Putting down a Hāngi at the Brick

Last night the community was treated to a traditional style Maori hangi at the Brick. People trickled in all afternoon, inspecting the coals and pile of mud in anticipation.

Games of frisbee and cricket were played on the street and many beers were drunk. Until there was movement ... shovels ... and the unveiling began.

This was my first experience of a Hangi ... I wasn't too sure what to expect as they were shoveling away the dirt, but then came sheets of cloth ...

Followed by layers of heshen sacks.

Then wire baskets were removed from the steaming pit. The top one containing potatoes and cabbage. As the next baskets were being removed, it was as if they were holding little treasures. Each one clearly containing something different, but everything was wrapped in Fuku leaves, which are a type of wild plant that has a stem like rhubarb and giant lilly like leaves.

The first basket to be attacked contained the potatoes and cabbage.

I did manage to take a plate and chopsticks from the pile, but somehow completely failed to get any salad at all ... must have consciously been saving more room for meat!

Oh, the meat. Whole chickens with stuffing, roast lamb with rosemary and roast pork with pumpkin, cinnamon, thyme & sugar.

Lucky I saved all that room with no salad, as the first plate disappeared in a flash, and seconds ... then thirds, soon followed.

The roast chicken was so moist, steamed under the earth with so much natural flavor. The pork and pumpkin combo just perfect. The roast lamb, ahhhh, reminds me of home. The potatoes, would have like to have some sour cream and chives to slather on top, they were just lacking any character - possibly due to the fact they are last seasons harvest ... We are eagerly awaiting delicious new season Kutchan potatoes. But the cabbage, oh ... my ... goodness. This humble little vegetable was the standout amongst the crowd for the whole night. The core was removed and filled with butter and Mae Ploy Thai Green Curry Paste. The cabbage was meltingly tender, oh-so-buttery and with a nice hint of spice. Genius!

When Waza - Niseko's resident Kiwi - is on point, he has some moments of sheer genius. Take his bagels for instance .... don't even get me started on the Jalapeno popper bagels.

Let's hope we can convince Waza to make this a regular thing during Summer.

the Brick

Open Tuesday nights in Summer for darts and burgers

Open late Winter, serving kebabs, burgers and 500yen drinks

& sporadically throughout the year for random dance parties and Hangi

Winter natives

Just a few picture of ostrichs in their native snow enviroment.







The famer says they love it. From the way they were pelting around it looked like it didn't bother them. Was quite funny to watch though.

Hana Yoshi

This is a little something we wrote for Powderlife magazine over winter (cause we really weren't busy enough already, lol)

SUSHI – when it’s good, it’s very, very good. And lucky for us, we're off to long-time Niseko Town favourite, Hanayoshi, which is one the best around.

With a warm welcome and a quick switch of menus for those of us yet to grasp reading Japanese, we’re good to go.

We start off with a couple of tuna nigiri, a grapefruit chu-hai (shochu and fresh grapefruit juice over ice), and a warm sake with a fugu (puffer fish) tail infusing in the cup (a winter special only). The sushi meets our expectations. Generous and super-fresh! The fugu sake is interesting. Not at all fishy and definitely worth a try.





Next up, grilled sea eel nigiri, and lightly glazed and vinegar-marinated mackerel, each continuing the fresh-and-delicious tone.



We follow this with Hanayoshi’s renowned seafood salad – their signature dish. It’s a spectacular salad of fresh greens and seafood (tuna, scallop, octopus and squid) piled high with crispy fried potato rings and hidden treasures of salmon roe throughout. It looks good and tastes even better.



We move on to a silky soft round of braised diakon topped with a succulent layer of monkfish liver pate. The daikon is braised expertly to remove the sometimes bitter bite of the radish, and the monkfish liver lives up to its foie-gras-from-the-sea reputation.



To follow, we order a couple of otoro nigiri – otoro being the fattiest and most highly prized part of the tuna belly. The fish is pure heaven. We finish these off in time for the grilled Chilean sea bass marinated in miso. It's a dish of Japanese origin made famous by celebrity chefs, such as Nobu. The delicate fish flavour is teased out by the caramelised miso, and garnished by a pickled ginger spear.



Just as we finish off tonight’s delicacies, we are both greeted with a warm cup of green tea. A perfect ending to a wonderful night.

It’s no wonder Hanayoshi is known around town as the place to go for great sushi at great prices – just don’t forget the rest of the menu is just as good.


Hanayoshi: 80-2 Hondori Niseko-cho, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido.
Open: 5pm-11pm, last order 10.30pm, Closed Mondays
Tel: 0136-44-3444.

