Before i made my inaugural trip to Japan, i told myself i must have seafood everyday (especially king crabs) as Hokkaido is known for its incredibly fresh sea produce!
I only got my chance on day six when we visited one of Sapporo's seafood wholesale centre; Curb Market (札幌場外市場, Sapporo Jōgai Ichiba). With so many shops to choose from, we eventually cast our lot with (株) 共栄水産 第一市場店.
The price of 8,800 yen (about S$110) a kilogram wasn't the cheapest in the vicinity but the operator kindly offered sampling, which we gladly took without any hesitation. Hello, it's king crab and i doubt you can get any shop in Singapore who would willingly pass you a sample with no question asked!
Mind you; it's a thick piece and once we had it in our mouth, we were sold.
We were initially wondering if half a crab would be sufficient for us although we gathered that we could always order more after we were done with the current one. The segment that was chosen would be weighed and as i had no intention to eat it back in Singapore, we paid for the in-store restaurant (separately charged) to prepare the crab for immediate consumption!
Restaurant would be at the back of the store and i couldn't resist marveling at the tanks of live seafood; 550 yen for a scallop. Oh well, it's my first time to Hokkaido; so i might as well splurge a bit on their renowned seafood.
Let the expert choose the scallop for me and sashimi style it shall be. Alex is, in a way, extra in the picture as he doesn't take sashimi although i am grateful for his continuous participation as the unofficial model in this blog.
Simple restaurant setting; not crowded as it's not even 10 am when we stepped in! I can't imagine having seafood so early in the morning.... I was hoping my tummy would not act up a few hours later; and it didn't.
Scallop Sashimi - honestly, i would not have so gamely ordered this in other countries but this is Japan and i am not disappointed; the texture was crunchy and for a moment, you could have passed this as cooked scallop until your sight focused on the rawness on the plate. Oishiiii!
King Crab - got this in two styles; a pair which was steamed and another one that's grilled. I couldn't differentiate between the two given the pictures although i recalled that the one with the claw was served faster as steaming is faster than grilling.
Time to indulge!
Unlike my local favourite (i.e. Sri Lankan crabs), the shell for King Crab can't be torn apart using my steel teeth! Do make use of the scissors to cut apart the leather-like shell, with ease.
Cut nicely so that you would get the meat in one, large chunk! I can guarantee you; nothing beats pulling out a long piece of meat from the leg of the king crab and slowly chewing it down your throat!
The satisfaction; i personally feel that grilled brings out the seafood sweetness of the crab and we were literally jumping with every bite!
Given my mom's love for the crab, i can now understand why she can remember her Hokkaido trip (via a tour package) so well when she couldn't even recall which country Mount Fuji is at!
Frankly, we were facing king crab overdose at the end of the indulgence session as king crab was meat heavy; not shell heavy as in the case of crabs we have in Singapore! Our conclusion was that two legs would be enough for both of us!
Nevertheless, Alex was 100% contented after the meal and to prove his point; he insisted on keeping the king crab leg that he diligently cut apart cleanly! By keeping, i do mean that he actually brought it back to Singapore; yes, you can imagine the stench!
=====
Location
21 Chome-2 Kita 11 Jōnishi, Chūō-ku,
Sapporo-shi, Hokkaidō 060-0011, Japan
(look out for the huge signboard in yellow)
Map
As above.
Operating Hours
5.00 am till 4.00 pm
(restaurant seems to close at 2pm)
Price List for Kitchen Preparation
As above in Japanese. If i didn't recall wrongly, the sashimi for the scallop cost 216 yen whereas the grilling and steaming for the crab was 108 yen each.
Pricing
Scallop Sashimi - 550 yen
King Crab - 6,580 yen
Kitchen Preparation - 432 yen
Additional Information
There's another section which was more supermarket-like. I am so glad i don't know how to read Japanese; if not, i might likely spend another bomb!
For my 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.