February 1, 2017 – YummyDelight

Kamimura Restaurant in Niseko was the first fine-dining restaurant for this trip. This restaurant has been on my radar since my previous visit to Niseko but unfortunately we were too late to get a reservation back then. I guess a lot has got to do with them being listed as 1-Michelin star when the 2012 Hokkaido guide was published.

As the saying goes “Success is the result of hard work“, but experience tells me some people needs to work harder than others. In my case, it takes more than 1 chance to succeed… You would soon find out, there are several key highlights of this entire Japan trip whereby I deliberately plan to re-visit places where I had failed to accomplish my goals in 2013. Visiting Kamimura was one of them, seeing Mount Fuji was another, eating at Sushi Dai was the third.

In addition I also added more days of stay at each of the destinations as a safety buffer to increase the chances of me achieving what I set out to see/do. The first buffer came in handy when we planned to stay 3 nights in Hakodate – in fact there wasn’t that many sightseeing to do there…However as it happened, the ropeway was closed for the first 2 nights due to poor weather and we got to see the fantastic views on our final night in town.

With this 2nd visit to Niseko, I made the booking at Kamimura once my target dining date was opened for reservation i.e 90 days in advance. Arriving 5 minutes earlier than our booking time, we were one of the first to enter the dining hall at 6pm. While passing through the walkway I immediately saw Chef Yuichi standing by the kitchen entrance as guests were shown to their seats.

The main dining hall has a full length glass facade facing the main street. Being seated at the tables by the facade, we could see the light snow falling down plus the pedestrians and car traffic passing by. On the flipside, restaurant glass has a “fish tank” effect as we had also been observing diners when we walked passed the restaurant several times during our stay in Hirafu.

Started our Early Bird Dinner Menu with a light and refreshing starter of Zuwai Crab and Cucumber basil, tomato and celery leaves paired with a 2015 Pinot Grigio from Southern Italy. Zuwai means twig and snow crabs are known as zuwai-gani due to their twig-like legs. Winter is also the best season to enjoy snow crab’s sweet and delicate meat.

The second dish was Roasted Takikawa duck leek and mandarin salad. The tender and succulent duck meat was covered with a layer feathery olive powder that resembles the soft snow in Niseko. Underneath the duck meat was a bed of leeks, accompanied with brussel sprouts and mandarin. The tangy fruit helped to balance out the richness of the duck meat.

Before having the next course, we were served Potato bread. This seems to be a prelude to our next dish of Niseko Danshaku Potato black truffle soup. Danshaku potato is actually the Irish Cobbler variety, it’s named Danshaku which means baron as it was first introduced to Hokkaido from Great Britain by Baron Kawata. The smooth and creamy soup taste was accentuated with addition of a little black truffle.

Our first main course was Seared Rainbow Trout ikura, hazel nut, anchovy and brown rice risotto paired with a 2014 Chardonnay from Nagano, Japan. I loved how chef added flavours and textures to the dish with the composition of popping ikura, crunchy nuts and crispy anchovy.

The second main course was Roasted Lamb root vegetable, lamb jus paired with Kir-Yanni Ramnista from Greece. Upholding the classic presentation of roasted lamb, the lamb was perfectly frenched for an elegant look. The aroma of roasted lamb wafts towards me once the dish was placed. A well-executed classic dish which was flawless, from the tender meat to the caramelised onion and the flavourful jus.

As one diner does not take lamb, it was replaced with Braised Wagyu danshaku potato puree, wild mushroom sauce. Although the potato puree was velvety and creamy, the braised beef was a tad too rich for my liking. After tasting the fabulous roasted lamb, I must say I wouldn’t trade that for this beef.

Lastly we ended our meal with Chocolate Terrine banana and maple ice cream paired with a dessert wine and Petit four of lemon tea madeleines and balsamic macaroons.

Although Chef Yuichi had made his round to greet guests mid-way through our meal, he took time again to send us off when we were leaving with his warm and friendly smile.

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Whenever people heard I visited Niseko, those who had been to Hokkaido would likely ask if I’ve tried “Milk Kobo“? This brand seems to be represent Niseko instead of their star agriculture product – potatoes.

Unfortunately my answer was “No” when I visited in 2013. I was busy maximising my time on the snow mountains than to make my way to this place which is “in-the-middle-of-nowhere“. The nearest landmark seems to be Niseko Village where Green Leaf/Hilton is located and you most likely need to catch a local bus or shuttle bus to get there or face a 15-20 minutes walk in the snow. Subsequently I gathered that most people who visited Milk Kobo were either brought there by tour bus or they were on self-drive tour in Hokkaido.

The operating hours of this well-known patisserie is shorter than the operating hours of the chair-lifts (if you include night ski time). Despite having passed by this place several times during our previous visit, they were already closed in the evening. The irony was we stayed in Niseko Village last time, which was nearer to Milk Kobo than where we stayed this time.

Anyway we decided to make a stop at this raved-about place when we ended our day early due to the unfavourable weather (too windy and low visibility) on the mountains. Decked in our sports gear and lugging our boards we arrived at Milk Kobo near tea time. As expected most of the customers there were in casual wear and we felt slightly out-of-place.

As we needed to catch the Niseko United Shuttle Bus back to Hirafu, we only have less than an hour to spend at Milk Kobo. Quickly ordered their star products: Soft Serve (cone) and Yogurt. Although the soft cream has a rich milk taste, the texture was not as velvety as I expected. Similar to the soft serve I had in Hakodate, this felt slightly icy. As for the Yogurt, I must say I wasn’t prepared to be tasting unsweetened yogurt in its original form – which has a natural sour taste. I thought most yogurt drinks are sweet and flavoured?

After having the soft serve and finishing the yogurt drink, we purchased the Cream Puff and Cheese Tart for takeaway. I must emphasis that we ate them on the same day of purchase which shouldn’t have compromised the quality too much. Perhaps we had too high an expectation for the pastries here, although they were nice, both the items failed to WOW us. The cheese tart was not as tasty as the BAKE cheese tart (originated from Sapporo) that created much deserved hype when they opened a branch in Singapore. Perhaps its personal preference but I felt that the cheese flavour was missing. The cream puff has a smooth velvety cream inside but the puff itself could have been better.

I wouldn’t say this was a wasted trip but it’s certainly not a stop that renders a detour simply for the soft serve or pastries if people are self-driving in Hokkaido. However if you are looking for a rest stop, this would fit the bill. Especially if you are travelling in other seasons (except Winter), this spot will allow families to enjoy the sights of expansive green fields with Mount Yotei as backdrop on a clear day. P.S We didn’t get to see Mount Yotei throughout our 5 days of stay in Niseko this year – cos sunny days were so rare though that meant plenty of fresh snow! We saw it back in 2013 while up in the mountains, so no regrets.

Earlier photos taken:

Didn’t have good weather to start with in the morning at Hanazono but the condition got worse.

Heavy snowfall by the time we had late lunch at Crab Shack in Niseko Village. The dark coloured traditional Japanese-style structure formed an exellent background showing contrast to the snow.

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