THE FREQUENT FLIER JAPAN
TRAVELIFE MAGAZINE
Second Time Around
CHRISTINE CUNANAN dines at one of her favorite restaurants in the world, in Sapporo
Nevertheless, we decided to book lunch here one cold autumn day on a short but sweet holiday in Hokkaido and were not disappointed. The combination of good Hokkaido ingredients, French techniques and Japanese artistry resulted in an excellent meal of six beautifully plated dishes made even more perfect by the price. To put it bluntly, lunch at Moliere is downright cheap for a Michelin three-star establishment. Then and there, Moliere became one of my favorite restaurants in the world in terms of taste and value – the latter multiplying the enjoyment – as a similar meal elsewhere usually costs a small fortune, if not a large one.
“The combination of good Hokkaido ingredients, French techniques and Japanese artistry at Moliere resulted in an excellent meal of six beautifully plated dishes made even more perfect by the price. To put it bluntly, lunch is downright cheap for a Michelin three-star establishment.”
ONE MORE TIME And my memories of this first visit to Moliere were what prompted me to book lunch here again last month, on another visit to Sapporo, living a #Travelife. Upon walking in, I was immediately enveloped by a warm feeling of comfort. Everything about the restaurant was exactly as I remembered, and even the maître d’hotel in black tails who’d welcomed us on my first visit and engaged us in a lively discussion about a famous Philippine billiards player was still there, standing smartly at the entrance. The meal was as impeccable as I’d hoped it would be, and, interestingly, some of the dishes still remained on the set menu – prompting not a few instances of déjà vu.
A SALAD WITH A STORY Happily, one of these was sparked by a salad created with about 25 local ingredients, inspired by the famous “gargouillou” of top French chef Michel Bras, whose own version contains as many as 75 items, depending on the season and his inclinations and inspirations. Moliere’s version arrived pretty as a painting – to knowingly use a cliché – with six different sauces and a butter base underneath it. We were asked to mix everything and to eat the results with a spoon. The other dish that brought back memories was a dessert of whipped Hokkaido cream – light as air and more fresh than sweet – and sautéed and slightly tart local berries, served with flourish from elegant silver bowls. This had been the highlight of my first visit to Moliere, so my heart skipped a beat upon seeing this familiar set-up being brought to our table again. Many people expect top chefs to constantly push themselves to the limit to continue creating one amazing dish after another so that they are pleasantly surprised with each visit. I am usually this way, too. But at Moliere in Sapporo last month, I was more than happy to enjoy some of the same old story all over again. n
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PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE CUNANAN.
M
oliere is a cozy French restaurant fronting a beautiful park in a quiet neighborhood of Sapporo lined with low-rise apartment buildings, and it was one of a handful of restaurants in Hokkaido awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide in 2012. Purists might question this highest distinction that Moliere has been enjoying since then, as the Michelin inspectors only ventured into Hokkaido that one time and have not returned since, whereas restaurants in cities like Tokyo and in countries in Europe are subjected to grueling examination every year.