VR shouted us dinner on Friday night. We went to Sapporo in Carlisle. Jac and I have eaten at Sapporo before (see previous posts: 1, 2, 3). VR hasn’t really eaten much Japanese food before but was keen to give it a go. We each ordered an entree and a main and offered each other a taste of our choices. My entree choice was agedashi tofu. I’ve had this dish before at Sapporo – very lightly battered and deepfried tofu, served in a tasty gingery broth. This broth was sooooo good! I couldn’t stop drinking it, and I wished there was more, but the broth was only about waist-high on the tofu (if tofu had a waist). Jac and I had a piece of tofu each and split the last one – VR doesn’t like tofu at all.

VR ordered the vegetable gyoza – dumplings filled with vegetables, first steamed, then fried on one side in a pan until brown and crisp on that fried side. These dumplings are also known as potstickers. These were very nice. I love the chewiness of the dumpling skins and the crunchiness of the vegetables inside. I did try to take an innards shot, but alas, it didn’t turn out too well. You’ll just have to imagine.

This was the dipping sauce for the gyoza. It had a lovely smell of sesame oil.

Jac ordered the shu mai – yep, shu mai, kind of like siew mai (as in steamed dim sum dumplings!). These were prawn and vegetable dumplings. Jac and VR liked them very much, but I found them overwhelmingly seafood-pongy and couldn’t go on after my first bite. VR and Jac weren’t too unhappy about this of course, as it meant more for them!

VR’s main course was prawn tempura, which came with dipping sauce and a bowl of steamed rice. Since Jac had a tempura prawn as part of her main, VR insisted I have one of her five prawns.

I ordered teriyaki fish with rice and salad (the rice is not in the photo). The teriyaki flavour was lovely. The fish was presented on a bed of mung bean sprouts (which I love!) and had been panfried so it had crispy edges. YUM. The fish itself was moist and delicate. We all thought it was delicious.

Jac ordered the special bento box, which she’s had before. She loves the bento box because it features a bit of everything and is a really good feed. We sampled each of her bento box items – though VR and I didn’t touch the sashimi – neither of us likes the taste or texture of raw seafood.And so, below:
Top row, L-R: Teriyaki chicken and rice, sashimi (tuna, salmon, octopus).
Bottom row, L-R: prawn katsu (topped with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and some BBQ sauce), prawn and vegetable (eggplant, sweet potato, pumpkin) tempura, and of course, pickled ginger (which Jac really likes).