mitsuwa hokkaido fair 2009
by rameniac | 10 Sep 2009
Yep, it's time again for Mitsuwa's Hokkaido Fair. The 2009 event starts today, and this time around, your favorite stateside Japanese supermarket chain will be all about the shio. There's Ishikari's Ramen Shingen in Torrance and also Ezo-Fukuro in Costa Mesa doing a couple of versions of the stuff; next week the festival moves on across the U.S., as usual.
Go here for all the details and the tour dates. These ramen shops should all just hurry up and open permanent North American branches already.
Went to the Costa Mesa location on the last day of the fair, and much to my dismay there was no Hokkaido ramen to be found anywhere. The specialty vendors were selling a delightful assortment of seafood, the crab sushi looked particularly tasty, and there was even a croquette stall! Sadly though, none of the buttery goodness that has since been relegated to fond memories of Sapporo.
So I settled for some of Santouka’s standard fare, a perennial favorite of mine, and longed for butter, and nome hodai, but that’s another story…