After my brief stop at Tokyo, I headed up to Sapporo to check out the Sapporo Snow Festival before transiting to Niseko for some snowboarding. I had one night at Sapporo (should’ve planned a longer stay…) and whilst searching for some food, I stumbled across Ippudo Ramen. At this point in the trip I hadn’t eaten any ramen yet, and with the weather averaging a chilling -8°C daily, there was nothing I wanted more than a hot bowl of ramen!
Since Ippudo is a global chain restaurant, I was quite happy to find out that they offered both Japanese and English menus. The selection is a lot smaller than what is available at the Sydney branch, but the pricing is so much more affordable (upwards of 30% cheaper depending on what you order).
Gyoza (10 pieces) – ¥420
For a starter, I decided to get the gyoza (pan-fried dumplings) which were miniature and bite sized. Although small, they’re perfect for sharing and are juicy and delicious, matching well with a side of gyoza sauce.
Shiromaru with Cha-Shu – ¥980
I also opted for the Shiromaru ramen, which is their original tonkotsu broth served with thin noodles and their signature ramen. Japan’s Ippudo branches don’t offer the option of cooking noodles to a soft/medium/hard consistency as they all come out at a medium consistency. I absolutely loved it – hearty, full bodied and oh so delicious. What I especially liked though was since I ordered the cha-shu version, it comes with extra slices of pork. There was a total of eight slices of pork. EIGHT!!! Yes you heard me right! Sydney just gives you an extra two, but hidden in all that soup were eight pieces of pork, absolutely loving the generosity here.
If this is an indication of what other Ippudo branches are like across Japan, I can’t wait to return. Affordable, tasty and warming, it’s definitely worth checking out if you head to Sapporo.
Ippudo Sapporo
6 Chome-8 Minami 3 Jōnishi Chūō-ku
Sapporo-shi, Hokkaidō 060-0063 Japan
Ph:+81 11-252-5505
