Sapporo Rakkyo is located a two-minute walk from JR Kotoni Station in Sapporo. Founded in Kotoni, Nishi Ward in 1999, it is one of the famous restaurants that led the soup curry boom in Sapporo. The popular ramen is based on a theme of simple and standard flavors, and incorporates plenty of ingredients from Hokkaido. We visited Kotoni to find out the reason for its long-standing popularity.

If you're lucky, you might even find the famous Sapporo Yellow on sale 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 regular varieties have a sugar content of around 9 degrees, Sapporo Yellow onions have a sugar content of 13 degrees, making them as sweet as fruits such as strawberries and apples. They are simmered with other aromatic vegetables for over 10 hours and then left to sit overnight to bring out the rich flavor and natural sweetness. 25 types of spices are added to the soup. Freshly grated spices are used to bring out the fresh aroma.

"Shiretoko Chicken Soup Curry" is 1,530 yen. It has 350g of chicken thigh meat, so it's very filling. At the main store, you can choose between brown rice or white rice.

The most popular dish at the restaurant is "Shiretoko Chicken Soup Curry." Shiretoko chicken has plump and tender meat with a rich chicken flavor. Shiretoko chicken is now used in a variety of soup curry restaurants, but it is said that it was the pickled radish that first started using it. The thigh meat is simmered for over two hours, so tender that every fiber falls apart when you put it in your mouth. It is well coated with soup, and the aroma of spices spreads throughout your mouth along with the meat juices.

"Muddy pork hamburger soup curry" is 1,680 yen. The hamburger is 120g and is full of juice. It is also packed with Hokkaido vegetables such as sweet potatoes from Hakodate, maitake mushrooms from Aibetsu, and potatoes from Toya.

Rakkyo aims to use locally produced ingredients for local consumption, and as much as possible, they use ingredients from Hokkaido. Each vegetable is delivered from farmers all over Hokkaido, and depending on the season, they use newly harvested rice from Yamauchi Farm in Atsuta Town. Sometimes, staff visit local farmers and help with the harvest. For over 20 years since the establishment, they have treasured their connections with producers.

The spices of the "Tandoori Zangi" will stimulate your taste buds and cost 180 yen each (340 yen for 2, 480 yen for 3). You can eat it as 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 then deep-fried until crispy and fragrant, and "Haskap Lassi," which has a mellow sweetness and fresh acidity that will become addictive, are also very popular. The menu also features monthly limited edition curries and seasonal gelato, so there is always something exciting to visit.

"Haskap Lassi" 440 yen. Made with haskap purchased from Tomari Farm in Nayoro City. It has a crisp sour taste with a clean aftertaste. You can add gum syrup to your liking.

Yuichi Abiko, a director of the operating company "SPICE GO GO," was a regular customer 20 years ago and fell in love with the food, which led him to join the company.

They offer a different curry every day so that locals can enjoy themselves whenever they visit, and on the first and third Friday of every month they run a half-price campaign for people aged 65 and over. Also, every Tuesday they offer a "kids' curry" for just 100 yen for children of elementary school age or younger. The proceeds from this are donated to support children in Sapporo.

Although the restaurant is now known nationwide, Abiko says, "We want to continue to cherish our ties with Kotoni, where the restaurant was founded, and continue operating as a curry restaurant with roots in the local community."

Sapporo shallots

■Address: 1F Capitaine Kotoni, 1-1-7-7 Kotoni 1-jo, Nishi-ku, Sapporo ■ Business hours: 11:00~21:00 ■Closed on the third Wednesday of every month For details and maps of "Sapporo Rakkyo", please click here.

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