Barbecue Bits Sapporo (by G)

I got into Sapporo in the late evening and, as soon as I'd dropped off my bags, went for a wander.  I love Sapporo - I don't know what it is exactly - something about it being a bit isolated from the rest of Japan, it has it's own defiant identity... also, it was not so long ago that I was sweltering in the humid heat of Singapore, so the cool temperature is a relief.

After strolling aimlessly for ages ogling the noodles and crabs, seafood and meats I got irrevocably lost again... once I had sorted out my locality again I decided to eat at one of the most tempting places I had seen and, ironically, the one right next to my hotel.  How could you not be tempted by a storefront like this:

 

I didn't know it going in, but it turned out to be a cook-it-yourself barbecue place - which suited me because I haven't cooked for myself in a little while. To start I got some pig thorax and super fatty beef.  The pork was hard to cook because it was basically just cartilage with little bits of meat between. I did my best. Check out the cook I got on the beef though:

 

 

Actually the beef was a bit too rich for my blood - hard to cook because the fat dripped into the coals and caught fire almost immediately and had quite a subtle flavour, so not great to eat. I mean, it was awesome - but not super awesome.

I thought it odd that they brought a glass of ice cubes with my beer - later, when my whole cooking station was blazing like a forest fire and a guy stepped in an doused it with ice the purpose became clear. I had been trying, to that point successfully, dampening the flames with cabbage.

Yes, I did order vegetables. The corn and onions were good but charring cabbage in animal fat is the shit.  Biggs is not a huge fan of cabbage so I will definitely introduce her.

 

By my second round of ordering I had worked a few things out so I ordered the lean beef and some chicken necks.

 

I hit pay dirt with this combo - the beef was super flavourful and the chicken necks, I shit you not, are some of the best things I've eaten in a long, long time. Salt, pepper, heat and you've got the perfect bit right there.

 

If I can ever be assed - and this is unlikely because it seems like a super fiddly job, I will definitely debone us a couple of dozen chicken necks, barbecue them up, and introduce Biggs to the flavour sensation.