Sapporo! It's the capital of Hokkaido and it's also famous for having the best bowl of miso ramen
in all of Japan.
But what makes it so good?
Probably because it's so cold out here
Nothing warms you up like a hot bowl of ramen.
And when you're here, you can not miss this place,
Ganso Ramen Yokocho
or "Ramen alley", it's filled with old ramen shops
with history going back to the 1950's!
It's ramen time!
Let's do a quick drive by of Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho, the original ramen alley
Its history goes back to 1951
Millions of bowls of ramen have been served here
There are 17 shops in the alley serving all kinds of toppings, sometimes in creative ways
The first place I tried is called Menya Kunimitsu and they have this, the Hokkaido-mori Ramen, loaded with seafood
The Big Hokkaido Ramen has a big price tag for a small bowl
But the crab legs and massive scallops make up for it
Corn and butter are a Sapporo ramen theme as well
(intense ramen slurping starts)
Just look at that big scallop
Good ramen! But maybe too complex and 1600 yen seems too steep a price for me to try it again.
Once in a lifetime and DONE
We're going to try this shop, they have a classic bowl of Miso ramen
COME ON
This is Aji no Kanryu, serving traditional bowls of ramen since 1965
It's what I'd call the Sapporo Ramen Alley classic
It's a big, inviting shop located at the entrance of the alley
Let's get up close and personal with Aji no Kanryu's popular corn-butter ramen.
The moyashi bean sprouts are pan fried
then the "Tonkotsu" - pork bone soup stock, which is made daily
and mixed with chicken and ten vegetables is added.
Then the homemade miso, blended with the soup, to match perfectly
You add it like this, in a ladle, so the miso doesn't burn on the bottom.
Mix that up.
Then, get the noodles ready.
Sapporo egg noodles.
Yellow in color, and devastatingly beautiful
Add the miso soup
and moyashi to the bowl
the toppings
Negi and Menma
Chashu steak
a little sea weed
oh, don't forget the butter and corn...
a lot of corn!
Eat it fast.
Slurping is a sign to the Chef that you like it.
So slurp!
Simple CORN BUTTER RAMEN.
But there is nothing simple about it.
The taste is a world of awsome.
You won't get bored with this one.
If you wondering: "WHY?"
Here's your answer:
The thing with the butter corn ramen is that
you have this added taste from the ingredient:
the corn, the smell, the sweetness of that,
as well as the extra fat from the butter
it really adds to the galaxy of flavors inside this ramen
This Miso Ramen
Miso Ramen is famous in Sapporo
But what is it? And why?
I heard that Sapporo Miso Ramen
...it was a while ago...
was introduced at a department store
during a Hokkaido Fair
and from that became a big hit.
That's how ramen in Sapporo has an image of miso.
An honest Ramen Chef
Sapporo puts the soul in each bowl, no matter the ramen
"ITADAKIMASU"
So, eat another bowl.
Miso Ramen
Sapporo style
A lot of celebrities have come to Hanaryu looking for that perfect Sapporo ramen
Including this guy
I was surrounded by celebrities who have come to eat here
But who cares about them?!
It's all about the RAMEN, man!
And they make it good.
CORN, BUTTER RAMEN In the bottom of my stomach.
Complete.
We're not done yet.
Let's move on to another shop.
The alley has so many kinds of ramen
that it can be hard to pick a place to start.
There's no reason to limit yourself.
Expand your mind and taste buds more with variety.
I was in the mood for... spicy
And this place
had what I was after.
This is TESHIKAGA RAMEN
There is usually a line at the door
but there aren't many people in the early afternoon
It's famous for its char grilled CHASHU pork steaks
They have a special ramen
only available here
SPICY GRILLED PORK MISO RAMEN
Yum!
No more butter and corn
Time to get serious
A massive grilled pork steak
with extra diced spicy pork
GINGER
NEGI
WOOD EAR MUSHROOMS
and a half boiled egg
that melts in your mouth
HANJUKU TAMAGO, baby!
Wow!
Now, that's a bowl of ramen!
TASHIKAGA uses three times more TONKOTSU - pork bone
and boils it at low temperatures for over 20 hours
The taste?
Add here my:
"Ramen is a galaxy of flavors!
speech plus.
I wish it were a little bit spicier
But not bad at all!
That char grilled meat taste and the CHASHU won me over
I like the counter service here.
It can get social
Met some skiers from down under on a ramen run.
Simply awesome.
Thumbs up for the SPICY GRILLED PORK MISO RAMEN
SAPPORO in winter brings a lot of snow.
What can one do on a cold day like this?
Well...
The best way to stay warm
And survive a snow storm, is...
eat another bowl of ramen.
Well, not quite a snow storm.
But it's a good excuse to keep going
so, when you're in SAPPORO
put RAMEN on your list.
Next time: we unbox one of Japan's luxury fruits
the white strawberry
Japan makes 80% of the world's deserts strawberries
Making it a paradise for berry lovers
So, how does a ten dollar strawberry taste?
Subscribe to find out.