Bagus Cafe, Kutchan

Kutchan is a little haven of all things food .... Well, perhaps so when you're living in Hirafu, anyway. There's quite a varied array of food to be had, and it's our mission to try it all!

After a recommendation from Y & A from work we headed in. It's true Japanese style, the way it's in a rather large almost office-like building. The building doesn't look much from the street, it's only thanks to the neon lighted sign out the front that we eventually find it.



When you arrive, open the door, it just leads to a long white sterile corridor ....



Then venture down the corridor and right at the back on the right hand side is a little doorway with the words "Bagus Cafe".



We walk on in, it's surprisingly full... and feels like you could be in a little warung in Bali. It's decked out with batik, bottles of Indonesian and Thai beer and the type of music that could drift you away to Dreamland Beach .... We are led around to a table and stunned to see Y & A eating there. They were there just 2 nights ago, so it must be good! (That, and in Autumn most things in Kutchan close around 8, Bagus is open much later)



The menu is a combination of Indonesian, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and many other South East Asian offerings. We start with an order of spicy beef fresh spring rolls. The beef is spicy and full of flavour, wrapped in a rice paper casing with crisp lettuce and vermicelli noodles. To the side is a lightly spiced vinegar dipping sauce and a pile of wafer thin fried potatoes. A very nice start to the evening.



Next is a Thai style salad of vermicelli, pork and prawn. It has a nice pungent dressing with a little kick of chilli. There's crisp lettuce, mitzuna, red onion, chilli, peanuts and generous juicy chunks of prawn and pork throughout.



Then comes out a terracotta soup pot, sitting over a burning fire. This is their tom yum. It does smell good! We leave it to simmer for a few minutes ....



It's not got the hot we expect, but maybe we've spent too much time in Thailand. (Japanese are crazy for their wasabi, but they're not big on chilli-hot) but the flavours are still there. The sour is added from a bottle of Thai vinegar that's bought out with the soup.



We finish with a big stone bowl of Korean seasoned rice, braised pork & beansprouts. The pork belly has been braised for hours, and is deliciously tender. The seasoned rice starts to crisp on the bottom of the stone pot, and this stirred through gives each bit a nice texture. The wok-fried beansprouts and little bit of mitzuna balancing it out nicely.



It's all delicious, and we've been able to take a little trip around South East Asia by only travelling about 10km from home.



Bagus Cafe
North 2, West 1
Kutchan-Cho
Tel: 0136 23 1118
Open 6pm-11pm

Bistrot le Cochon - pig out on fine French food in Kutchan!

This is for all you powderlife readers .... We've included the phone number, and a nice little map at the bottom of the page, so you know where to find cochon. There will be photos coming soon, or check out our review in Powderlife this weekend, or on the web-page....

9325.33 kilometres. That’s the distance between Kutchan and Nice, France, but step out of the snow and into this cute little 12 seat bistro and you could be in either. French wall hangings, water served out of Ricard bottles, beautifully hand written menus and food that’s timelessly classic and yet at the same time Japanese modern. It’s all thanks to former auto mechanic, Kazuhiko who decided one day it wasn't quite for him, put down his wrench, picked up a knife and hasn't looked back since. Working extensively in Tokyo he also travelled to Nice where despite being unable to speak English he was taught a lot of the classic skills he now so deftly wields.

We first wandered in for lunch which is an amazing value ¥900 for the pasta set or ¥1000 for the main set. Both come with a starter, bread and tea or coffee. We started off with a generous slice of pork terrine with nicely dressed and seasoned mixed leaf. We then moved on to the pasta (which changes daily depending on ingredients and whim) today’s was a fantastic spaghetti with braised lamb ragu, a rich tomato lamb sauce clinging to the perfectly cooked pasta, very hard to share. We then shifted our attention to the main from the other set a very clever tongue in cheek dish of braised pork cheek and tongue.

The cheek just falling apart at the approach of our fork and the tongues offaly flavour cooked away, with the addition of a few textbook turned vegatables this was a superb, witty dish. After such a great meal we want just a smidgen of something sweet to round it off, asking about dessert we are rewarded with a blancmange with champagne sauce, wow, again the classic style shows in a perfectly cooked and set pudding sweetened just so with the sauce. All this and a couple of drinks for under 4000 yen for two people, amazing. So amazing in fact we returned for dinner that very night only to find the place full (with only twelve seats we shouldn't have been surprised).

Another night we shall return we said, and have many times… Dinner is a mere ¥2800 for 3 courses. Recently we’ve had pate; rich, smooth and creamy with a rich prune jelly and pickled local veg. Fromage de tete - pigs head terrine, rustic and full of flavour. Pan roasted organic pork, sweet and juicy and slow braised beef cheeks with a rich red wine sauce. The desserts make you want to visit just for them.. Banana frangipane tart, dense rich chocolate cake, wild mountain grape tart and a wildly flavoursome lavender and honey ice-cream.
With food this good, and polished serviced delivered by Kazuhiko’s wife, Tomoko is there any wonder we can’t keep away?

Have we mentioned that there’s only 12 seats? You need to book early!

Bon appetite.

Bistrot le Cochon, closed Tuesdays

1-9, nishi 1 cyo-me, kita 3jyo

Kutchan-cho

Abuta-Gun

Hokkaido

Ph: 050 3549 0034

Mob: 080 5494 0966

Graubünden, Hirafu East Village

Living in a strange land is exciting and well, a bit strange sometimes. Sometimes you can end up longing for a little taste from your memories unable to find a cure. And so it is with Japan, within minutes you can always be snacking on delicious sushi, ramen, soba and the like, but, it can take quite a bit of effort to get a good sandwich (especially not one made of the ubiquitous should-be-a-dessert sweet bread). To our delight located within a brief five minute walk of our house, named after a region of Switzerland, it’s a cute little brick house all warm and cosy inside.



The menu is the famous sandwich (seriously, people drive two hours just to come for one) Once you finally make a filling choice you then have further agony deciding the type of bread; baguette, soft baguette, rye bread, or bagel all baked by the fantastic White Rock bakery in Kutchan so you know it’s going to be the real deal.

Today I go for the Graubünden original, omelette with bacon egg and cheese on rye.



Kat has the chicken, cream cheese and tomato also on rye.



In the brief wait we take the time to look around, there’s a showcase filled with fantastic cakes and a small shop selling herbal teas, cookies, candles and a good range of organic oats, maple syrup and other gourmet treats.



The sandos arrive and they are every bit as good as they sounded, the rye cut thick, the filling fresh and generous, mine full of just cooked omelette, grilled bacon and melty cheese is the perfect breakfast as far as I’m concerned and Kat’s piled high with chicken and slathered with cream cheese is a classic classic, on the side of each cute as a button cherry tomatoes a few sticks of cucumber a little carrot salad and a good blob of mayo with a potato salad, whipped to make it creamy.



They do some great home-made soda's.



And stock a full range of Dr. Stuarts teas, also available to take home.



Seeing we’ve being making eyes at the cakes a massive slice of banoffee pie is soon organised, and again it’s as delicious as it looks and prompts yet another fork duel (chivalry smivalry).



How does that song go? The one about the weather outside being frightful but inside delightful? That’s how I feel sitting here in Graubunden, content and relaxed and toasty, I don’t want to leave…..I think we have time and room for a maple hot milk.

Let it snow let it snow let it snow....

Graubünden
Hirafu East Village
Tel: 0136 233371
Open 11am - 7pm
http://www.graubunden.jp/