GRAZING CRABBILY AT 'SEI-KA-TEI' IN SAPPORO, JAPAN
Previously, a 'Lazing' travel report of the Snow Festival in Sapporo, Japan mentioned the regional seafood specialties.
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Dear Reader, we could not leave Sapporo without trying the famous Hokkaido Crab, so I am pleased to take you on a whirlwind tour of 'Sei-ka-tei' for kani ryori (Crab Cuisine). There are quite a few establishments in Sapporo but as it was Snow Festival Week, everywhere was fully booked and ran 2 or 3 sittings. I tried the two most famous restaurants and luckily, we got the early slot at the 2nd one I called.
Sei-ka-tei (Snow Flowers or Flowery Snow Restaurant)
The aquariums left no doubt as to the restaurant fare!
We had a private tatami room with low table.
I chose the set course Chef's Recommendation (middle grade) because we did not have time to go for broke! As we got lost and were 30 minutes late, the waitress was already nervous about getting us out before the next sitting. As it turned out, we could eat faster than they could cook!
The first drinks were large glasses of draft beer because rushing about in full cold weather clothes works up a sweat. Of course, it was the local brew - Sapporo Black Label - my favourite and a most flavoursome, hopped beer.
Raw ingredients
The first things to arrive are the ingredients for what is usually the last course (nabe 'hot-pot'). That confused us for a while until we realised that the whole meal was going to be just crab. That could explain our next course...
Kani-zake (Crab sake) is just that; grilled crab leg, over which, is poured hot sake for that 'crabby aroma' - hmmmm?
This was interesting but did nothing special to my taste. It is a variation of hire-zake (tailfin sake) in fugu (pufferfish) restaurants. Luckily, there is only 1 cup provided as part of the set menu.
The regular sake without crab was warm and satisfying; I can report that more than a few flasks were consumed.
Amuse bouche
Scallop croquette, Seaweed and Smoked Salmon, using the local produce that Hokkaido is famous for. Very nice.
Crab, Mushroom, Tofu and Clear Noodles Nabe hot-pot
Whilst we were engaged with the starters, this was gently simmering in crab stock. The Taraba Crab has long legs. Very fresh ingredients dispelled any fear of potential 'crabby' malodour; it was delicious.
Crab sashimi
Hairy Crab - boiled
These can be painful to peel if the hairs get under your fingernails or stick into your skin. It is worth the effort, though.
Crab Grilled
Be careful not to over cook these or you lose the tenderness. I still think charcoal is better than that blue flame from a camping block.
Crab and Quail's Egg Stew is sort of like slushy crab meat scrambled eggs.
Baked in its own shell, this mixture of crab meat and euphemistic 'kani-miso' or 'crab-paste' was my favourite dish. Kani-miso is also euphemistically called 'crab brains', which is an oxymoron.
Crab and Pumpkin Tempura
This did not seem to be up to standard, probably because the kitchen was running late and tempura does not travel well, even such a short distance between kitchen and our table.
Egg Custard with Crab, Fish Cake and Salmon Roe
We are back up to standard again. This variation of chawan-mushi steamed savoury egg custard was my 2nd favourite dish.
Crab Sushi and Crab meatball Soup
It ain't over until you see the soup and carbohydrates. So we knew this was near the end. The taraba crab legs were sweet and delicious. The soup had concentrated crab flavour, but different enough so we were not tired of the taste.
Red Bean & Green Tea Ice filled mochi (rice cake) and Green Tea to finish and we were out to enjoy the illuminations of the ice sculptures.
CONCLUSION
No doubt that this restaurant deserves its fame for crab cuisine but we were a bit rushed. Our fault for turning up late and choosing the busiest weekend in the year to go there. I am sure that in the other 51 weeks of the year, our good experience would be upgraded to excellent.
Photos & Text Copyright Melvyn Teillol-Foo, 2005.
