On November 24th, I went to Sapporo to meet up with my friend and hang out. It’s cozy season, which is the perfect time of year for hot pot. My friend’s never had hot pot before, so I was honored to be her first hot pot buddy!
After getting off my usual bus, I headed to Daimaru, because there was a pop up for Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary there! There was a ton of merch, and although many were appealing, I restrained myself. Nothing felt like a strong need, other than “Oh my gosh that’s so cute!” at every corner.
There was also this giant plush at the front. There’s a price tag, but I wonder if it was actually for sale?
I went from one Sanrio shop to another, as the permanent Sanrio store in Apia just stocked their Precure collab goods a few days ago. Unfortunately, they already sold out of individual merchandise (that wasn’t a blind box) of my favorite character, so I bought the tote bag. Another one to add to my growing tote collection…
I met up with my friend at 11:30 at the train station, and we headed over to our hot pot restaurant! Although our reservation was at 12, they let us in early. We opted for the Beef tongue course, which includes all the sides, along with chicken thigh, pork, beef, and beef tongue. The all-you-can-eat lasts 120 minutes, with last orders taken 30 minutes before. As with the other times I’ve been, they start off with a seasonal veggie box, and larger plates of meat. In this course, the plates start off with a beef tongue plate, and a pork plate. Further orders are via QR code on your phone.
This was my first time getting hot pot tongue at Retasu. Sizing was variable, but overall the meat was good quality and very yummy. This time, I made sure to ask about the complementary dessert at the end. Last time, we just walked right out after the main hot pot and paid…The options were matcha tiramisu, hojicha tiramisu, and a seasonal gelato assortment. Oddly enough, the “seasonal” flavors were one scoop of strawberry (very not seasonal for fall), and one scoop of matcha. My friend got the gelato, and I went for the hojicha tiramisu. The tiramisu was very creamy, with a nice balance of hojicha powder to cream (no cookies inside though).
Full from our hot pot lunch, we walked over to Aurora Town to check out the Harry Potter pop-up shop. I believe this shop opened in September, and will be around until mid January. There were some cool merchandise, and my friend bought a mug.
We headed upstairs to Odori Park to check out the annual German Christmas Market! The area smelled so good, like warm holiday spices, and I think the goods selection at the shops are slightly different! We both bought a few things.
My friend was craving ice cream, so we headed back downstairs so she could stop by Baskin Robbins. I opted to get a parfait instead, and after she finished her ice cream, we went to Initial. She ordered their housemade strawberry ginger ale, and I got the seasonal persimmon parfait. It comes with a spiced pie stick, a housemade sweet potato pastry, a housemade gateu chocolat, Crème Chantilly, fresh persimmon, a charred persimmon, raspberry, cassis gelato, hokkaido milk gelato, houjicha mousse, apricot sauce, mochi, brown sugar streusel, persimmon and blackpepper marinade, and yuzu jelly.
I have mixed feelings about this parfait. The cakes were both really smooth, and both had a fudge-like texture. I love persimmons, and was happy with the persimmon slices on top, and the smaller chunks in the parfait. The pie stick was crispy, with a hint of spiciness from the pepper. I liked the crumble (very granola like), and the hojicha mousse was light and fluffy. The cassis gelato was a bit on the tart side for me, and at some point at the bottom, the black pepper marinade became really strong. I do not like yuzu, so I really need to stop ordering things with yuzu…I do recommend the cafe ambiance though!
It was getting dark (the sun sets at 4 in the winter!), so we decided to call it a day. Before getting on the bus together, I got a boba for the bus ride home. Read about my boba here!
We rode the bus at 5 to go home!
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