This New Japanese Dining Spot At Orchard Is Inspired By Hokkaido

Get a taste of Hokkaido at the Hokkaido Marche Gourmet Hall at Orchard Central, which opened for business on Wednesday (Jan 31). The gourmet hall, which features seven food kiosks from Hokkaido, is located at the mall's Basement 2 level, near 24-hour Japanese hypermarket Don Don Donki.

Tuck into curry rice and donburi topped with fresh seafood or pork, soba, udon and ramen. Dot Café & Bar, an offshoot of Sarrasin Bar Dot in Asahikawa City, serves coffee and range of whisky, sake and other spirits alongside its signature Hokkaido milk soft-serve ice cream (from $4.20 a serving), while Kaisen Natsume offers items such as kaisen don (from $13.50) and grilled fish (from $5).

At donburi specialist Maruya, offerings include curry rice (from $7.50), oyako don ($8.50), as well as pork and chicken katsu don (from $11.50). Other eateries at Hokkaido Marche include soba shop Maruki, which was founded more than 130 years ago; yakitori stall Yakitori Tsuyoshi; miso ramen stall Shirakaba Sansou Ramen from Sapporo; and Ajisai, which serves Hakodate-style ramen.

There is also a Farmer's Market and Pavilion, where foodies can purchase seasonal Hokkaido fruit and vegetables such as potatoes, corn and melon, as well as seafood, beef and dairy products. A stand-alone full-service sushi restaurant called Sushi Shiki Hanamaru is slated to open at the end of this month (February).

Where: Hokkaido Marche Gourmet Hall, Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, B2-11 to 29; and B2-44 to 48

Opening hours: 11am to 11pm, daily

This story first appeared on www.straitstimes.com

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