Summer shu-making

A stop in to see Ioanna and Hisashi one night times in nicely with the 1 year anniversary of Pelican Burger, as well as the 1 year anniversary of their first attempt at making ume-shu. A handful of friends are around, and we're drinking shu late into the night ... much fun! and this is all that's left:



but it inspired us the following weekend to meet at Ionna's and start on the next batch for next year's party. First we pick up some supplies, including bottles, rock sugar, white liquor and various fruits;



for the ume's, we're doing 2 different varieties. One a little sweeter, and another trying out pricking the ume's before placing them in the jar, to see if this boosts the flavor.



Once the fruit was pricked it was piled into the jar and topped with the rock sugar and then in goes the white liquor ...



We also did a pot of cherry and a pot of lemon-shu.



We all cheer's to our efforts ....



and Ioanna makes a plate of Shin Sapporo blue cheese, ricotta and dried tomato. mmmmm



It's been so hard looking at these shu's developing up on the shelf but knowing we have to wait a year before we can savour the hard labour, so we decided to make a new one each month, so that next summer there will be a new one to drink each month ....

BBQ at Northfield Lodge

We heard about the BBQ event taking place at North Field lodge and were quick to call up and reserve our spot. But still it seems, a bit late, as we missed out on sitting outside and doing the bbq'ing for ourselves ...



We were comfortable inside, and had Rob in the kitchen, doing all the bbq'ing for us.



After everyone is seated, we start with a bowl of soup ...



and then a plate of salad.



Then the meat starts rolling on out ... first some thinly sliced pork cooked to a nice char;



a variety of meats on sticks are next to hit the table, always a winner.



Fair chunks of grilled beef are next to follow,



then some little weiners and grilled onions.



We even get treated to a bit of kangaroo meat. Nice and juicy, still pink in the centre.



Before finishing off a fine summer Niseko BBQ with a banana split.



North Field Lodge
Izumikyo No.2 83-76 Aza-Yamada,
Kutchan-cho, Abuta-gun,
Hokkaido, Japan, 044-0081

T: +81 136 226 675
E-Mail: info@north-field.jp

Niseko Sakura Week

All these things we find out about just by stumbling across some little random flyer that's all in Japanese ... and then find out it's something so cool as the annual Niseko Sakura week. Ton's of little restaurants and shops around the village participate in this week long event, with special Sakura menu's and products. We found out about it a little to late, but still managed to fit in two samplings.

The first one comes from the Niseko Fromage.



They make a range of different string cheeses, which is almost like a stringy mozzarella. Our favorite to date had been the wild garlic. But they were offering one that had been aged with a sakura, or cherry blossom.



It was delicious! The cherry blossom flavor was mild, but it was there. I think we planned to use it in a salad or something but kinda remember just munching away the whole thing ....



Then Pension Brook, who are located in Higashiyama, where we get some delicious smoked salmon and octopus for the deli from, were doing smoked little fishies with Sakura.



We will definitely be more aware of it's happenings next year, and try to get to a few more places.

Tasty Hokkaido Goodies

Last year it was indeed a, some might say envious, task trying and evaluating over 100 Hokkaido cheeses. Some are very so-so, but there are others out there which are world class. A particular favorite find would have to be the Shin Sapporo blue cheese.



It is made just outside of Sapporo, and is rich and creamy with a great blue flavor. It reminds me of a French St. Agur. It has a fair surface mould which covers the creamy inside pate that is flecked with blue mould.



We're enjoying that with some crusty bread and local butter. mmmmmm



Not to mention the giant plate of Hokkaido meats we're sampling tonight, all in the name of research, or course. Including pork salami, venison salami, soft boerwurs, Sekka's dried cherry tomatoes and pickled cherries.



Another great day in the office !!

The simple things

Meat on a stick? Definitely one of the most simple and pleasing things in the gastro-world. Luckily we are able to get a few varieties at the local Niseko Viewplaza (which is like a little farmers market).



Another simple beauty, the sausage sandwich. We're able to indulge in a variety of sausages made the traditional German way just a few km's down the road, sandwiched in some soft bread with a good squirt of ketchup.



Then there's a little cup of sweet corn soup.



And potato butter .... once you have eaten Hokkaido potatoes, there really is no going back. And topped with locally made butter. Heaven!



Just to top of the decadence, a soft cream cone made at the local Milk Kobo dairy in Higashiyama where you still pre-buy a token from a vending machine before claiming your ice-cream.



Ahhh, the simple pleasures in life !!