Le Petit Boule Chocolatier Sapporo

Occasion: Post 'Culture Day' event

When: Tea time

Venue: Le Petit Boule Chocolatier

Address: Kita 1 Nishi 8

URL: http://lepetitboule.web.fc2.com/ 

Just the other day right after attending 'Cultural Day', a bunch of us decided to do a pit stop at a cafe for a quick drink before we head back on our separate ways. It was by chance that when we were walking along the street when I spotted this gorgeous looking cafe right across the street. This led to a discovery of chocolate haven  in Sapporo smacked right in the middle of town! Definitely making moi a very happy girl! (:

Le Petit Boule in French is translated as 'The Small Ball'. I guess that the name was derived from the chocolate truffle balls that the store is selling. Chocolates... yummmss.... lovely lovely chocolates.. anyway, thought I'll share what I found in the web about the chocolate goodness!! These babies are not just tasty on our palates but also bring many goodness to our diet. Here are some as below (taken off Women'sHealth):

• Eating chocolates lead to a healthier heart
• Promotes weight loss- Only applicable to dark chocolate cos dark chocolate lessens cravings for sweet, salty and fatty foods
• Happier kids!! Women who ate chocolate daily during their pregnancy reported that they were better able to handles stress than mothers who abstained!!
• Researchers in Italy proven that chocolates can even prevent diabetes
• Chocolates help reduce stress!! We all knew that since ages ago!! It's better to go on emotional eating on dark chocolates rather than a pint of ice cream when one break up. It is definitely a more healthier choice of indulgence.
• It also serves as sun protection. Apparently it only works for chocolates that contain high levels of flavanols. Non comprehendo? ask google お願いします
• It makes you smarter too!! Wow!! okay... *grabs chocolates now and stuff into mouth*
• Helps surpress cough. Works better than traditional medicine and definitely tastes even better!! yumms
• Diarrhea relief. End of story.

Anyway, enough of the trivia and here comes the photos:

Us (minus Gie who was the photographer)

Grand settings of the shop

Arrays of yummilicious chocolates

what's in store for the customers

Small little sweet delights that both men and women would enjoy!

Heart melts <3 <3

Check out the huge easter egg at the back!

Le petit boule... oo la la.. (:

Super huge chocolate statue! too pretty to be eaten!

More choco sculpture!! 

check out the exquisite details

More reasons to be here!! Cakes, cakes and more cakes!!

You're at the right place if you're a sweet- toothed kind of person

<3 <3 <3

Important chocolate connoisseurs in actions!

Compagnie Francaise des Chocolats et des thes
Not sure what it means but something about chocolate and tea.

I didn't manage to take photo of everybody's cake since they were so pretty that some of us had gobbled it down before I can whip out my camera. LOL. Note: they served complimentary iced tea to each person who orders a dessert.

My piece of strawberry, blueberry chocolate cake. 

Tiramisu

Verdict: The cakes were very pretty and tasted not too bad. However, I've tasted better cakes so I deemed the cake on an average note. BUT the le petit boule turns out to be the reason why this shop is da bomb. (:

The group while waiting for their yummies. Le petit boule has a
small seating area that can fit at least 8-9 pax.

Give me some chocolate love (:

With that, here I end my usual entry with a quote.

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." 

~Charles M. Schulz~

又造ラーメン屋 Lemon Salt Flavored Tsukemen @ レモン塩つけ麺

Occasion: 食べ歩き on a Tuesday evening

When: Dinner Time

Venue: 又造　ラーメン屋 (Matazou Ramen Shop)

Address: Kita 13 Nishi 3

(located right next door to a parking lot with a small salon situated beside it)

So, I have another great eatery to share with you guys. It's a true gem to be honest. I went there again last night with Tah and Dino and it still taste just as good as I remembered it to be. 

又造 (pronounced as mata zou) is a dainty little ramen shop that serves a variety of the usual choices of ramen but what makes it so special to me is that it serves:

#1. つけ麺 (tsukemen) - ramen dip into a bowl of cold/ hot sauce (optional)

#2. Lemon salt flavored soup (lemon fanatic is ME!) hehe

The first time I was there was in the beginning of January. I remember how the little door frame called out to me and also the blue red flags were beckoning me to go in. Then, good thing I had a lunch date with TT and we decided to try out this new eatery. There was no turning back since then.

