Continued from post here.
From Furano to Sapporo, it is about a two-hour drive by the expressway. Through the four days so far driving in Hokkaido, we have not used the express-ways and when we got to the toll booth, that took some figuring out of how to get the ticket as we did not sign up for an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) card, which would have automatically deducted any toll fairs and express lane usage. Something to remember for next time if we decide to drive again as the convenience of not stopping and figuring tolls is a huge pus.. The drive itself was uneventful and we arrived at Sapporo.
Sapporo is Hokkaido’s capital and its largest city. Overall, it’s the fifth largest population in Japan. It is famous for its beer, skiing, and annual snow festival in the winter featuring large ice sculptures. There is quite a bit to see and do in this city, but our itinerary included plans for a week in Tokyo at the tail end of our trip, and if you see one big city, you kind of see them all. As such we planned on only staying 2 days in Sapporo.
The plan was to eat a big crab course, miso ramen, visit the Wholesale Curbside fish market, and do a little sight-seeing.
We drove to the Sapporo Grand Hotel where we booked the next two nights.. Parking was interesting there as we were guided by an attendant who directed us into the lift area, which then automatically stores the cars.
We choose the Sapporo Grand Hotel as they had rooms with four beds which perfectly accommodated our whole family. It was also spacious compared to many of the accommodations in Tokyo. The Concierge service at the hotel was great as they helped us book last-minute reservations at Kani Honke. We were apparently lucky as it was the last table available, so I recommend getting reservations in advance.
The restaurant was a 12 minutes by foot from our hotel so we decided to walk. We got to pass the Susukino district of Sapporo which despite being a red-light district area, is relatively safe. The sights and sounds with all the lights lets you know you are in a big city of Japan.
There are two branches of Kani Honke in Sapporo and overall 14 across Japan. Hokkaido was where they first opened for over 50 years and while it’s a big tourist type trap, there’s no where else where you can get this much of an extended course of crab. While currently you can find many similar crab courses across Japan, Hioki Tatsuo who owns Sapporo Kani Honke is known as the water of Crab Cuisine in Japan.
You can identify Kani Honke by huge sign board of a crab sculpture. The building has seven floors, all having private rooms to serve their meals and it almost looks like a traditional castle.
There’s even a live tank pool outside the restaurant where you’ll see several Iive crabs temporary living there.
Inside the lobby you will see even more live tanks with the various species of crab they are serving. You will not forget you are going to eat a crab feast. They serve three types of crab:
-Kegani is hairy crab
-Taraba is king crab
-Zuwaigani is snow crab
From the reception desk we are introduced to our kimono wearing server who led us to our private table on the 6th floor. The restaurant does not have any large dining area, but rather there are multiple rooms separated by sliding shoji doors, so you pretty much have a private dining experience.
There are several menu options where you can select several crab course of either a particular type or mixed variety. I choose the full course option which had servings of all three types of crab.
The meal started with a zensai course, which are the seasonal appetizer of the day. It included braised horagai, horagai shio-kara, and an omelette with crab mixed in. They were all served cold and had clean and refreshing flavors.
Mozuku seaweed salad was next, which had a bit of king crab on top. There’s a nice vinegar sauce to the seaweed to get the palate ready for the crab feast ahead.
Next was the hairy crab and a huge king crab leg. The huge crab leg was steamed perfectly as you can taste the sweetness of the meat and it was firm and plump. Never had better as you can tell it was very fresh and never frozen. The hairy crab is a delicacy and the flavor and texture is even more concentrated in a nice slight briny way with a hint of sweetness. On the side is the shell of the kegani, and it’s loaded with the umami rich kano-miso (crab head fat). Our whole family was in crab heaven as both crabs were so good.
Next up was Kani sashimi of the snow crab and king crab. A large spot pawn was thrown in for good measure. I have not had raw crab between, but the taste was very sweet, but had a soft, mushy texture. While good, I preferred the crab boiled or steamed, but was a nice contrast to the earlier crab course. I would order this again. The raw amaebi (sweet shrimp) is something I regularly order in the states, and this was pretty close to live, so it had a firm texture.
Next up is grilled king crab. With its thicker meat and larger size, the king stab stood up to grilling pretty well. While again boiling or steaming is the best method in my mind to cook crabs, it was a nice contrast in the course menu. A nice smokey and charred taste complements the crab meat.
Next up is king crab rolls and king crab sushi. The rice in the roll is packed nice and fireman you get some delicious crab and cumber in the center. The crab sushi uses the largest legs of the king crab so you really get to taste the sweetness of the king crab.
Crab tempura is next. The snow crab is the center piece, but you also get a shrimp and crab kakiage, shiitake, and shishito pepper. The frying was light and while I had better tempura, this was still pretty good.
A couple of other crab courses followed in what seemed like an endless feast. This was fried crab dumplings, with a nice and savory kudzu sauce. No matter what the course, you get a generous amount of grab in every bite.
Next is a crab gratin. Probably my only so-so dish of the night as the cheese and scalloped potato is quite filling. I would pass on this as every other dish had a clean, delicate, and refreshing taste, while this was just too heavy.
Crab miso soup is next, and while the miso soup is typical, you again get more king crab.
Our final crab course is a rolled omelette over king crab. The omelette was nice and moist and goes well with the sweetness of the crab.
We finish our meal with a nice jabari melon slice. It was perfectly ripe and so juicy. One of the best melons we had, even compared to the ones we had in Furano.
While we came in believing Kani Honke is a little bit of a tourist trap, we were blown away at how delicious our dinner was. In fact, I have had several crab courses before and after the visit, but none of the quality of crabs ere as good. It is a definite must visit when I’m Sapporo and a great way to wrap up Day 6.
Address : Post code 064-0806
4-1-3 Minami-Rokujyou-Nishi, Cyuou-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
Phone: +81-11-551-0018
Business hour : 11:30 – 23:00