Hara Donuts 安心おやつ。。はらドーナッツ

Occasion: 食べ歩き on a Sunday afternoon

When: One lazy January weekend

Venue: Hara Donuts, PASEO WEST, 1F 

Address: Kita 6 Nishi 2 

(located right next door to Starbucks Coffee, PASEO Sapporo JR Station)

You would be surprise to know that i'm writing this blogpost at 5:05am. Why do I choose to write this topic at this very point of time? and why is this my first post for the year 2012?!  in which, btw, 

Happy New Year 2012 everybodehhhhhh.....

The answer is very simple. I crave it!

YES!! I AM CRAVING FOR A HARA DONUTS RIGHT NOW AT 5:07AM!! 

(yes, 2 minutes have passed....)

This craving caught me by surprise cause to be honest, it didn't blow my mind away on the first bite and it was pretty alright for me in regards to the taste. But i guess hara donuts are one of those stuff in life that grows onto me. Something good to have but not remembering it off for awhile then suddenly BAM!! one freaking morning when no form of life has awaken to embrace the world yet (okay.. maybe the roadside cleaner... or the drunk people dragging their feet home.. or 'whosoevernot'... but you get my point! And worst of all..... you can do nothing about your cravings cos the mall is not open for another 5 hours or so!! So what now?! ):

Back to this special donuts that is trolling me right now. What is Hara Donuts? (website: HERE)

The CNN calls it 'Japanese Boutique Donuts' (click HERE for article)

From some articles I've read, it is also called the friendly, healthy and HAPPY donuts. 

(Read more)

Some calls it 'Tofu Donuts".

Some DON'T EVEN call it a donut, cause it is made with 'tofu' 豆腐。Okay, more accurately it is made from 'okara', a by-product produced during the making of soy milk and tofu. Well known to be highly rich in fibre and very nutritious. 

It is really popular healthy snack take-out store that has branches all over Japan and one will always find a queue at its store front especially in Tokyo. Originally started from Kobe, its' latest addition smacked right at our door step at the newly renovated PASEO. If I am not mistaken, there is another outlet located somewhere between Odori and Susukino. 

If you are expecting Krispy Kreme and Mister Donut kind of donuts, boy, are you wrong?! It is definitely not and far fetched from tasting the same. In fact, on my first bite, it sort of reminded me one of the version of 'you tiao' or 'you zhao gui' 油炸鬼 back home in KL. If you can read Chinese/ Kanji, you would find that the characters I just typed is literrally translated to 'Oil Fried Ghost'. LOL. As for why it is call that, go wikipedia it or something k. BUT not today cos wikipedia shuts down today in protest for SOPA. If you do not know what SOPA is, go wikipedia that also on the following day! And by now, you would have made me very curious on what do you actually know?!!! Do you even read??!! *baffles* Anyway, back to the main topic, hara donuts reminded me of one of the doughy version of the 'you tiao' but not the same thing.

So, pictures of the day to tell the story as below:

Love the simplicity of the signboard and store concept.

There's a sitting area that fits probably 10 pax at most for those
that would like to order drinks to go with their hara donuts.

The famous Hara Donuts!! Yumms!! *salivate*

Little merchandises that is being offered for sale.
Think some proceeds go to the 'Dogs for the Blinds' Charity.

Friendly staffs and open- styled kitchen area possibly to promote
compliance and cleanliness. I like this kind of display. It makes
me feel as if they have nothing to hide. No dirty processes in
making my food that is to be consumed into my mouth! Silly much? hehe
And besides, it is always fun to watch how the food is created. (:

More hara donuts!!!!! Look at them so fresh and yummilicious looking!
They are quite a number of flavors to choose from!

Flavors you can find in Hara Donuts are such as listed on their website.

but I noticed that some of the offerings are new as one of the donuts we saw that day, tomato トマト flavored donuts, was not shown on the website. Apparently they have 日がわり (special offer of the day- ¥130~). Guess you need to go to the store to find out what is the special donut of the day. Some of the permanent flavors worth mentioning are such as コウチャ (black tea), ほうれん草 (spinach), にんじん (carrot), さくら (sakura). I find these flavors so different as compared to other donuts stores. Not only that, these flavors are so good too. Hara Donuts also offer the usual flavors of fruits (strawberries, lemon) as well as sweet flavors such as chocolates, white chocolates, coffee and etc. Prices range from ¥120- ¥160 per piece. 