I didn't post an entry about this place earlier was because I was selfish to not want to share this amazing eatery with everybody :p

Well, I can't hold back anymore and 

HERE YOU GO!! EVERYTHING IS OUT!! GO BOMBARD THIS PLACE! JUST PLEASE HAVE SOME MERCY AND LEAVE SOME つけ麺 FOR ME!!

Last night, Tah suggested to have dinner there after me raving to him how good it was since gazillion years ago. He was craving for ramen and I was just happy to go eat something I know is gonna be awesome. Dino is lucky enough to bump into Tah downstairs my place and so happened to be available for dinner hence he successfully got accepted to join the 'special secret ramen place' that was initially by invitation only. *cough cough*

Anyway, the secret is revealed as below:

(pardon the quality inconsistency of the pictures as they were taken on separate occasions, different seasons and camera tools)

Shopfront of 又造ラーメン屋 (taken early January. Note the snow on the ground)

The owner/ chef with his signature hat. Don't expect him to smile and
also he usually look less frenly but I think that is because he has a 'cool guy' image to uphold.
LOL

This is where the goodies are!!! おすすめメニュー
The above board lists the shop's specialty ramen/ tsukemen with
over the top flavors to choose from.
Spicy Miso Ramen ¥800
Lemon Salt Ramen ¥700
Lemon Salt Tsukemen (Dip sauce noodle) ¥800 (noodles used here is different than ramen)
Spicy Miso Tsukemen ¥850

The restaurant's permanent menu
(usual choices of miso, shio, shoyu ramen and tsukemen)
Also offers rice and additional toppings such as 'char siu' and etc.

My favorite!!!
Lemon Salt Flavored Tsukemen.
I ordered the cold dip rather than the hot sauce dip as recommended by the owner.

The sauce dip closed up! Oh my, my saliva gland just
got activated. I can actually taste the lemony sauce
in my mouth right now with lots and lots of floating leek!

The cold noodles hidden below the generous portion of
'Char siu', 半熟卵 'hanjukutamago' (half boiled egg), shredded leeks,
diced onions, seaweed and dashes of spices and ground black pepper.

Obligatory photo of moi in my first visit at this eatery.
(pardon the finger cos obviously TT has great skills in taking photographs. Just kidding :p)

Happy TT with her yummy food!

Photos from last night:

The boys.
Dino happily obliged for a photo request while Tah is obviously
not a very happy fella when his meal gets interrupted. ROARrrrr...

His so- called best 'smile' for the camera! Pissy much!! 

Oh btw, the boys both ordered the lemon salt flavored RAMEN instead
and decided to top it up with additional 'char siu' slices for extra ¥150.
Good deal!

Finally, the very happy customers of the night!!
SATISFACTION TO THE MAX!!

Okay. Now that you guys know where to find awesome ramen and tsukemen with special lemon flavored soup, feel free to check out this place.

As for me, I shall continue with my quest to discover what's worth sharing here in Sapporo and my forever hope to lose weight. Ermmm.. not so convincing right since most of my blog entries are about food! LOL

Till then, toodles.

ALL for ¥600!!!! Samurai Soup Curry 5th Anniversary

Hello there.. I know it has been awhile since I last posted here. I was away traveling during that period of time but trust me when I say that I feel really sorry about neglecting this site for a little while. Sincerest apology on that.

I have a lot of happenings to share namely the snowboarding excursion at Niseko, the 63rd Sapporo Snow Festival and etc. So stay tuned for more updates from me! (:

Anyway, today is just gonna be a quick post cos this offer is just too amazing!! 

Samurai soup curry which I've blogged right (click HERE) before I disappeared couple of weeks ago has hit its 5th year in business. To show appreciation and have their loyal customers celebrate this wonderful affair with them, they decided to offer 4 of their popular soup curry mains at more than 50% off!! To be honest, I actually saw this promotion a little more than a month ago and had it noted down on my iPhone calendar with a reminder set 2 days in advanced so that I can make a date with my friends to go with me and enjoy it together. Good things are meant to share you know!! hahaha.. So with that, I am sharing this with you guys too. Offer is made for today (March 28th) and 

TOMORROW (March 29th)!!!

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT DEAL!!!

If you are a soup curry fanatic, this is one of the best gift ever.

If you have not tried soup curry or patronize Samurai Soup Curry before, good time to try cos normally their soup curry is priced slightly higher than other establishments. If you are not sure if you want to pay the higher price without knowing if it tastes as good (you don't trust my taste.. hmmpfff ):), you can take this opportunity to try this yummillicous at HALF the PRICE!!

