Croquettes @ Yufuin Kinsho Korokke, Yufuin, Oita

 

If you ever have the chance to visit Yufuin, chances are you will end up at the  Yunotsubo Kaido (湯の坪街道). A shopping street that stretches from one end of the city proper to the next, there is a lot to try here.  And that is especially so with the street food. 

Despite the cold, its a great day to get some street food!

There are many places to try and believe me, you can actually fit a meal in while walking about in this area. However, one thing that seems to pop up every time I do a read up on this place is the croquettes. Specifically, from one particular shop: Yufuin Kinsho Korokke. Directly translated as "Yufuin's gold medal croquettes: (湯布院金賞コロッケ), the amount of positive comments online is absolutely ridiculous. There were even TV show segments that highlighted this crispy treat. So to see it for myself, I decided to wait in line despite being in the middle of winter. 

Patience was tested

Although there was a lengthy line before me, it was relatively fast. The turnaround of customers was pretty quick, and soon enough I was there to get my fill on the good stuff. The main star maker is their "gold medal" beef croquette that stood for 200 yen. For variety, I also got the cream and crab croquette for 200 yen as well. 

Hot and crunchy

Being frosty that day, the warm pockets loaded with fried treats felt like a godsend to my hands as it helped them thaw. And soon enough that feeling of appreciation went straight into my mouth. Everything was just perfect. The outside crust had a crunch that was just unspeakable and yet did not feel like a grease wagon. 

This is some top tier stuff!

The filling was a combination of mashed potatoes and minced meat. It has such incredible flavour and a crazy texture. The potatoes were soft and fluffy but at the same time, the chunks of red meat had a savoury touch to everything. In terms of spices, I can really feel a strong kick of black pepper which I really liked. Other than that, I am not sure what sort of seasoning they had there, but it was just incredible. 

The crab is on the left, while the beef is on the left. And a few minutes later, there were none.

The crab croquettes were pretty good too. The inside was a bit hard to consume as it is more liquid compared to the beefy cousin. However, it had a more delicate feel flavour wise. And as its name suggested, it was really creamy. In fact, it felt like fried chowder if you catch my drift. Still absolutely enjoyable. 

A closer look of the establishment

Colour me impressed as it has been a while since I had fried food this enjoyable. And this place totally lived up to the hype. It should be noted that there are 2 stalls that are managed by the same people and both are located in this shopping street. If you would like to visit the outlet that I have sampled, the address is as follows:

1079-8 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu, Oita 879-5102