あやぱぱ2
Wandering rookie curry maniac, a solitary middle-aged man here. This is the 12th installment of "Hamburger Tour". The second shop I chose for my obsession is "Maruyama Mushroom". One of the highlights of this shop is the "Demiglace sauce aged for 500 hours". It's hard to grasp what 500 hours really means, but it's roughly about 20 days. That's an unimaginable amount of time spent on sauce making. They say the sauce has been continuously replenished for almost 10 years. The location is across from Sapporo Medical University (facing north towards the university). The nearest station is "Nishi 18-chome Station" on the Tozai subway line, or "Nishi 15-chome tram stop" if you're taking the tram. The shop is located in a renovated old house, with an empty lot next to it making it easy to spot. I made a reservation for 12:30 and was seated at the counter. There were only two counter seats available at the time. There were three tables on the first floor, making the space quite narrow. I'm not sure about the seating on the second floor since I didn't go up there. The basic information of the shop mentions 44 seats, so there must be a considerable number of seats on the second floor. The customers before me were two couples in their 40s to 50s. One couple was just leaving as I arrived. After me, there were two couples in their 20s and a takeout customer. There seemed to be more customers coming in around 1 PM. I glanced at the menu, but here, I have to try the Demiglace sauce that they boast as being aged for 500 hours to see how it really tastes. I was advised that ordering the "King of Three Sacred Treasures Hamburger" with the same sauce would be more cost-effective than adding toppings one by one. So, I decided to go with that. I ordered the Mushroom Lunch Set, which includes the King of Three Sacred Treasures Hamburger 230g with 500-hour Demiglace sauce, rice, soup, salad, and iced coffee flavored with orange, for a total of 2150 yen including tax. I also used a soon-to-expire ticket, so I only had to pay 150 yen in cash. Thank you for the offer. After ordering, the soup and salad were served in about 5 minutes. The soup was a potage of "Snow Under Cabbage" served in a square cup and saucer. However, the shape of the cup and spoon didn't match, making it a bit difficult to eat towards the end. But the soup was delicious, with a slightly strong saltiness that made it hard to taste the cabbage flavor. The salad was surprisingly generous in portion. It mainly consisted of lettuce, with thinly sliced turnips and carrots on top. The dressing was a mystery. It seemed to be Caesar dressing due to its Parmesan cheese-like powdery and rich taste, but the green color was puzzling. It didn't have much basil flavor, and the cheese taste stood out more. About 15 minutes later, the main dish arrived. It was elegantly presented on a porcelain plate, with the "King of Three Sacred Treasures" stacked vertically, giving it a luxurious and voluminous look. At its core was a 230g hamburger, which was thick and wide, adding to its volume. I sliced into the hamburger, avoiding the sunny-side-up egg and bacon on top. The meat wasn't dripping with juices but was cooked firm on the outside and tender inside. The meat seemed to be "Biratori Wagyu". I've heard that it's delicious, but I haven't had the chance to try it yet. Although I had high expectations based on past reviews mentioning a blend of "Biratori Wagyu" and "Mochi Pork" for the hamburger, the only dish with "Biratori Wagyu" was the "Black Curry and Hamburger Lunch Set". It was also the only dish that had the "Biratori Wagyu" label.