So, pictures for your reference.

You can choose any of the 4 popular dishes as listed for ¥600!!!
(Translated roughly)
- Chicken and Vegetables (usual price: ¥1150)
-Pork (fatty) and Vegetables: (usual price: ¥1150
-1/2 Chicken with Pork (fatty) : (usual price: ¥1250)
- 23 types of seasonal vegetables: (usual price: ¥1250)

I took the opportunity to try out チキン１／２豚角煮
and with the savings made, I ordered coconut soup (¥100),
サクサクブロコリ(¥150)
hehehe.. smart or not?!! *tap temple*
even after adding all these additional toppings,
I still pay less than the usual price minus topping!! Yay!!
TOTAL: ¥850 vs. (n.p: ¥1500) 

Happy moi with my bowl of yummillicious (:

Tah (#1 avid soup curry lover I've known) came along with me (:
cos he knows good stuff when it comes to food!!  

He ordered his favorite チキン野菜 with regular soup (FOC),
but spiciness level of 6 (¥100)
サクサクブロコリ(¥150) and 揚げごぼ (¥150)
TOTAL: ¥1000 vs. (n.p.: ¥1550)

Anyway, while eating, I noticed that they serve dessert- Vanilla Ice Cream at a very cheap price. So, if you would like to try that, you can order it ¥180 only with any flavor topping of your choice. Just thought it's nice to share after a spicy meal. (: Who can say no to ICE CREAM right?!! hehe

Topping of choice:
Strawberry, Chocolate, melon and
 some berry (i can't tell cos image was not clear, sorry!)

The aftermath of a very happy lunch!!!
We both licked the bowl clean!! LOL

We'll definitely be back there tomorrow evening to grab hold of this great offer!! So please don't go there and fight with me for seats. You can go there for breakfast or lunch but not dinner cos I don't want to wait too long for my food!! Don't say I don't share this with you!! Good things are meant to share so go check this out tomorrow!! You won't regret it! (maybe except you gain a few extra calories from all the carbs). hehe..

"Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others." 

~Brian Tracy~

Soup Curry SAMURAI スープカリイ

I AM SUPER HUNGRY NOW I CAN EAT A HORSE!!!!!

Occasion: Dinner on a Weekday

When: Whenever the craving calls for it..

Venue: Soup Curry SAMURAI

Address: North 19 West 4 (there are a few more outlets available. Click HERE)

If you've read my previous post on Cocoro soup curry, you know that I'm a big fan of soup curry. Just thinking of these 2 wonderful words out loud also can make me salivate!! *wipe saliva off chin*

Not going into details to explain what is soup curry all over again, but if you want a brief intro, click and read my previous post HERE. Instructions on how to order is available as well.

Anyway, back to this heavenly new place that Tah intro-ed to me not too long ago. To be honest, I read about its Susukino outlet before, but never got around to trying it out. But finally, the man himself took me there. The soup was amazing and best of all................ it was the サクサク ブロッコリpronounced 'sakusaku broccoli'. In Hokkaido, the fresh vegetables here are to die for. True story! And coat this fresh green awesomeness with garlic and deep fry it.......... need I say more??!!!!! *salivate*

Enough text!!! Here comes the pictures!!!

Vintage looking chopstick box.. nice!

You can locate the nearest SAMURAI place to you

We went about almost 9.30pm and the place was no longer
packed which is very rare to be honest.

Floor sitting area for larger group of customers

Here comes the yummy!!!! Tah ordered some 'natto' thingy.
It was an excellent choice cos we both love natto anyway.
Try it if you are feeling adventurous. hehe

My order!!!! I usually go for:
Main: チキン野菜 (chicken veggie) ¥1150
Soup: Regular (FOC), you can choose other soup for an extra fee
Spicy: No. 4 (perfect level of spiciness)
Topping: サクサクブロッコリadditional ¥150

Look at that!!!! Need i say more??!1

サクサクブロッコリ is da bomb aitelyu!!!

Finally, ending it with a pic of moi. Thousand apologies on the
tired looking me. It was a long day.

Anyway, I am absolutely head over heels in love with soup curry. Drop me a note if you think there are more to-die-for soup curry restaurants that i should go check it out. Mean time, I shall try not to get fat from all these indulgences. DAMN!! It's hard being a woman.. #firstworldpains

"I eat merely to put food out of my mind."  

~by N.F. Simpson~