'Food wikipedia' Tah with はらドーナッツ

My turn!! (:

By the time i took this pic, we've already started nomming. Hence
there's already 3 left in the bag.
Chose the original はらドーナッツ、丹波黒豆きなこ、コウチャ、チョコ
and i forgot what else. LOL.

As mentioned earlier, I didn't find it mind blowing at first. It wasn't love at first bite at all. I found it rather subtle and just a good snack at that time. BUT how the devil it crept up to me at this point of time!! At when I would have to sit around thinking about it non-stop while awaiting for the mall to open!!!! 

YOU SNEAKY DONUTS!!!!!!!!!! 

*waiving fist in the air*

Check out the queue formed. That happens regularly but it doesn't take too long.

Moi posing at the store front. what's new? hehe

Okay. That is all folks. I should continue sitting and waiting around like a mad woman until the time  can rush to the mall and get my fix of this little devils. Happy donuts... HAH!! They're right about it being called happy. I'm sure it has to do with being a healthy snack but as for my definition... I will feel happier once i get to sink my teeth onto these devils. Just as Homer would have said....

"DONUTS. Is there anything they can't do?" 

~Homer Simpson~

Aerosmith Live in Sapporo~ エアロスミス 札幌公演

Occasion: Aerosmith Concert Live in Sapporo 2011(For Official Band website: Click HERE)

When: 10th December 2011

Venue: Sapporo Dome 札幌 ドーム

Address: 1-3, Hitsukigaoka, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo (Access: Toho Line- 10 mins walk from Fukuzumi Station)

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la. 

Wishing all a very Merry Christmas (not too late since there is supposedly 12 days of Christmas.. hehe) and a Happy New Year to you all out there!!! (:

This is suppose to be the season of joy and I wish I share the same happy sentiment as you guys. Unfortunately, I couldn't say it is and shall not pretend it is anyway. Lots happening right now and I am just blessed that special holiday occasions like these make me feel more love and appreciative of things I have with me. I guess that's what Christmas spirit is all about. It has been a tough month for me and I just hope that the worst will be over soon enough. A new year hopefully will bring me a new start! Nothing wrong with wishful thinking right?! It's all about positivity!! (:

Right! Enough ranting over here.. anyway, I am glad to say that I've attended one of the most happening concert in Sapporo this month!! AEROSMITH was in town!! Ohmaikot!!! *screams like crazy girl and pulls hair* LOL

It was fantabulous to the max!! They are definitely a great live band. You know how some people say that some bands are just not up for it? They can't go live and only good on studio-recorded audio? Well, NOT THEM!! They were just great all the way through.. Their performance was awesome and got me high on adrenalin rush at all time. I was glad my heart didn't palpitate wildly and burst out at some point causing me to die unexpectedly!!

Anyway, as usual caused i'm nice liddat, and for those who doesn't know them... (ohmaikot!! are you for real??!! Seriously?! *face palm* ..

Below is a brief about them as taken off wikipedia,

Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, including 66.5 million albums in the United States alone. They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine number-one Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and were included among both Rolling Stone's and VH1's lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

As usual, I'll let the photos from that day do the talking for me. Enjoy!

Check out the crowd man... Superb!

Steve Tyler, the man himself (:

Joe Perry, guitar. He was quite a big hit that nite, the crowd went
crazy for him.

Joey Kramer, drum. Performing solo at an interval. Great showmanship!
Have I ever mentioned before, besides the bass, my other fav
would always be the drummer (:

Tyler joining Kramer on the drums! Good job! (:

For someone at 63 year old, he can sure ROCK!! 

Looks like Tom Hamilton there playing Bass..

Getting the crowd to sing to his leopard printed scarfed mic!

Piano performance on 'Dream On'- my favorite!!

until he decided to get on top of it and ROCK IT!

That man sure got charisma aitelyu!!

The whole band has got it!

Joe Perry on the big screen!

Tyler looked as if he got sent down from above.
It was a great live concert!

Tribute to the Japanese for the 311 incident

They performed a lot of their greatest hits such as Angel, Crazy, Love in an Elevator, I Don't Want to Miss A Thing and many more!!

I didn't know some of the songs but yet that didn't stop me from bopping my arms and head along with the amazing live performance they've put on. It was incredible! The energy that channeled to the crowd made them unstoppable. 

Some of the concert goers of that day
(K, T, Gel, Moi and Big Guy)

The WHOLE group that gone for the concert that day!
Special mention to Dino and Li for the great photos!

