Friday, April 17, 2009

Wild Bills, Niseko Hirafu

Wild Bills is the best bar in Niseko.  It's where you'll find the most generously poured drinks in the whole village, there's always some familiar local faces and of course there's the ever gracious Brett and Takayo.  Oh, and we can't forget the mean tex-mex they dish up earlier in the evening, before the music is cranked and the drinks start flowing.

Upon looking through the menu we both notice 'Wild Bills Pils'.  We need 2 of them.  They arrive in an Otaru bottle but have a Wild Bills label.  Tres cool.  This is bottled especially for them by the local Otaru brewery.  It's a very nice pilsner, and it just gets our taste buds anticipating the food to come.

Hokkaido

The first to arrive, onion rings.  Yes, these truly are the best onion rings in the world.  Hokkaido onions are just so sweet and juicy, these ones hand cut into giant rings.  They are then beer battered and fried to a delectable crisp.  There's some ketchup and sweet chilli to the side, my dip of choice, definitely sweet chilli.

Hokkaido

Chips & con Queso dip arrive.  A bowl a golden corn chips with a little pool of cheesy dip for dipping.  Mm.

Hokkaido

Buffalo wings.  Now, I don't know whether it's the wings or the blue cheese sauce I like more ...  Although if you gave me a big bowl of blue cheese sauce and those crisp celery sticks to dip into it, I think I'd be just as happy.

Hokkaido

The taco salad arrives like a little up-side down hat filled with jewels.  The crispy 'hat' holding jewels of baby lettuce, onion, chicken, spring onion and roasted peppers all adorned with a generous sour cream dressing.

Hokkaido

Indeed the mega-nacho's are mega!  We have chosen the pork variety this evening.  They are sizzling away on a cast iron plate.  The chunks of pork have been cooked with onions, peppers and plenty of spice and are resting on top of the corn chips.  There's loads of grilled cheese that's then topped with plenty of shredded ice-berg lettuce, salsa and sour cream.  

Hokkaido

Brett tells us the prawn quesadillas are his must-do hangover brunch.  We're not yet hungover, but they still hit the spot!  The gooey filling has big chunks of shrimp and a nice little spice.  They're grilled to perfection, the tortilla even holding it's own against the weight of all that cheese when picked up.  There's some seasoned rice, salsa, sour cream and a few jalapeno's of to the side which are savoured with each mouthful.  

Hokkaido

We even manage to fit in dessert tonight.  The Sopapilla.  It's like a fried apple burrito, a sweet crunchy pastry casing holding some delicious apple-pie-like filling. There's even some grilled banana, and it's all generously drizzled with honey and 2 balls of vanilla ice-cream.  (and Takayo has plated it just so, it does look a little rude ;))

Hokkaido

Wild Bills is definitely the best place to finish ones night in Niseko, but it's also a damn fine place to begin one as well.

Wild Bills
189-8 Aza Yamada,
Abuta-gun,
Kutchan-cho,
Hokkaido, Japan
T: +81 (0)136-22-5652
Winter season open daily from 5:30pm until 1am
Food last order, 9:30pm

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