FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Hokkaido comes to Bangkok

Hokkaido comes to Bangkok

The Mall Bang Kapi is set to host a festival of culture celebrating the Japanese Island's remarkable food and indigenous people

Best known for its natural hot springs and ski resorts, Hokkaido – Japan’s northernmost island – is also justifiably famous for its rich creamy milk, the result, as any dairy farmer will tell you, of the cows grazing in richly green pastures. 
With “The Mall Japan Discovery: Colours of Hokkaido” taking place this month in Bangkok, it was to these pastures on the Hakodate peninsula that a herd of Thai media representatives travelled recently. They were treated to a tour of the factory that produces those light-as-a-feather Pastry Snaffle’s-brand cheesecakes, tarts and cream cheeses. The 100-per-cent-organic cheesecake and especially its “Cheese Omelette” variation top the list of Hokkaido’s most popular exports. 
It was plain to see that great importance is placed on hygiene at the factory, and the cows, the manager explained, feed not just on the grass but also on top-quality grain – and beer – giving their milk a creamy consistency with the fat floating on top.
Pastry Snaffle’s chickens too live lives of gourmet luxury, fed a diet of millet and corn that’s free of any other animal protein and thus free of unpleasant odour. 
The cheese in Snaffle’s cheesecake is actually a mix of 20 different types of cheese from Hakodate and France. The local cheese is nurtured in an ideal environment – surrounded by sea and mountains – enabling the brand to apply three categories: “very fresh”, “very delicious” and “authentic”. And the cream cheese made exclusively for omelettes has the wonderful milky texture but none of the usual saltiness. To this is added organic eggs, milk, sugar and flour, and the mix is actually stirred by hand for three minutes to let in the air and make the cake soft. Then it’s poured into a mould and baked for eight minutes.
The same melt-in-the-mouth smoothness found in the Cheese Omelette cheesecake is a characteristic of the brand’s cake rolls, cookies and jellies. The factory produces 50,000 units of deliciousness per day – and only sells them in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok.
Another popular local bakery, Patisserie Morimoto, has been around for six decades and has 26 branches across Hokkaido selling more than 100 different types of desserts, including the must-try “Haskapp Jewellery” line. 
In these delectable treats, jam and cream made with more of that gorgeous Hokkaido milk are sandwiched between thin cookies of butter cream and coated with Couverture chocolate. They’ve been best-sellers since 1978, thanks in large part to the uniquely flavoured Haskapp berry, a decidedly healthful fruit rich in polyphenols – anti-oxidants that can prevent heart disease and diabetes. 
The Yukimushi Souffle features a fluffy, sweet cream evoking the snows of Hokkaido, sandwiched between two pieces of souffle based on a local dessert called dorayaki. It’s soft and mildly sweet, and a thoughtful balance between tradition and innovation.
Moving on from the dairy pastures to the hectares of grazing beef cattle, we learned that Shiraoi beef is recognised as the island’s premier Wagyu beef. The town of Shiraoi is a paradise for meat-lovers, with Grade A5 beef available all year round. Black Cattle are bred only there, under special permits and demanding regulations to ensure the highest possible quality. 
The cows are fed with beer, grass and corn in warm conditions, resulting in fat permeating evenly throughout the meat. You can sample it during the first three days of The Mall’s event in Bangkok, starting on Saturday.
No trip to Japan is complete without a feast of fresh seafood and – with the Pacific Ocean, the Okhotsk Sea and the Sea of Japan lapping its shores – Hokkaido is blessed with an abundant variety. The waters are rich in plankton, the primary food of multitudes of marine creatures, and the currents are turbulent enough to make the meat strong and lean. 
Hokkaido’s fishing industry brings in fully a quarter of Japan’s total seafood catch and has the largest navy of fishermen. Their takings include taraba and hairy crab, salmon, squid, shrimp, clams, scallops and sea urchins – all praised for their freshness and deliciousness. The taraba king crab, a rival to Alaska’s more famous specimen, is typically caught when it reaches three or four years in age and weighs up to four kilograms.
The Mall Group is bringing Hokkaido’s treasure trove of delicacies to the Mall Bangkapi this Saturday through September 22, in collaboration with Thai Life Insurance, ThaiNamThip Commercial Co, Thai AirAsiaX, Bangkok Bank, the Hokkaido Fair Committee and the Hokkaido Association of Thailand.
As part of the presentation there will be performances of singing and dancing by ethnic Ainu, whose legacy on the island is evident in many of the place names. Indigenous to Hokkaido, the Ainu were gradually assimilated into Japanese culture amid northward migrations from Honshu, the main island. To preserve their heritage, Ainu Village was established in Shiraoi with a museum documenting their origins, lifestyle and culture. 
Larger in physique than the average Japanese “mainlander”, the Ainu men grew long beards and the women would wear tattoos around their mouths as a sign that they were ready to have a family. 
At Ainu Village, a statue of a tribal chief welcomes tourists, shops sell wood carvings and basketry as souvenirs, and brown bears and the peculiar breed of Ainu dog – both revered as divine – are raised in captivity. Another important animal among the Ainu is the owl, which symbolises wisdom and intelligence.
In the museum are traditional costumes, household utensils and musical instruments, all brought to life through fascinating demonstrations of life in bygone times.
 
 
AN ISLAND TO DISCOVER
  •   “The Mall Japan Discovery: Colours of Hokkaido” runs from Saturday until September 22 in the Event Hall on G Floor at The Mall Bang Kapi. 
  •  More than 50 booths will offer all the products of the island, including fruit wine, whiskey and Sapporo beer, as well as snacks and baked items like cheesecake, caramel popcorn and – this weekend only – the rare Pure White Corn, a delightful treat eaten raw.
  •  Also on sale will be Kitty Lavender and other products made with fragrant lavender, ramen salad, a variety of rice dishes topped with imported meat, and cosmetics and healthcare and beauty products.
 
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