Last but not least, found this video shared on YouTube (credit given to thelujinjbj). Here, you can see how amazingly strong Tyler's vocal is performing "Dream On" on top of a piano. Cool siut! It is definitely my favorite song from their greatest hits album. Too bad, there isn't an official music video made for this song. ):

Gonna end this post with something familiar and definitely one of everybody's favorite from their greatest hits, "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing", soundtrack of the movie 'Armageddon'.

"Every life has a measure of sorrow, and sometimes this is what awakens us."

~ Steven Tyler~

Autumn Canoeing in Jozankei 定山渓で秋のカヌー

Occasion: Autumn Season Canadian Canoeing at Jozankei

When: End of October, Autumn 

Venue: Toyohira River 豊平川, Jozankei 定山渓　

Meeting point: Foot bath "Ashi-no-fureai Taro no Yu" 

(Organiser will provide pick-up service from this point- kindly make prior reservation before going) For more info, click HERE

I know i know.. it was already the end of Autumn a few days ago. We've experienced our first snow just mid of last week. I should remember that night very clearly cos I rode home on my bicycle from Kita 24 in the heavy snow with practically nothing on but donning my leather jacket that comes handy with a hoodie and especially brave through the snow with NO GLOVES on!!! I had to count my fingers by the time I reached home to make sure I have still got all 10 of them with me!! You want to see the end results of my first snow experience?!

TA-DAH!!!! LMAO...

My hair was so heavy with wet snow by the time
I reached home and yet I can smile for the camera (:

Anyway, back to the topic of our little group excursion canoeing at Jozankei the Canadian style. If you wonder the same thing as I did earlier, why Canadian style?! Well according to wikipedia, apparently, the American calls it 'canoe' and the English calls it 'Canadian canoe', which basically is the same sport. Besides that, canoe uses paddling and not the typical rowing. When paddles, one will face the direction they are heading to, in contrast to rowing, where one will face the opposite direction instead. *now it's time to use your imagination and it will make sense to you* (but if it still doesn't make any sense, ermm... i'm sorry for you)

I heard so much rave about the awesome-ness of the autumn leaves outside on the mountains of Hokkaido and took this opportunity to check out the wilderness by what more seems to be the best idea of all, by strolling down the Toyohira River and feast our eyes and senses with these beauties. 

I'll let the pictures do all the talking... (:

Check out the gorgeous view of Jozankei cruising down the river

the gorgeous red bridge, the reflection on the clear river and
amazing breath taking view of the autumn moutains

Me and my partner in crime, Dino all prepped for take-off!

"Ahoy" there (:

I spot enemies rowing close by... *takes out my weapon*

nothing to fear in the end cos enemies rowing skills were so bad
i almost died laughing!! LOL
Here you see them rowing to the hit the river banks for the gazillion-th times!

Goofy 'enemies' from L-R:
Lan, Tah and Gie (:

Spectacular backdrop (:

It was a sweet coincidence to bump into these 2 here (:
Ren and his gf

Dino, my rowing partner who kept insisting he did
most of the hard work of rowing.. which of course he LIED!

I rowed just as hard too okay.. 

Group photos of the rowers that day (: Basically everybody somehow
knows everybody here except for the honeymooners hailed from HK at far left

After the excursion that probably lasted about 1 hour including prep time, we left the river satisfied (: Everybody enjoyed the little cruise down the gorgeous river line and mesmerized from the autumn backdrop. We then decided to take a little walk around Jozankei to check out what else this small little town has to offer besides being the famous location for onsen (hot spring bath). 

It drizzled slightly in the morning before our canoe ride

Came across this cute little hot water fountain that has duckies on them
*quack*

Hot spring smoke emits from the wall of the mountain here
.. feels so surreal

Cheeky Gie got caught red handed!

Nearest water fall around the area

Group photo!!
L-R: Tah, Gie, Moi, Lan and Dino

With that, that ends our day trip Canadian canoeing down Toyohira River at Jozankei. On the same night, we went celebrating Halloween in town. I've blogged about that HERE if you have not read it yet. GO READ IT!! What chu waiting for??!! 

Last but not least, as true to my common style, enclosed is another vain pic of moi to end this blog post. Muaks.. till then.. have a great week ahead. (: 

A very happy moi (:

"Row, row, row your boat,

                                   Gently down the stream.

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream" 

~Unknown~