast follow suit and tried not to be barbarians. Hahahaha

this wasn't the end of our wonderful day, as we were rushing to get to the next town - OTARU for really yummy superb sushis for lunch :))))

For the posting of JS's visit to Suntory Yamazaki in Kyoto *click here* 
If you would like to find out more about Nikka, visit their official website below:
http://www.nikka.com/eng/