EDITORIALS
Sapporo Rakkyo, the original Sapporo Soup Curry, uses a fantastic onion called "Sapporo Yolk" to make its soup.
Sapporo Rakkyo is located a two-minute walk from JR Kotoni Station in Sapporo, and is one of the famous restaurants that have led the Sapporo soup curry boom since its establishment in 1999 in Kotoni, Nishi-ku. With a theme of simple and standard flavors, the restaurant is popular for its soup that incorporates many Hokkaido ingredients. We visited Kotoni to find out the reason for the long-lasting popularity.
- Sapporo yellow, a traditional vegetable, is the key to the soup's flavor.
- Shiretoko chicken that is moist, tender, and full of umami
- High-quality ingredients purchased from contract farmers throughout Hokkaido
- You will be tempted to ask for more! Popular side dishes
- Cherish the place where the restaurant was founded. Aiming to be a restaurant loved by the locals.
The traditional vegetable "Sapporo yellow" is the key to the soup's flavor.
If the timing is right, you can even find their famous "Sapporo yellow" in stores.
The soup is made from chicken, pork, and beef bones, and uses "Sapporo yellow" onions, a traditional vegetable grown in the suburbs of Sapporo. While common varieties have a sugar content of about 9 degrees, Sapporo Yellow has a sugar content of 13 degrees. This is as sweet as fruits such as strawberries and apples. It is simmered with other aromatic vegetables for more than 10 hours and then left to rest overnight to bring out its richness and natural sweetness. Twenty-five spices are used in the soup. Freshly shaved spices are used to bring out their fresh aroma.
Shiretoko chicken is moist, tender, and full of umami flavor.
Shiretoko chicken soup curry" 1,530 yen. The chicken thigh weighs 350 grams, making it a satisfying meal. At the main restaurant, you can choose between brown rice and white rice.
The most popular dish at the restaurant is the Shiretoko Chicken Soup Curry. Shiretoko chicken is plump and tender, with a rich chicken flavor. Shiretoko chicken is now used in many soup curry restaurants, but it is said that "Rakkyo" started using it. The chicken thigh is slow-cooked for more than two hours, and is so tender that each fiber of the meat loosens in the mouth. The meat is covered with the broth, and the aroma of spices fills your mouth along with the juices.
High-quality ingredients are purchased from contract farmers throughout Hokkaido.
Dorobuta Hamburger Soup Curry" 1,680 yen. The juicy hamburger steak weighs 120 grams and is served with plenty of vegetables from Hokkaido, including sweet potatoes from Hakodate, maitake mushrooms from Aibetsu, and potatoes from Toya.
RACKYO aims for local production for local consumption and uses only Hokkaido produce whenever possible. Each vegetable is delivered from farmers all over Hokkaido, and depending on the time of year, rice is freshly harvested from Yamauchi Farm in Atsuta Town. At times, staff members even visit local farmers to help with the harvest. For more than 20 years since our establishment, we have valued our relationships with producers.
You will be tempted to ask for more! Popular side dishes
Tandoori Zangi" (180 yen for 1 piece, 340 yen for 2 pieces, 480 yen for 3 pieces) with spices that stimulate your taste buds. You can eat it as it is or use it as a topping for curry.
Side dishes such as "Tandoori Zangi," which is marinated in homemade spices for a day and deep-fried to a crispy, savory perfection, and "Haskap Lassi," which has a mildly sweet and fresh sour taste that is addictive, are also very popular. The monthly limited-edition curries and seasonal gelato on the menu also make for an exciting visit at any time of the year.
Haskap Lassi" 440 yen. It is made with haskap sourced from Tomari Farm in Nayoro City. The crisp acidity gives it a refreshing aftertaste. Gum syrup can be added according to taste.
Cherish the place where the company was founded. Aiming to be a store loved by locals.
Yuichi Abiko, director of the management company "SPICE GO GO," was a regular customer 20 years ago and fell in love with the taste so much that he joined the company.
The restaurant offers a daily curry special for the neighborhood to enjoy any time of the day, and on the first and third Fridays of each month, half-price promotions are offered to those 65 years of age and older. Also, every Tuesday, the restaurant offers "children's curry" for children of elementary school age and younger for as little as 100 yen. Proceeds from these sales are donated to the City of Sapporo's children's support activities.
Although the restaurant is now nationally known, Abiko says, "We would like to continue to operate as a locally-rooted curry restaurant, while maintaining close ties with Kotoni, where the restaurant was founded, and with Sapporo.
Sapporo Rakkyo
Location: Capitaine Kotoni 1F, 1-7-7 Kotoni 1jo, Nishi-ku, Sapporo
Open: 11:00~21:00
Closed: 3rd Wednesday of the month
For details and map information of Sapporo Rakkyo, click here.
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Writer Profile
Magazine/Book Editor & Writer Kyohei Yamashita
While working as a program producer at a radio station, he began producing mini-comm magazines and writing for magazines. Later, he joined a publishing company as an editor and has worked on various articles, mainly for town information magazines. His favorite things are cooking, mountain climbing, river fishing, and stone monuments in Sapporo. He lives in Minami-ku, Sapporo and loves Minami-ku very much.
